Live From Super Bowl LIX: For NFL Media, REMI Workflows Are Becoming Second Nature

Live From Super Bowl LIX: For NFL Media, REMI Workflows Are Becoming Second Nature L.A. production center in plays key role in producing hours of content from New Orleans By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Thursday, February 6, 2025 - 12:26 pm

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NFL Media is at the center of Super Bowl LIX, beginning with coverage of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's press conference; taking SRT feeds of Opening Night on Monday from host-feed producer Van Wagner and from Freeman, which handled the podium feeds; producing coverage of NFL Honors Red Carpet tonight; and, on Super Bowl Sunday, producing more than 11 hours of live pre/postgame coverage (including a special 8 -hour version of NFL Game Day Morning, starting at 9 a.m. ET, from a studio set on the field at Caesars Superdome and, for live hits, from a smaller exterior set.

From left: NFL Media's Margaret Thompson, Jessica Lee, and Ethan Balcer and the team at Caesars Superdome are working closely with production colleagues in Los Angeles.

Everything is REMI and produced out of our control rooms in Los Angeles, says Jessica Lee, VP, production operations and engineering, NFL. NFL Honors is probably our biggest presence here after game day this year as we have an actual set on the first part of the Red Carpet as well as a jib for some beauty shots.

Over the years, NFL Media has made the transition to REMI workflows in steps, with some early efforts simply a result of wanting to leverage the assets it had at the time in Culver City. And, of course, in 2022, the NFL Media crew had a Super Bowl a stone's throw away from its home production and operations center. Today, the team has faith in the capabilities of not only the facilities in New Orleans and Los Angeles but also the personnel working thousands of miles apart on live TV production.

We're getting more and more comfortable, says Lee. It's not just about REMI but also pushing the IP workflows and testing the boundaries. IP allows obvious cost reductions, and, as the networks get stronger and stronger, we can put a lot more faith in them. The real benefit is, it allows our teams who have been working together through all the years in Los Angeles to work together on the Super Bowl. Instead of having to hire local crews and flying in a few people, our whole Game Day Morning production team can work together like they have all year long.

Some production trucks, nevertheless, are onsite for NFL Media. F&F Productions is handling NFL Honors Red Carpet, and, according to NFL Technical Manager Ethan Balcer, NEP Supershooter 3 is in the Caesars Superdome compound for quality control and executive viewing. NEP TS2A and TS2B are handling local comms, Fletcher robotic operations, and AVS systems. Arctek Black is on sight to handle encoding of the red carpet show to C-band satellite and fiber for NFL Networks with 2 Sencore AFN 12 encoders multiplexing units, one primary and one back up.

NEP is also providing two great engineers for TS2A and TS2B: Jeremy Ho and Eric Burnett, he adds. They've been great to work with. EIC Eli Jeffries is handling Supershooter 3.

Three Kits from Appear, Balcer notes, are playing a bit part, helping transport signals via Lumen to The Switch, which sends them to NFL West in Los Angeles.

All the pregame coverage on Sunday will emanate from the set inside Caesars Superdome, but then a set located in the Game Day Experience area will provide some color from outside the venue (the NFL Media digital team also has a small desk there as well). That won't get active until the fans start arriving in the early afternoon.

The NFL Media team has experienced many changes this year, notably the retirements of key long-time executives Dave Shaw, Adam Acone, and Bruce Goldfeder. But the new team is in place, with NFL Senior Director, Broadcast Engineering, Lorey Andres and Senior Manager, Studio Operations Darryl Jackson, who is running the studio side of Super Bowl LIX operations in Los Angeles. Lee, Balcer, and NFL Media, Manager, Production Operations, Margaret Thompson lead the team in New Orleans.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/02/06/live-from-super-bowl-lix-nfl-me...
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