Press

Supponor has appointed Charlie Marshall as its Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer to help establish it as a major force in the global sports marketplace.

Marshall has a strong track record of generating commercial success and driving strategic advantage in the sports, media and entertainment industries, and will work closely with CEO Chris Buckley to maximise the potential of DBRLive, Supponor’s digital billboard replacement solution for live sports.

DBRLive is heading to America after successful tests showed its technology can be adapted to work with TV signals in the USA.

US cameras have a different frame rate to those in Europe, which called for modifications to video equipment and software systems used in DBRLive’s billboard replacement.

Supponor’s development team in Espoo, Finland, improved its software and hardware to accommodate the higher frame rates common to US cameras, and brought in advanced new infra-red cameras which support HD signals.

Supponor is sponsoring a key networking event this month for sport executives from the industry’s leading brands.

Company CEOs and director level executives will meet at the Leaders Sport Network to share ideas on moving forward within the industry.

The Football League, the NBA, Nike, British Airways, UEFA, Williams F1 and the Bundesliga are among the big names joining brainstorming sessions on, among other things, commercialising their brand.

Supponor made its La Liga debut on Saturday, when DBRLive was brought into action at the match between Deportivo and Real Madrid.

As always, the high-profile game, which Real Madrid won 2-1, attracted a large international TV audience.

International and domestic viewers watching the broadcast live saw virtual billboard advertising provided by Supponor's DBRLive system.

Tony Ragan, Supponor’s CCO, said: “This is an exciting development for Supponor. La Liga, and especially top teams like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, are followed by millions of fans worldwide.

The man who founded Supponor, Erkki Rantalainen, is to retire from the company after 13 years.

Rantalainen was inspired to produce virtual advertising for sports while watching the Millennium celebrations in New York’s Times Square.

He saw adverts projected onto a blue wall and reasoned that it must therefore be possible to project virtual advertising onto any background.

Supponor scored another international success when it delivered two separate targeted advertising feeds from the England v Brazil friendly last night.

Football fans from all over the world tuned in to watch the Wembley Stadium thriller – which England won 2-1.

Those watching live in Brazil saw virtual advertising carrying the roster of their national team’s sponsors, while fans in the rest of the world saw different brands advertised on the international feed.

Supponor will play a key role in a gathering of sport’s top decision-makers when the Leaders Sport Network convenes in La Manga next year.

It is the third consecutive year Supponor has agreed to be a major commercial partner in the annual networking platform for CEOs and director level executives.

The Leaders Sport Network (formerly known as Leaders in Sport) will return to the exclusive La Manga Club resort in Spain on 14 – 16 April 2013 for three days and two nights of business and relationship building.

Supponor’s Digital Billboard Replacement technology was seen by millions of fans around the world on a remarkable footballing night in Stockholm.

Sweden beat England 4-2 in an international friendly – a match which marked the official opening of the Friends Arena.

Supponor’s DBRLive was used on two high cameras in the new stadium with half of the stadium billboards set up to deliver differentiated advertising in the international broadcast feed.

Supponor has agreed a tie-up with one of Europe’s leading sports production companies.

London-based Input Media will provide expert staff for rigging and operating Supponor’s DBRLive system at events in the UK and elsewhere.

The companies will begin a period of intensive training in the coming weeks as Supponor enters a busy time producing digital billboard replacement at major football and other sporting events.

There was no let-up for Supponor this week as the company took to the road again to talk to key decision-makers about the revolutionary DBRLive 6.5 technology.

Supponor was present at Sportel Monaco, the international sports market for broadcasters and rights holders from across the world.

Sport’s most influential decision-makers will be able to see the latest version of Supponor’s digital billboard replacement at the Leaders Sports Summit next month.

The annual invite-only event at Chelsea FC brings together 1,500 of the top executives and performers in world sport. More than 45 different sports and 55 countries will be represented.

Supponor is one of the key exhibitors at the expo and will show delegates the latest version of DBRLive, 6.5, which is the result of extensive development work by its software engineers in Finland.

Supponor’s senior management team has been further boosted by the arrival of Shaun Glanville as Head of Broadcast Technology. He is charged with developing relationships with broadcasters and broadcast production companies as interest in DBRLive soars.Shaun will be identifying changing trends in broadcast production and technology, as well as developing direct relationships with broadcast hardware manufacturers exploring the potential for closer integration of Supponor's technology.Shaun has extensive experience of televising high profile world events for, among others, Al Jazeera Sport and

Supponor’s unique billboard replacement technology gave another faultless performance in the pre-Olympics warm-up game between Team GB and Brazil.DBRLive was rolled out at the request of the Football Association for the pre-Games friendly at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough.It inserted replacement billboard adverts to the TV feed broadcast to Brazil, so viewers there saw Brazilian brand names advertised as they watched the game live.Team GB may have lost the game 0-2, but the match was a success as far as Supponor’s technology was concerned, says Supponor’s Chief Commercial Officer Tony

Supponor has opened a new operations centre in London to aid the smooth roll-out of its DBRLive broadcast facilities.

The 5,000 sq ft new premises will act as a testing and storage centre for the equipment and vans which operate Supponor’s digital billboard replacement technology during live broadcast events throughout Europe.

Until now, the equipment needed to operate DBRLive has been kept at three different sites around London. The new premises, in North Acton, brings it all together under one roof.

Decision-makers from the sports industry gathered at Supponor’s London base for an exclusive networking event.Executives from rights holders and partners were brought together to watch EURO 2012 and catch up on relationships made at the Leaders Sports Summit in La Manga earlier this year.Supponor’s hosting of the event followed its sponsorship of the La Manga weekend when clubs, leagues, federations, rights holders and global brands met for a unique gathering.The reunion, attended by executives from bodies including Formula 1, Euroleague basketball, English cricket and major European footba

Supponor created a world first in sports stadia advertising last weekend  when it displayed adverts to viewers of the Norway-England International Football match which were prohibited in the stadium itself.Rights holders and certain brand advertisers in sports have often been limited in their ability to effectively communicate to global audiences for a variety of reasons outside their own control. These include language barriers, stadium infrastructure and more frequently the growing legal restrictions in certain markets.

Supponor has appointed a Chief Commercial Officer to work with sports rights holders and advertisers as global interest in DBRLive continues to rise.Tony Ragan joins the executive team of Supponor with over 15 years’ commercial media experience.He has a successful track record in building businesses in a multi-media environment - with ITV, Time Warner, Disney and a number of start up companies.At Supponor, he will work with rights holders and build on Supponor’s commercial potential across all sports on a global basis.Ragan said: “Supponor’s a genuine game-changer in sports advertising.  I’

Supponor has appointed a Production Manager to help with the logistical planning and delivery of its expanding events diary.Revika Watson has been a production manager in the sports sector of TV broadcasting for 10 years, working in the tennis, cycling and golf sectors.Supponor Head of Operations Guy Hollis said: “Revika comes to us with excellent credentials and we are delighted to welcome her aboard at an exciting time for the company.”Sports rights holders are increasingly aware of the commercial opportunities associated with digital billboard replacement technology.

Successful coverage of the European Waterpolo Championships has delighted the team behind Supponor’s DBRLive technology.It was the first time the system, which replaces digital billlboard advertisements during broadcast, had been tested at a water-based indoor stadium event.And the technology rose to the challenge, allowing Supponor to replace poolside billboard ads in broadcast feeds from 44 games over two weeks at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Stadium, Eindhoven.Guy Hollis, Supponor’s Head of Operations, said: “The lighting, warmth, humidity - and of course, the water - were all

Showcasing Supponor’s DBRLive technology has become easier
with the delivery of the company’s second Outside Broadcast van.

As interest surges in Supponor’s unique digital billboard
replacement technology, the new OB van means more stadiums can host
demonstrations of how tailored billboard advertising works.

The van is the first of a series commissioned to meet the
growing, Europe-wide demand to see the technology in action, says Guy Hollis,
Supponor’s Head of Operations.

Supponor’s tailored billboard advertising will be back in action at the England vs Sweden football international at Wembley this week. Fans watching the friendly on TV in different territories will see a completely different set of billboard advertising to those watching the game in the stadium.

This is because billboards along one 100 metre-plus stretch of touchline have been covered with Supponor’s revolutionary special film which allows replacement billboard images to be inserted into the live broadcast feed.

Some of the world’s most influential football executives saw DBRLive in action at the Leaders in Football conference last week.

More than 1,700 delegates to the elite gathering of sports decision-makers at Chelsea FC’s ground, Stamford Bridge, got the chance to see for themselves how Digital Billboard Replacement technology works.

Supponor mounted two screens running separate broadcast feeds from the England vs Ghana football friendly international at Wembley earlier this year.

Supponor’s Operations team is moving and expanding as the company gears up for the new opportunities presented by DBRLive.

Three staff, currently based at Supponor’s technical base in Finland, are relocating to London to join Head of Operations Guy Hollis, while a new team member, Rob Millist, has joined from an Arabic TV station.

Supponor has signalled another step forward as it enters a crucial stage of its development with the relocation of its Chief Technology Officer to London.

Vesa Suontama, who has been with the company since 2008, moves with his family to the UK to join the commercial and operational teams based in Supponor’s new offices in Paddington.

Chris Buckley, Supponor CEO, said: “This is a key time for us now as we have several opportunities facing us. A lot of the work that Vesa has put in to research and development is now coming to fruition and being taken to the market place.

Supponor’s Technology centre in Finland has been strengthened with the appointment of two new members of the management team.

Markku Salin and Noel Hunt have joined the company as Quality Assurance Manager and R&D Partners Manager respectively.

Markku will take responsibility of the company’s testing activities. He comes from a project manager background in embedded projects as well as a software engineering background.

Supponor has rolled out its first outside broadcast van as the company gears up to launch DBR Live at a range of sporting events.

The new van, which can handle input from four cameras at an event and deliver separate outputs, gives Supponor’s operations team maximum flexibility as they hit the road.

Previously, the system had been transported in purpose-built flight cases but it was always the company’s intention to equip its own OB vans so it can respond more effectively as the business moves into the fully operational stage.

Supponor has teamed up with signage experts Sports Identity to offer a full end-to-end billboard solution to football clubs.

Supponor’s leading edge technology DBRLive relies on Near Infrared (NIR) film built into perimeter advertising to enable multiple adverts to be shown simultaneously in different broadcasts.

Hull-based Sports Identity has integrated NIR film into the production process providing high quality billboards that match those already in the market.

Company selected from more than 500 applicants to present DBRLive product to leading figures in venture capital and technology.

sporteo to represent Digital Billboard Replacement specialists Supponor in Austrian and Swiss markets.