Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

MLB Draft Broadcast Is a Total Team Effort in Transmiion

07/06/2013

There once was a time when the MLB Draft was no more than a glorified conference call no different from one the average American office employee might struggle to stay awake through on a random Monday morning.

Today, it's a television and Internet behemoth that utilizes nearly all the media assets under the Major League Baseball umbrella. From MLB Network to MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) to the Commissioner's Office to the team video coordinators, the baseball-video world plays a role in the production, which aired on MLB Network last night and will continue today through Saturday on MLB.com.

Coordination Across the League

The best example of the magnitude of the coordination that goes into pulling off this broadcast lies in MLBAM's Remote Operations Group.

MLB Advanced Media's TOC takes in feeds from 26 draft rooms while maintaining its regular game-night workload.

Twenty-six of the league's 30 clubs have given MLB Network and MLBAM access to their draft rooms. With each venue offering a different level of connectivity, MLBAM Production/Technical Coordinator Krista Heritage faced unique challenges.

According to Heritage, most of the setups are done through relationships with the organizations' video technicians and scoreboard operators. The production team will deploy its own in-house camera within the draft room.

To transmit the signal, in most ballparks, MLBAM has existing infrastructure used during game days. In those instances, the signal travels over the MLB.com MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching), the same network that brings games back from the ballpark.

I am very thankful to the tech guys we work with at the ball clubs, says Heritage. There's a lot of feeds for us to handle, and the teams are great when I reach out to them. They take care of it and make my life really easy.

There are a few cases when things are not that cut and dried. In those instances, MLBAM is deploying LIveU and TVU Networks transmission backpacks. According to MLBAM Senior Director, Remote Operations, James Johnson, the teams were asked for a 10-meg pipe to allow a high-quality transmission in three venues where fibering to the MPLS was not practical.

The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks are not drafting at their stadiums but instead are at their shared Spring Training facility, Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, AZ. There, MLBAM was supplied with two 10-meg pipes to which it hooked up a LiveU and a TVU backpack. The remote also deployed a LiveU at Milwaukee's Miller Park and a TVU in Detroit's Comerica Park.

We've been doing it for several years. I don't want to say it's the same thing every year, because it's not, but we know what to expect, and Krista knows how to work with the teams, says Johnson. It's a very delicate situation as you would expect. [The Draft] is their organization, and it is their future. It's not so much the planning as it is the relationships with the scoreboard operators and Bexel and TVU and LiveU.

All remote signals which include a small handful of camera feeds at players' homes are sent to the Transmission Operations Center (TOC) at MLBAM's Chelsea Market facilities in New York City.

Who Are These Guys?

While the production value of the MLB Draft is on par with that of its more mainstream counterparts at the NFL and NBA, MLB deals with challenges those leagues don't face: primarily, viewers for the most part have had little to no exposure to the players being selected.

This is the challenge we have because baseball players aren't seen as much as the college players in football or basketball, where games are on all of the time. And a lot of the guys being selected [in our draft] are in high school, explains Marc Weiner, MLB Network's coordinating producer for the MLB Draft. The challenge that we accept is, who are these guys? So we have to find that out and tell their story.

With just 73 picks made last night, MLB Network was prepared with B-roll and graphics for more than 400 prospects. The network's graphics team began creating graphics as early as February, and video from college athletic departments and scouts was aggregated and compiled throughout the year.

Our guys really dig deep and take a look at the video and talk with scouts and coaches. That's how we tell who are these guys, why are they relevant, and why, if I'm the fan of a team, am I interested.

There's no Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg in this year's draft class, so Weiner and the MLB Network team will hang their hats on names like Stephen Rodriguez and Michael Wacha, two of the five players who were drafted last year and have already made their Major League debuts.

It's not like it used to be, where it took five, six years before you saw any of these guys, says Weiner. Sure, five isn't a big percentage, but, if I'm a Cardinals fan and I see them take Michael Wacha and now he's already making his debut as a starting pitcher in May, that means something. Let me know more about this guy. That's our job. That's our challenge. Let the fan know who these guys are.

A look inside MLB Network's Studio 42 in Secaucus, NJ, on Thursday night suggests how big this event has grown.

If there's a capacity in Studio 42, we have to be close to it, laughs Weiner, who is overseeing MLB Network's draft broadcast for the second year.

Each MLB club and nine draft prospects were in attendance for the broadcast. To cover the festivities, MLB Network had a studio set for on-air talent and deployed a small arsenal of remote cameras and a jib to sweep through the studio capturing the various guests representing each team (legendary names like Frank Thomas and Tommy Lasorda were on hand).
LINK: http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2013/06/07/mlb-draft-broadcast-is-a-t...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

04/08/2024

Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....

03/06/2024

Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...

15/05/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Jianjie Lin, the Writer-Director Behind Brief History of a Family

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

15/05/2024

De viktigaste insikterna frn Spotifys rliga Loud & Clear-rapport

Med sin rliga royaltyrapport Loud & Clear kar Spotify transparensen i musikindustrin, s att artister, l tskrivare, fans och hela musikbranschen f r en st rre...

15/05/2024

Chegaram as ltimas estatsticas: Artistas brasileiros geraram mais receita e alcanaram mais fs no Spotify - basta perguntar Anitta

Nos ltimos 10 a 15 anos, a mudan a para o streaming de udio transformou comple...

15/05/2024

The Latest Stats Are In: Brazilian Artists Generated More Revenue and Reached More Fans on Spotify-Just Ask Anitta

Over the last 10-15 years, the move toward streaming audio has completely transf...

15/05/2024

Celebrating 80 years of success in Morganton

On May 15th, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the SGL Carbon site in Morganton, North Carolina. The entire SGL Morganton family came together to celebrate t...

15/05/2024

SBS Audio marketing campaign tells the stories of new Australians, with multilingual content offerings to assist migrants

SBS Audio marketing campaign tells the stories of new Australians, with multilin...

15/05/2024

ST Engineering iDirect's SKYflow Wins 2024 NAB Show Product of The Year Award

The pioneering satellite OTT solution clinched the Hardware Infrastructure award...

15/05/2024

L3Harris CEO to Present at Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference

MELBOURNE, Fla., May 15, 2024 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik will present at the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions C...

15/05/2024

Netflix to Stream Live Christmas Day NFL Games

In a major example of how large streaming services are successfully battling for lucrative sports rights, Netflix has announced that it has secured global right...

15/05/2024

NAB Show: Creative Lens on Live Sports

LAS VEGAS The premise of the 2024 NAB Shows Creative Lens on Live Sports: Next Gen Video Production and Fan Experiences session was very simple to understand if...

15/05/2024

ATEME Integrates Advanced HDR by Technicolor into TITAN Encoders

SILVER SPRINGS, Md. Encoder specialist ATEME has integrated Advanced HDR by Technicolor into its TITAN video compression solution, Technicolor said today....

15/05/2024

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major US Music Festivals this Summer and Fall

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major US Music Festivals this Summer and Fall The Berklee Popular Music Institute arranged placements at top festivals including...

15/05/2024

ABC Sets The Golden Bachelorette' for Fall Schedule

ABC shared its 2024-2025 fall schedule hours before the Disney upfront presentation Tuesday, May 14. There's The Golden Bachelorette, a new Ryan Murphy show...

15/05/2024

Alicia Keys Kicks Off Amazon Upfront Show, Reese Witherspoon Wraps It Up

Amazon's first-ever upfront presentation, at Pier 36 in Lower Manhattan, got a late start due to its remote location. But the energy spiked when Alicia Keys...

15/05/2024

Disney Upfront Welcomes Back Bob Iger and Jimmy Kimmel

The Walt Disney Co.'s upfront presentation went on with a connections theme, and Bob Iger himself appeared onstage moments after it began. Emma Stone introd...

15/05/2024

Hulu's Under the Bridge' Tops TVision Power Score Rankings

Hulu's Under the Bridge moved up to take the top spot in TVision's Power Score rankings of the top shows on connected TV for the week of May 6....

15/05/2024

The CW Gets Rights to 11 PAC-12 Football Games

BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network has announced it will be the broadcast home for 11 Pac-12 football games featuring Oregon State and Washington State during the u...

15/05/2024

Nielsen: Disney Is Top Media Distributor with 11.5% of TV Usage

NEW YORK Disney has landed on top of Nielsens newly launched Media Distributor Gauge, which offers its first cross-platform view of total TV consumption across ...

15/05/2024

Max Sets a May 21 Streaming Debut for 'Dune: Part Two

Warner Bros. Discoverys Max streaming services has finally set a launch date for Dune: Part Two with the announcement that the film will begin streaming on Thur...

15/05/2024

FCC Establishes Spectrum Steering Team

WASHINGTON, D.C. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the establishment of the Spectrum Steering Team that will lead the FCC's efforts to develo...

15/05/2024

Gary Heelas joins TSL as principal engineer

TSL said the appointment marks a strategic enhancement in the companys commitment to focusing on UK and US-designed and manufactured solutions By Jenny Priestl...

15/05/2024

Is Sony about to pull out of its bid for Paramount?

Sony and Apollo may decide to acquire Shari Redstone's National Amusements, which is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global By Jenny Priestley P...

15/05/2024

Presteigne Broadcast Hire enters administration

The company appointed administrators yesterday (May 14th) By Jenny Priestley Published: May 15, 2024 The company appointed administrators yesterday (May 1...

15/05/2024

Matrox Video Demos at InfoComm 2024 Will Showcase New AVo...

Technology innovator Matrox Video today announced that the company will highlight its leading AV-over-IP (AVoIP) technologies including the brand-new, next-g...

15/05/2024

RMi Amplifies Connectivity and Clarity at Major 2024 Musi...

Riedel Communications today announced its pivotal role in bringing unparalleled audio clarity and connectivity to one of the U.S.'s biggest 2024 music and a...

15/05/2024

Chyron Unveils Significant Updates to Chyron LIVE Cloud P...

Chyron today released a series of significant updates to its Chyron LIVE cloud-native live production platform that were demonstrated at the 2024 NAB Show in La...

15/05/2024

VisualOn to Showcase Revolutionary Optimizer Content-Awar...

VisualOn, a leader in video software technology, is set to unveil its groundbreaking Optimizer suite at Broadcast Asia 2024. The unveiling will take place in th...

15/05/2024

StreamVue announce exclusive parnership with DigiBox

StreamVue, one of the global leaders in IPTV and digital signage solutions is excited to announce an exclusive distribution partnership with DigiBox, one of the...

15/05/2024

Vega Project Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow for XR Studio in Hilton Tokyo

Vega Project Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow for XR Studio in Hilton Tokyo Brie Clayton May 14, 2024 0 Comments Blackmagic Design announced today that...

15/05/2024

Chaos Releases V-Ray 6 Benchmark

Chaos Releases V-Ray 6 Benchmark Brie Clayton May 14, 2024 0 Comments Popular Rendering Benchmark Brings Back CPU/GPU Stats in a Minute; New Benchmark...

15/05/2024

Rose City Futsal Sets New Standard for Community Sports Venues with AI-Automated Sports Production & Streaming Solution

Rose City Futsal Sets New Standard for Community Sports Venues with AI-Automated...

15/05/2024

That Station Artist Notes Series Returns This Summer

Artist Notes is back! Join That Station this summer for the conversation and concert series where you get to hear an artist on stage to not only play music, but...

15/05/2024

Assembling Disney's Upfront: It Takes More Than Magic (Video)

A lot goes into making The Walt Disney Co.'s upfront presentation....

15/05/2024

Madhive Names Premion Founder Jim Wilson President

Madhive, which provides technology for local connected TV advertising, said that it named Jim Wilson as president....

15/05/2024

Amazon Prime Video Swings With Nicholas Cage Spider-Man Series

At its first upfront presentation to advertisers, Amazon Prime Video announced new series and renewed some of its hits....

15/05/2024

Nielsen Crowns Disney in New Ranking of Media Distributors

Nielsen released a new ranking of companies in the media distribution business, including broadcast, cable and streaming, and The Walt Disney Co. was at the top...

15/05/2024

Latin Culture Is Key at TelevisaUnivision Upfront

TelevisaUnivision told advertisers at its upfront presentation Tuesday about more ways they can connect with Latin culture, including through music and live eve...

15/05/2024

MAGYAR TELEKOM RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024

MAGYAR TELEKOM RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024 Budapest, May 15, 2024 17:35 Magyar Telekom today reported its consolidated financial results for the...

15/05/2024

Tech Focus: Production Music, Part 1: Changes Come to the Sports Sector

Tech Focus: Production Music, Part 1: Changes Come to the Sports Sector Spurring the changes are increased custom-music demand, RSN turmoil, legal issues, AI B...

15/05/2024

SVG Sit-Down: Diversified's Justo Gutierrez Explores the Evolution of Sound for Sports Venues

SVG Sit-Down: Diversified's Justo Gutierrez Explores the Evolution of Sound ...

15/05/2024

SVG Sit-Down: Audiotonix' CEO James Gordon on Utilizing the Company's Brands for Smart Investment

New deal: Audiotonix' CEO James Gordon on utilising the company's brands...

15/05/2024

Commentary Revolution: DAZN's Technical Production Manager Max Mosgraber Talks Doing More With Less

Commentary revolution: DAZN's technical production manager Max Mosgraber tal...

15/05/2024

Telling Stories: How Podcast Pushing Faders is Giving a Voice to the Sports Broadcasting Audio Community

Telling stories: How podcast Pushing Faders is giving a voice to the sports broa...

15/05/2024

SVG Europe Audio Joins Forces With Audio Broadcast Podcast Pushing Faders

SVG Europe Audio joins forces with audio broadcast podcast Pushing Faders By Heather McLean Monday, April 29, 2024 - 10:40 Print This Story SVG Europe Aud...

15/05/2024

Building Forces: How Audiotonix Has Built its Portfolio of Audio Greats and What Might Be Coming Next

Building forces: How Audiotonix has built its portfolio of audio greats and what...

15/05/2024

SVG Europe Audio: Future Audio Forum Exploring Personalization, Intelligibility and Accessibility Announced for 13 June

SVG Europe Audio: Future Audio Forum exploring personalisation, intelligibility ...

15/05/2024

Pac-12 Enterprises Names Michael Molinari as New SVP of Business Development & Studio Operations

Pac-12 Enterprises Names Michael Molinari as New SVP of Business Development & S...

15/05/2024

Netflix Feels the Yuletide Spirit With Two Christmas Day Games This Year; Streamer To Have Holiday Game in 2025, 2026

Netflix Feels the Yuletide Spirit With Two Christmas Day Games This Year; Stream...