Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the SkyCam and Sony Efforts To Make 4K 240-fps Imaging on SkyCam a Reality The dual system will provide more of a tactical view' of the action By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Saturday, February 8, 2025 - 7:49 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
SkyCam's big presence at a Super Bowl is nothing new, but, at Super Bowl LIX, the two SkyCam units flying around the Caesars Superdome will bring something new to the world of cabled camera systems.
The low one will have a Kudan LiDAR sensor mounted on the bottom to improve the stability of the AR graphics inserted into SkyCam shots. The high SkyCam features a new Sony P50A camera, which will capture 4k images at 240 frames per second, providing a new pixel- and frame-rich environment enabling the FOX Sports replay team to do everything from HD cutouts to tracking objects, telestration, and much more.
From left: SkyCam GM/COO Stephen Wharton, Game High Sky EIC Jason Curl, SkyCam Lead EIC Brad Eisele, and SkyCam, VP, Software Tim Demers
It will provide more of a tactical view, says Steve Wharton, GM/COO/CTO, SkyCam, where you can see the routes and a lot of the blocking, especially on the edges of the line. On the low SkyCam, we can show the big pockets and holes from a low perspective, but the high SkyCam can offer a tactical view.
The high SkyCam at Super Bowl LIX is outfitted with a Sony P50A, which will capture 4K images at 240 fps.
SkyCam has about 20 people onsite, including four sets of pilots and operators: one set for the low SkyCam, one for the high SkyCam, a third for the pregame show, and a fourth for the halftime show.
Each of the guys has a set of responsibilities and controls, Wharton explains. The pilots are responsible for flying the SkyCam; you can think of it like flying a fighter jet. The operators are the ones pulling focus.
The SkyCam system comprises three distinct components: the cameras and the pilot and operator controls; the winches and cabling (which will be located on the 600 level at Caesars Superdome); and the truck ties and the AR graphics. Says Wharton, Everything gets orchestrated together.
Getting SkyCam ready for a Super Bowl requires months of planning. The team not only has to figure out where to rig the system but also needs to consider the additional speaker and lighting clusters put in place for the halftime show. This year, integrating the new Sony camera into the SkyCam workflow took some time, as did ensuring that signals were transported properly across fiber connects from the camera to the production team.
From left: High Sky Operator Austin Ellsworth; Low Sky Pilot Alex Milton; Sam High Sky Pilot Walker; SkyCam, VP, Software, Tim Demers; SkyCam GM/COO/CTO Stephen Wharton; and SkyCam, Manager, Technical Operations, Mark StreapyTim Demers, SkyCam, VP Software; Stephen Wharton, SkyCam, GM, COO & CTO; Mark Streapy, SkyCam, Technical Operations Manager
This camera is going to get looks the production team otherwise would not have, says Wharton. It's not like a pylon cam, which is useful only for plays on the goal line. This is useful on every play.
North America Stories
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
11/06/2026
Telemundo will launch its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on Thursday, June 11 with...
11/06/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. Fubo customers can now stream Telemundo and Universo, with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced its in-app features for FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage in Spain...
11/06/2026
Roblox has released the 2026 Roblox Digital Expression Report: Wave 4 - Sports D...
11/06/2026
FIFA has unveiled DNA, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem, performed by A...
11/06/2026
ESPN will provide English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 across its U.S. media platforms from June 11 through July 1...
11/06/2026
The latest product of the outstanding RIT Sports Network program, this recent grad from Long Island is carving out a promising path in broadcast engineering
In...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced a multi-year agreement to make DSPORTS channels available to ...
11/06/2026
Laura Dern at the 1986 Sundance Institute Directors Lab (Photo by Eric Edwards)
By Lucy Spicer
It takes a village to bring together the Sundance Institute lab...
11/06/2026
MTI FILM acquires Mango/New Edit Posted by MTI Film on June 10, 2026
LOS ANGELES, CA - June 2026 - MTI FILM, the multiple Emmy Award winning Hollywood post-p...
11/06/2026
Study underscores the need for authoritative content intelligence to build trust...
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the SkyCam and Sony Efforts To Make 4K 240-fps Imaging on SkyCam a Reality The dual system will provide more of a tactical view' of the action By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
