The man behind TV3’s Europa League final coverage

In 2011, TV3 will be responsible for the global television feed for the biggest sporting event to ever take place in Ireland. JOE spoke to Niall Cogley, TV3’s broadcast event director, about what is involved in such an event.

By Conor Hogan

The Europa League final will take place in Dublin in May 2011. It’ll be the biggest sporting event, at least in terms of television audience figures, to ever take place in Ireland. The Dublin Chamber of Commerce estimate that it could be worth up to €100m to the Irish economy.

As TV3 have the Irish rights to the Europa League they will be responsible for providing the worldwide feed. Broadcast event director for this broadcast will be Niall Cogley, former Head of Sport in RTE, and co-founder of Setanta Sports Ireland in 2004. He resigned as CEO of Setanta in June to set up an international sports consultancy and brokerage business, Sports & Broadcasting Solutions (SBS).

“SBS provides those companies in the area of sports broadcasting with support if they lack the expertise or the contacts,” Cogley told JOE. “We help them to achieve their aims. That business could be a sponsor with a commitment to sport. It could also be the broadcaster themselves.”

“TV3 are the perfect example. They are already broadcasting a great deal of sport, but host broadcasting is not something they have a huge amount of experience in.”

TV3 sports broadcasting experience includes UEFA Europa League and Champions League matches, as well as coverage of Irish soccer internationals, the Rugby World Cup and the All-Ireland hurling and football championships. Being host broadcaster for a major European final, however, will be by far and away the biggest challenge they’ve ever undertaken. It’ll be a huge responsibility.

“There is a standard set and expected,” says Cogley, “TV3 will be responsible for providing a world class signal to over 170 markets. Production infrastructure will have to be provided for all the different broadcasters who wish to be there.

“They will expect to be briefed. They will want to be able to bring their own truck. They might want the option of live editing the footage for their own broadcast. They will want a competent, reliable commentary position. All of them will expect to be briefed by the host broadcaster before the match takes place. TV3 possess all the skills themselves, but it is such a big operation that any help is invaluable.”

Aviva Stadium from inside

The final will be played at the Aviva stadium, or the ‘Dublin Arena’ as it will be known for that month due to UEFA rules against corporate sponsorship outside their federation. Or ‘Landsdowne Road’ as we’ll surely all call it. It will take place the same month as the Inaugural Four Associations Tournament, featuring the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, which will also be hosted at that stadium.

It’s fantastic, it’s absolutely world class. It looks as good on the inside as it does on the outside. I would say that the Aviva is on a par with any stadium in the world.

It is Ireland’s first and only UEFA Elite stadium, and was completed at a cost of €400m. It’s an extremely modern and spectacular looking arena; its wave-like roof design is both aesthetically pleasing and practical, as it doesn’t block light from local residents like other stadiums of its size do.

Cogley has been to the Aviva Stadium and is very impressed. “It’s fantastic, it’s absolutely world class. It looks as good on the inside as it does on the outside. I would say that the Aviva is on a par with any stadium in the world.

“Dublin is a perfect location in every sense. It is a great city, with a lot of experience with tourism and hosting sports events. And the arena is something to be proud of. Nobody will be disappointed.”

Cogley believes that the rebranding of the ‘UEFA Cup’ as the ‘Europa League’ has been massive success, and that it has become a “marquee event in only a short period of time”. The change of format in the group stage meant that there were far less dead rubber games, while there was more interest in last year’s tournament in these isles than for years, due to Fulham and Liverpool’s qualification to the later stages.

Some of the England’s biggest clubs will be competing in the Europa League this year, including Liverpool, Aston Villa, and mega-rich Manchester City. Other clubs that will be competing include champions Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Paris St Germain, Porto and Bayern Leverkusen. That’s before you even take into account the Champions League teams who will enter in the knockout phase after coming third in their groups.

Cogley would like a big British team like Liverpool or Celtic to get to the final. “This would create a huge amount of interest and excitement in this country, and would benefit the success of the final immensely. But even if that doesn’t happen, I have no doubt that it will be a success. I was in Hamburg for last year’s final between Atletico Madrid and Fulham last year and it was a fantastic experience. It was fantastic for the country and for the city.”