LED walls, virtual floors and AR politicians to engage audiences like never before as part of broadcaster’s comprehensive election night coverage.
The hub of Sky’s Election Night is Sky Studios’ Studio 4 commonly used for Monday Night Football (MNF), Formula 1, NFL and boxing. Described by Ben Fisher, Head of Sky News Studio Output as “a 360-degree immersive space making a brilliant canvas for storytelling and data,” he explains that “as soon as we saw it on air we thought, hang on a minute, this is built for an election.”
Zonal marking
Sky News has split the studio into four zones. The large curved LED which acts as the backdrop for MNF will be the main presentation space for anchors Kay Burley, Beth Rigby, and Trevor Phillips, with Andy Burnham and Ruth Davidson as pundits. This will feature a screen dubbed the ‘window to the world’, featuring a mosaic of live feeds from 102 constituency counts.
The central zone is referred to as the ‘disco floor’, filled with a giant virtual map of the UK populated by results through the night. Ed Conway, Sky News’ Economics and Data Editor, will head this analysis zone and be able to call up AR characters such as MPs Grant Shapps and Penny Mordaunt.
“One of our big reveals on the night is we’ve made a life-size AR model of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer,” Fisher says. “You know when you see AR footballers appear to walk out and make a gesture? Well, we got [the party leaders] to do that while they were in Grimsby for our leader’s debate on June 12.
“We’ve made a full-size 360 model of them. Their eyes will follow you around the room, the camera can get up close and personal. They’ll pop up variously through the night...
You are not signed in
Only registered users can read the rest of this article.
SXSW London: Engagement, futurism and AI collide in East London
The inaugural South by Southwest London 2025 saw Shoreditch taken over by the US-founded creative festival brand, serving up a blend of business, tech and culture to an international audience, with delegates attending from 56 countries.
Hollywood is over: Time for creators to take charge
Film and TV professionals, studio executives and kit manufacturers are urged to open up to the creator economy or face ruin.
IBC Accelerators: AI Assistance Agents in Live Production
The IBC Accelerator project envisions AI-driven production assistants that seamlessly integrate into control room workflows, enhancing live production with intelligent automation.
The Bends: Hollywood studios unite to fast-track Veo 3 education
Google’s generative filmmaking tool Veo 3 sparks Hollywood exploration but creative ownership remains in flux.
Point of ingest: Reshaping media capture and pre‐edit workflows
While questions remain over genAI’s impact on the creative sector, few can argue against the automation of mundane tasks bringing order to unprecedented volumes of footage.
