SVG Sit-Down: Verizon Business's Lee Field, Michael Ruhnke, Josh Arensberg on Making Video Ingest Over 5G the Norm Verizon looks to extend its NFL success across the sports-media industry By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, May 26, 2023 - 12:54 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
With the sports-broadcast industry moving toward IP and major onsite sports events requiring massive amounts of connectivity to power fan experiences, telecommunications providers like Verizon are at the center of much of what makes live sports exciting and entertaining.
Most notably, Verizon Business has been working closely with the National Football League on projects surrounding tentpole events like the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft to build unique and connected fan experiences largely around video. Those use cases are setting the stage for similar 5G-layered deployments across sports of all kinds and sizes.
From left: Verizon Business's Michael Ruhnke, Lee Field, and Josh Arensberg at NAB 2023
SVG recently spoke with Verizon Business Managing Director, Global Solutions, Lee Field; Group VP, Enterprise and Commercial Accounts, Michael Ruhnke, and CTO, Media and Entertainment, Josh Arensberg about how the company's work can be scaled, how they see broadcasters demanding higher connectivity at venues, and what's next for the company in its work in live sports production.
What is Verizon Business's chief goal as it pertains to its involvement in live sports production?
Field: [Our focus is] taking what we've done with private network for the NFL and creating use cases typically around video. In the next six months, we would like to see video ingest on 5G become not just a science experiment but the norm. We're working with different leagues, different teams, different sports to build out those use cases and develop how the future of connectivity for video ingest looks.
The NFL is a big-time project: we're talking about the Super Bowl inside a new building like SoFi Stadium. What learnings from that are transferable or scalable or replicable for a league that's not the NFL and an event that's not the Super Bowl?
Field: As we were testing what we were doing, we did a lot of the testing in Miami [at Hard Rock Stadium], and [our] equipment was there for a good period of time. We found all sorts of different nuances, because there's quite an RF-dense environment on that site. We run a macro network. All of the carriers operate in there; they use different spectrum, different frequencies. We found quite quickly how we can build CBRS [Citizens Broadband Radio Service] and a private network to coexist with existing networks, and we could see that it was transferable. Any sport that's using digital radio or any RF-based communication mechanism, this is what the future looks like for them.
We're going to see a huge shift from radio and the business spectrum that the radio guys use. Everything's crossing our network: LTE Band 48 support is there in an iPhone; it's there in a Samsung device. Everyone has the kit already. We've got the network already; we've got the private-network capability. That's where we are seeing these things move.
Ruhnke: And you can apply that to motorsport. One of the next conversations is taking it to [hockey] and getting broadcasters behind the bench.
Field: We've done a lot of work making it mobile. As sports move around, so do we. A great example was the work we did in London with the NFL: deliver those games. Deliver the same thing in Germany. That was a lesson learned because, typically, we're very good at selling our networks in the U.S.; we've gotten very good at it in Europe. We're extending to Asia Pacific, and you'll see quite quickly things that we are doing outside of the U.S.
Ruhnke: As the big picture, we think about outcomes. On private-network technology, it's all about what is the use case? What is the next thing we can do beyond coach-to-coach? Maybe that's coach-to-player. What's the next thing that we can do with layering experiences in a venue instance: accelerated access, cashless retail - those types of things we're doing to push the envelope a little bit. Not just getting it there but leveraging it for that next use case that makes an experience better, makes venues operate better.
Field: It's a good point around what we're doing with edge compute. The work we've done with that is putting wavelength - so, edge compute - inside the cellular network and going, next step, in the venue. Imagine a scenario where I could deploy a Zixi media gateway inside the venue on an edge-compute node or a private network or a public network that gives me the ability to pull video over a private network, push it out to the fans in the stadium, and also push it out to any distribution broadcast platform. With what's changing in the market, the entire RSM model? Right place, right time.
In the business, are you speaking with broadcasters as well, or are most of your conversations with leagues, facilities, venues?
Field: A bit of both. We're in that space because we can learn things and solve problems that are incredibly applicable to our enterprise customer base. If we could solve it for 80,000, 100,000 people at an F1 event, we can take that into the theme-park industry. We could take it into large campus environments. We could take into financial services, manufacturing. It's taking those lessons that we learn in an environment where low latency is key, where no frame loss is key, where reliability is key. You cannot drop a video or the communications for a league. The level of resilience is incredible. We're solving problems that are big problems.
Ruhnke: We're excited. There are major opportunities and even
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
12/05/2026
Taiwan Television has expanded its HD content ingest workflow capabilities by investing in the PlayBox Neo Suite - a leading multi-channel multi-server UHD/HD/S...
12/05/2026
Jigsaw24 is strengthening its media team with the appointment of Tom Laker as Client Director and Ashish Chauhan as Project Manager. These strategic hires bring...
12/05/2026
Broadcast playout leader showcases hybrid IP infrastructure and workflow automation with Videoland deployment as regional benchmark...
12/05/2026
dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its centralised approach to production workflows...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
SVG Sit-Down: Verizon Business's Lee Field, Michael Ruhnke, Josh Arensberg on Making Video Ingest Over 5G the Norm Verizon looks to extend its NFL success across the sports-media industry By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
