Small Changes Make Substantial Differences in NFL Audio Nimble parabs, additional A2s help the sound keep up this season By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The NFL stadium crowds are back everywhere, all the time now, in a sports milieu that demands more sound, louder sound, and more sources than ever. Broadcasters' football A1s understand that the sport may be the most restrictive when it comes to access to sound sources - the league has always retained control of and access to the two player microphones on the field, a cornerstone of the sport's audio on television for a decade - but that has only made their pursuit of the rest of gridiron sound that much more intense and interesting. That has certainly continued this season.
Parabs to the Rescue At Fox Sports, lead A1 Jamie McCombs, like all football mixers, is still dealing with the loss of 20 yards of sideline real estate for his parab operators: a COVID protocol put in place by the league last year limits the movements of up to two operators per side to the area from the end zone to the 25-yard line, instead of to the 35-yard line. To compensate, he notes, submixer Eddie Verstraete has been experimenting with new microphones in the parabolic collectors - currently, a Neumann - attached to the new crossbars that parab manufacturer Klover came up with this year for its Mik 26 model. (The updated unit, currently in a beta-type stage, has stronger handles, and parts are modular to better facilitate field repairs. According to Klover President Paul Terpstra, the modification was first tested by Fox Sports during the USFL season and will be evaluated this NFL season by CBS Sports.)
A1 Jamie McCombs: It's loud, but we're really enjoying the noise.
Losing those extra sideline yards last year was tough, says McCombs. What helps is experimenting with the reach of the parabs themselves, and the NFL's enhanced audio from the microphones on the players, which is still great sound.
As per the collective-bargaining agreement between the league and the NFLPA, microphones can be placed on either a guard or the starting and backup center for each game. Fox Sports is going with six parabs this season: four on the sidelines, two in the end zones.
McCombs also notes the growing amount of Dante signal transport at games. The network is used for all RF sources, including the Shure Axient wireless microphones and the RF mics in the parabs. Most recently, its use has been extended to bringing in the voice of rules analyst Mike Pereira from Fox Sports' Los Angeles studios to any game he's needed on. His intercom and IFB are on a Unity IT-based comms system to production and from there on Dante to distribution.
We've been using Dante for two years now, and [Game Creek Video] Encore just upgraded to accommodate more Dante capability to the console, McCombs explains. We're still using Hydra networking, such as to the announce booth, but less and less of it over time as more and more Dante goes out into the field.
A2s Bring Experience to Parabolic Mics ESPN implemented a subtle but significant audio change this season when it agreed to supply two A2s as parab operators, replacing two of the four utility personnel previously assigned to four parabs per game. Jonathan Freed - one of two A1s, along with Scott Pray, for the broadcaster's flagship Monday Night Football production - says addition of the more experienced and technically capable A2s helps improve the overall audio experience with technicians who are better aware of game nuances and can better leverage the capabilities and potential of the parabs. Utility workers, as their rubric suggests, are usually relied on for such tasks as cable management behind cameras and other semi-technical jobs.
A good, experienced A2 can anticipate action on the field, which helps the production flow, he says, noting that the new A2s are working the sideline parabs, the mics most affected by the loss of sideline space. They know how the equipment works and what it can do. From my perspective, the parab operator is as important to the A1 as the camera operator is to the director. We're very happy that we were able to help make this happen.
Skycam to the Rescue The loss of sideline real estate for parabs has put an even greater premium on the Skycam, with Freed and other A1s increasingly relying on it for audio-gathering. Starting several years ago, Freed worked with the Skycam team on integrating the Schoeps SuperCMIT digital microphone aboard the unit. The mic's integrated DSP detects discrete sound from different directions while also recognizing diffuse field sound from all directions, similar to the effect produced by a shotgun mic. The algorithm is designed to suppress diffuse sound and to focus on discrete sound, giving it the capability of covering as much of the field as the camera itself while rejecting crowd noise.
But, adds Freed, the mic's digital nature means A1s can remotely access parameters - capsule gain, filtering - from the console through the SuperCMIT's digital phantom-power infrastructure. In addition, the audio signal is embedded as an AES-3 format with that of the camera and can be de-embedded and sent discretely over fiber to the A1 console.
He says, It's a fantastic improvement over the RF microphones that we used to pair with the Skycam.
Back to Loud What all NFL A1s are sharing this season is volume, with the stadiums returning to full capacity for every game. At Seattle's open-top Lumen Field, Freed measured the Broncos-Seahawks game in Week 1 at 104 dB. He notes that, to prevent overloads, he has been lowering the input gain slightly on crowd mics. It's not unexpected, and it can be challenging trying to capture all the
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
08/09/2026
Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) has announced a multi-year agreement with A E...
08/09/2026
Spectra Logic today announced the availability of Media Insight, a new capabilit...
08/09/2026
Rogers Communications and Quebecor have announced a 12-year sublicensing agreement for French-language national NHL games beginning with the 2026-27 season. TVA...
08/09/2026
Skyline Communications and Bridge Technologies will demonstrate two integrations...
08/09/2026
Boland Communications will make the European debut of its 4K55HDR7SNB 55-inch super-narrow-bezel monitor at IBC2026 (Stand 12.C57, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-1...
08/09/2026
Ateme and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) have announced a collaboration comb...
08/09/2026
Haivision has joined the IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme as part of t...
08/09/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced price reductions on its PYXIS 6K and Cinema Camera 6K models, effective immediately through Blackmagic Design resellers worldwid...
08/09/2026
AI-Media will demonstrate its LEXI Suite at IBC2026 (Booth 5.C34, September 11-1...
08/09/2026
Bitmovin and Ad Insertion Platform (AIP) have announced the first live deploymen...
08/09/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate story-centric media workflows at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), connecting newsroom production, content ma...
08/09/2026
M2A Media and Ateme have announced a partnership integrating Ateme's video processing solutions into M2A Media's MediaToAnywhere platform for live sport...
08/09/2026
Ikegami will exhibit at IBC2026 (Stand 12.A31, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), including a Day 1 introduction of new cameras in the UNICAM XE series. Additiona...
08/09/2026
Broadcast industry analysts will be gathering plenty of insights at the 2026 IBC Show this weekend in Amsterdam, but Caretta Research has offered up some though...
08/09/2026
SENSHI and DAZN have announced a global broadcast partnership that will bring SENSHI's live events free to viewers in more than 200 markets. The partnership...
08/09/2026
New architecture built with Evertz will bring 4K HDR to Monday Night Football, N...
08/09/2026
Built for rap producers, by rap producers
Sauceware Audio, the independent plug-in company founded by Grammy-nominated producer Jacob (Travis Scott, 21 Sava...
08/09/2026
Classic Sound Techniques design revived
Warm Audio's latest release delivers a meticulous recreation of the preamp circuitry employed by the Sound Techn...
08/09/2026
Latest soft synth inspired by the Memorymoog
XILS Lab have just launched a software instrument that draws its inspiration from Moog's iconic Memorymoog,...
08/09/2026
The Airport Chaplain takes off as SBS's biggest launch of 2026
8 September, 2026
Media releases
1.67 million viewers on National Total TV to date
Best...
08/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/09/2026
Mo-Sys, the world-leading developer of virtual production, camera robotics and image tracking technology, has completed a business restructuring, which has incl...
08/09/2026
New York, September 8, 2026 The TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure developed by Telef nica's Audiovisual Services area re...
08/09/2026
Expanded Riyadh operation brings Asharq and Thmanyah services together on a resilient on-premises Pebble platform.
Pebble, the leading automation, content mana...
08/09/2026
Techex, a pioneering leader in live video workflows, will showcase its broadest software feature set to date at IBC 2026 (Stand 2.B45), extending its lead in so...
08/09/2026
Visitors to Grass Valley's booth at IBC2026 will be introduced to new Framelight X capabilities that connect content acquisition, management, editing and pu...
08/09/2026
BCNEXXT will showcase the latest evolution of Vipe at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B09), introducing a series of innovations designed to deliver higher-quality audience exp...
08/09/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Ad Insertion Platform (AIP), a leading innovator in advanced ad insertion technologies, to...
08/09/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics and augmented and virtual production, is announcing a major package of enhancements to its Suite 7 soft...
08/09/2026
Big Blue Marble is supporting TDF, French infrastructure and network operator, broadcasting Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and radio services, as a techno...
08/09/2026
Agents work inside a single production environment, from incoming wire copy to a live studio show...
08/09/2026
Building on their strategic partnership, Ceeblue and Layercake make the unthinkable possible: scalable sub-second streaming over standard DRM, SSAI, and CDN wor...
08/09/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is completing the environment for fast-paced broadcast production wi...
08/09/2026
A SaaS portfolio built to work together, helping operators grow audiences, monetise smarter and run leaner, on their own terms
At IBC 2026 (stand 1.B49) Synam...
08/09/2026
Accedo, global provider of video streaming software and services, has been selected by PlayOn Sports, a national leader in high school sports technology, to exp...
08/09/2026
LiveU, the leader in live IP-video solutions, is enabling The Associated Press to take global newsgathering to the next stage with intelligent connectivity and ...
08/09/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced the latest evolution of it...
08/09/2026
Compact, power-efficient X Platform performance brings broadcast-grade reliability and ultra-low latency to space-constrained remote production (REMI) workflows...
08/09/2026
Zixi, the leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Kiloview, a leading provider of professional IP video encoding and decoding solutions, t...
08/09/2026
Collaboration gives content owners scalable CDN capacity and broadcasters enhanced flexibility, including for C-band transition planning
Quortex today announce...
08/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/09/2026
Telos Alliance and Pluxbox Announce Dynamic Media Facility Integration Partnersh...
08/09/2026
J nger Audio Showcases Industry-First S-ADM Cloud Workflow at IBC 2026
Search
Dolby, MainConcept, Techex and J nger Audio will showcase the industry's ...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Sky Go gets a major upgrade for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers
Today, Sky launches a new version of the Sky Go app for Sky Glass ...
08/09/2026
Documentary thriller simulating a Russian attack on UK soil will culminate in a live final episode reuniting the playersTuesday 8 September 2026
Trailer releas...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Jamie Demetriou and Amelia Dimoldenberg to host next t...
08/09/2026
Wuppertal September 8, 2026
Riedel Introduces New OnAir Headset PlatformRiedel Communications today announced the launch of its new OnAir headset platform, a...
Small Changes Make Substantial Differences in NFL Audio Nimble parabs, additional A2s help the sound keep up this season By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
