IMG Taps Riedel's SimplyLive Suite

IMG has adopted Riedel's SimplyLive Production Suite to power one of European football's most ambitious remote production operations for the English Football League (EFL).

From its Stockley Park hub, the software-led platform now underpins more than half of IMG’s weekend output, enabling teams to produce, clip, review, and distribute over 30 concurrent live matches across the Championship, League One, and League Two.

"Our production teams face a uniquely demanding schedule – there are weekends when 34 EFL games take place at the same time," said Brian Leonard, Head of Engineering – Production & Workflows at IMG. "From our facility, we produce 50 to 60 matches a weekend, and SimplyLive helps us handle that scale with confidence."

The EFL workflow now brings in six camera feeds from Championship fixtures, four from League One, and two from League Two — a rise of more than 60% in camera inputs versus previous seasons. All feeds are ingested into IMG’s centralised SimplyLive environment, where operators manage live switching, instant replays, post‑match highlights, compliance deliverables, and social content for multiple platforms.

Operational flexibility was a major factor in the choice. Replay operators benefit from intuitive multi‑angle review and rapid highlight creation, while directors can tailor productions using a mix of touchscreen and remote control interfaces to suit each gallery and operator preference.

"Our replay operators enjoy the ability to scroll back through all angles at once, quickly find key moments, and create replays or highlight clips in seconds," said Sarah Lochmore, Staff Director at IMG. "The system also supports a hybrid control approach – users can work with touchscreens, remote controllers, or both. There's no single 'right' way to work with SimplyLive. You can build a workflow around the operator, not the other way around."

Beyond live match coverage, the centralised setup streamlines post‑match content delivery. IMG can rapidly fulfil requests from clubs, officials, and rights holders for broadcast and social use. With every angle instantly accessible, turnaround times are cut and editorial quality improved. The software‑based approach also accelerates onboarding, enabling IMG to widen its operator pool — including talent from non‑traditional backgrounds — and keep the focus on storytelling rather than tooling complexity.

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