
Bally Sports Regional Networks Rolls Out Cloud Control Rooms To Boost Storytelling for Local Viewers Developed with Mobile TV Group, Cloud Control will be extended to all Bally Sports RSNs this fall By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Wednesday, July 21, 2021 - 3:12 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
When sports resumed after the pandemic shutdown, regional sports networks were forced to transition to a world-feed production model that severely limited the away-team RSN's ability to customize its broadcast for local fans. In an effort to remain efficient while also restoring RSNs' storytelling capabilities, Bally Sports Regional Networks is launching Cloud Control rooms at the home offices of its 19 RSNs (as well as at Sinclair-owned sibling Marquee Sports Network in Chicago).
With [Cloud Control], you truly have control of your own show again, explains Mike Connelly, EVP, production, Bally Sports Networks. Our producers and directors can cut their own show again like they did the with the traditional dual-feed model [prior to the pandemic]. At the same time, we're saving costs by not having to travel our entire [crew] for away shows because [crew members are] located at the [Cloud Control room] in their office.
Bally Sports' first Cloud Control room officially launched at Bally Sports North in Minneapolis for a Twins-Royals series at the beginning of June and was followed by Marquee Sports Network in Chicago this month. In both Minneapolis and Chicago, CC rooms are being used for selected MLB productions in which Mobile TV Group (MTVG) is the truck provider for the away-team venue. Here's a look at Bally Sports North's Cloud Control setup in Minneapolis:
https://www.sportsvideo.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_5929.mp4
CC rooms are in place and being tested at Bally Sports Florida (Ft. Lauderdale), South (Atlanta), and Southwest (Dallas), with plans to begin broadcasting next month. The goal is to have CC rooms finalized and tested at all Bally Sports RSNs by September, so that all 19 will be up and running for the start of NHL and NBA seasons in the fall.
How It Works: Truck Is Onsite, Most of the Crew Is at Home With Cloud Control, the Bally Sports producer, director, and EVS replay, Vizrt graphics, and score-box operators remain at the away-team's RSN's home office and use control panels to remotely control the technical facilities in the mobile unit, which is at the away venue. Multiview feeds (not individual camera feeds) from the truck are brought back to the CC room to allow the director to cut the show just as they would if they were in the onsite mobile unit.
With Cloud Control, the director and producer are able to call the broadcast for away games from a control room at the home office like this one in Minneapolis.
The mobile unit - typically a dual-feed unit that serves both the home and the away shows - provides the home show with a full-blown facility and the visiting network with its own switcher/TD and audio console/A1. The visiting network has access to three dedicated cameras plus all the home show's cameras (including four super-slo-mos). Two EVS replay servers are dedicated to the away team and networked to all the EVS gear in the home show, including the super-slo-mo units.
You get the same number of [unilateral] cameras that they had in a traditional dual-feed model before [the pandemic] and access to all the home-show cameras with dual tallies, says Connelly. Your director can still cut the game like they normally would; they just aren't actually in the truck.
He adds that Cloud Control offers considerable cost reductions for the away-team RSN, which isn't dependent on a world feed produced by the home-team RSN. Under the Cloud Control model, the home production staff does not need to travel, and construction of the CC rooms is at a fraction of the cost of a typical control room.
You're saving costs on travel, and you're not over-extending yourself on capital costs, Connelly notes, [The production team] is still with the team at least 50% of the time, so you're not losing that intimacy you worked so hard to develop. Everything is based on that intimate relationship and making sure that we serve the needs of the team. We can still do that very effectively.
Connectivity between the CC room and the mobile unit requires only 300 Mb (depending on the venue and the situation), and MTVG provides the coordination to ensure proper communication between the remote-control panels at the RSN's office and the MTVG mobile unit at the venue.
This is truly the next stage of the dual-feed model and allows us to serve the needs of our team partners by creating broadcasts that cater to the hometown fans, says Connelly. Our entire business is built on the relationships and intimacy we have with our teams, and this keeps our [production crews] close with our teams in their home markets instead of at a centralized control room. [Viewers] are going to see a high-quality show geared towards their team rather than the more generic [world feed] that we've had to do with [during the pandemic]. That's really exciting.
Looking Back: Years-Long Effort Comes to Fruition According to Connelly, the concept has been in development for several years, dating back to his group's previous life as Fox Sports Regional Networks prior to Sinclair's acquiring the RSNs from Disney (via 21st Century Fox) in 2019. While still under the Fox Sports umbrella, Connelly and his team were exploring ways to reduce travel without sacrificing production quality or staff. His team worked with MTVG to begin developing the system that would eventually become Cloud Control.
Cloud Control rooms are primarily deployed in what was previously office or conference space at Bally Sports RSNs.
When
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...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
27/08/2026
Advertisers gain granular CTV targeting and turnkey reporting across eligible in...
27/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/08/2026
Profuz Digital makes a mark by launching a powerful upgrade to its Profuz LAPIS digital media management platform this IBC in Amsterdam at Stand 8.A88. The late...
27/08/2026
DHD.audio has chosen IBC 2026 as the launch venue for what it defines as one of the most radical advances in the companys 30 year history.
Every broadcast trad...
27/08/2026
Direct connectivity between planning, production and graphics for creativity and streamlined workflows...
27/08/2026
New Photoshop innovations bring you more choice and control at every stage of yo...
27/08/2026
First Two Seasons of Vertical Series Vultures Shot on Blackmagic Design Cameras
Brie Clayton August 27, 2026
0 Comments
Director and DoP of Vultures ...
27/08/2026
For years, the media and entertainment industry has hesitated to use AI-voiced dubbing due to concern for audience experience. New data from 3Play Media, a glob...
27/08/2026
Starfish Technologies has announced the forthcoming V9 release of its Advantage AD workstation, adding support for voice synthesis services and giving Audio Des...
27/08/2026
Lightware's UBEX is a powerful AV-over-IP product well suited for rental and staging workflows where systems must be fast to deploy, easy to repurpose, and ...
27/08/2026
Lightware has expanded the scalability of its 10G TPN AV-over-IP platform with the introduction of the new TPN-MMU-X100 Matrix Management Unit, enabling systems...
27/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/08/2026
PlayBox Neo Stand 7.C29 IBC2026 - 11 14 September
Well-established global specialists in media playout, automation, and streaming solutions, PlayBox Neo ...
27/08/2026
Rise Academy, the broadcast and media skills charity dedicated to delivering practical media technology learning experiences, careers resources and work experie...
27/08/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, will showcase the latest evolution of its ...
27/08/2026
Screen Australia opens applications for Global Fellowships Program 27 August 2026
Applications are now open for the Screen Australia Global Fellowships progra...
27/08/2026
More Sasquatch, more fun: Today, the sneakiest crossover of the summer lands exc...
27/08/2026
Commissioned for RT KIDS as part of the EBU Kids' Drama Exchange The Note will premiere Sunday August 30, 5:10pm
RT One and RT Player
The Note tells a...
27/08/2026
August 27 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Laboratories Announces Leadership Transition
Kevin Yeaman to Retire from Dolby
Marc Whitten Named President, Chief Exe...
27/08/2026
NVIDIA's Gamescom announcements are revealing what's next for GeForce NOW, with new ways to play, more supported devices and platforms, and even more bi...
26/08/2026
Applicants interested in the Media Innovation Europe 3.0 Validation Booster call can now consult a new FAQ document addressing practical questions raised during...
26/08/2026
Roku Sports Channel will stream eight matches free beginning Aug. 30 as league shifts Sunday-night games away from Victory+...
26/08/2026
Evertz and Mobile TV Group detail how on-premises infrastructure and cloud resou...
26/08/2026
The Sennheiser Group will demonstrate its broadcast audio portfolio at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Booth D50), covering wireless microphone workflows, studio monitoring, a...
26/08/2026
Appear and Transmisiones Televisivas TVTEL Limitada have announced the deploymen...
26/08/2026
Leader Electronics has announced that Danish broadcast rental company Minitech has purchased a Leader LPX500 hybrid IP/SDI waveform monitor and LT4670 sync puls...
26/08/2026
Encompass will demonstrate its Altitude media services at IBC2026 (IAMT Hub, Diamond Lounge, Hall 3, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14).
Key products on show incl...
26/08/2026
Daktronics has partnered with Massillon Washington High School in Ohio to install a new LED video display and implement the Daktronics Camino show control platf...
26/08/2026
Clear-Com has appointed Dubai-based Venuetech LLC as its main partner for the Middle East. Venuetech distributes professional audiovisual solutions across the r...
26/08/2026
NBC Sports NOW, NBC Sports' free 24/7 streaming channel, will launch a new weekday lineup beginning Monday, August 31, including two new shows.
Not So Fast...
26/08/2026
Calrec will demonstrate updates to its ImPulseV DSP software and Argo ecosystem at IBC2026 (Stand 8.C47), including previews aligned with the EBU's Dynamic ...
26/08/2026
Imagine Communications will demonstrate AI applications across its ad tech and video infrastructure portfolios at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, September...
26/08/2026
Dalet will demonstrate updates to Dalet Flex, Dalet Pyramid, and Dalia, its agentic AI platform, at IBC2026 (Hall 7, Stand 7.A43). The company will also partici...
26/08/2026
Team-owned platform will stream every locally carried Predators game beginning t...
26/08/2026
The 12-day tournament receives the broadcaster's full onsite-studio presence...
26/08/2026
A synth with no controls?
If you're into weird and wonderful instruments, then you may already be familiar with Warsaw-based SOMA Laboratory - if you...
26/08/2026
Physical modelling orchestral instrument announced
Following their recent cryptic hints, Dreamtonics have officially revealed the latest addition to their s...
26/08/2026
Discussions at the Meitingen site on competitiveness, energy supply, and fuel cell technology
Bertram Brossardt, CEO of the Bavarian metal and electrical emplo...
26/08/2026
Rohde & Schwarz USA celebrates grand opening of new manufacturing center in Fred...
26/08/2026
For large media companies, the content archive is a gold mine. There are thousands of hours of existing, high-value assets just waiting to be tapped for highlig...
26/08/2026
Ad Supported Viewing Represents 71.5% of TV in Q2
Streaming Captures Over 48% o...
26/08/2026
Charity sector ad spend reached $278 million as 44% of Australians donated to ch...
26/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...