Red Dot’s Unique Live Broadcast of the 2023 Ooredoo Doha Marathon: A Spectacle Not to be Missed

Last Friday, January 20th, was a big day for Qatar Athletic Federation (QAF) and Ooredoo as the Ooredoo marathon took place on Doha Corniche.

QAF commissioned Red Dot Films to provide live coverage of the event, which featured six different distances, including 42 km, 21 km, 10 km, 5 km, and 1 km.

The live coverage of the Doha Marathon by Ooredoo 2023

The show’s real star was the 42 km race, the one broadcast live on Ooredoo’s YouTube account and on Ooredoo TV and screens set up around the Corniche for the public to enjoy.

Red Dot Films went all out to make sure the coverage was top-notch. They deployed four golf carts to follow the runners, with two camera operators filming the men’s race and another two capturing the women’s. Two golf carts were assigned to keep a close eye on the leading man and woman throughout the race.

But that’s not all. Red Dot also provided a drone that followed the runners and captured stunning beauty shots of Doha from time to time, and also fixed a pan-tilt-zoom camera (PTZ) on the finish line to capture the dramatic finishes.

42 km Route map

To ensure the coverage was of the highest quality, all cameras were attached to an outdoor broadcast van rented from Taswer Media Production. All were connected to TVU transmitters and receivers.

The man behind the preparations for covering the event was Shadab Khan, the managing director of Red Dot, and the television director, Ahmed Al-Sada, who directed it.

With over 15 years of experience directing live events, Al-Sada is no stranger to this kind of coverage. He’s even the director of the camel race, which takes place weekly in Al-Shahaniya and is shown on Al-Rayyan TV.

Al-Sada said, “I am used to this kind of live coverage, and surprisingly, the federation relied on broadcasting the event on YouTube with the quality of the television coverage.”

“The federation and Ooredoo’s officials used to enter the OB van and express their gratitude. Thankfully, I was able to fulfil what they were hoping for.”, Al-Sada added.

The president of QAF, Mohammed Al-Fadala, said, “We were determined to bring the excitement of the marathon to everyone, even if the TV coverage was a bit out of our budget. So, we got creative and decided to broadcast the coverage via YouTube. And let me tell you, it was a game-changer!”

Ooredoo Doha Marathon logo

It’s clear that the Ooredoo marathon was a huge success, and thanks to Red Dot Films’ expert coverage, everyone got to experience the excitement and thrill of the event, no matter where they were.

Red Dot Films went above and beyond just providing coverage of the event. They also created three training tips videos featuring the Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim and triathlon coach Abdullah Al Kaabi. These videos were a massive hit with the participants and helped them to prepare for the race.

It’s the tenth year of Ooredoo organising the Doha Marathon, and the event keeps getting bigger and better. This year, more than 8,000 runners registered for the six different distances, making it one of the most popular marathons.

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