
CFP National Championship 2022: ESPN Plans Unprecedented Goal-Line Coverage With Four POVs Shooting Down at Pylons More than 100 cameras - 89 on game duty - are positioned to capture all of the action By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Monday, January 10, 2022 - 3:24 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
If football is a game of inches, then broadcasting football is, at times, a game of pixels.
In an era when close plays are dissected frame-by-4K frame, a broadcaster can seemingly have all the resources it could need to cover the action and still not have a definitive angle on a season-defining call.
At tonight's 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship, ESPN hopes to have eliminated one potentially huge blind spot by capitalizing on the unique architecture of the game's host venue.
ESPN engineering and operations teams have rigged four Sony HDC-P1 POV cameras into the rafters of Indianapolis's Lucas Oil Stadium to shoot directly down at the top of each goal-line pylon camera, providing an unprecedented look at a critical portion of the field. If a player were to extend the ball toward the goal line while being pushed out of bounds, ESPN cameras should have the angle needed to determine whether the ball did, in fact, get over the top of the pylon.
At the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship, ESPN has installed four POV cameras in the rafters of Lucas Oil Stadium to obtain overhead images aimed directly down at the top of the pylons at the end of each goal line. (Photo: ESPN)
We're just fortunate with the nature of the roof at Lucas Oil Stadium that we're in position to get the perfect straight-down [shot] over the top of the pylon, says Ed Placey, senior coordinating producer, Event and Studio Production Group, ESPN. We just feel we're loaded to cover any sort of unusual circumstance as it relates to replay reviews or just strange happenings in the game that our massive array of cameras haven't quite caught [in the past].
It's a textbook example of a resource that may very well never see air but, if a play in the game calls for it, could be a monumentally important angle for the front bench - and the officiating crew - to call upon.
ESPN has really put a lot of effort in here to make sure that the fans at home are going to be entertained. We're utilizing all of the tech toys at our disposal. John LaChance, Director, Remote Production Operations, ESPN (Photo: ESPN)
Few football venues in the U.S. offer the opportunity to put cameras in this location. For one, you need a roof. Even then, not many domed stadiums offer ceiling areas that crews can safely access to position cameras.
Given these POVs, the cameras within the pylons themselves, the Sony 4800 robotic cameras on each sideline shooting directly along each goal line (4K at 8x slo-mo), and the two Skycams, ESPN has covered virtually all its bases relative to scoring plays.
A perfect example of this would have been useful was in Super Bowl LIV when, with just under three minutes to go, Kansas City Chiefs running back Damien Williams scored a go-ahead touchdown on a play in which he stepped out of bounds while extending the ball over the pylon. Even though Fox Sports had deployed a wealth of camera resources, including cameras on the goal line and in the pylon itself, there wasn't one single angle that clearly showed whether the ball went over the pylon in bounds.
Fans are going to be able to enjoy multiple angles to get [the goal line] covered, says ESPN Director, Remote Production Operations, John LaChance. The overall volume that you see when you get to a championship level [is amazing]. ESPN has put a lot of effort in here to make sure that the fans at home are going to be entertained. We're utilizing all of the tech toys at our disposal.
Camera Plan Stars Unique Collection of High-Resolution, Aerial Units Those POV cameras are, of course, just a small piece of a comprehensive camera map that ESPN operations has laid out to cover this year's Championship. More than 100 cameras are deployed in and around the building, with 89 of them dedicated to coverage of the game - as a source for the main game broadcast or as a feed for one of the night's many viewing options through ESPN's MegaCast.
In total, the game broadcast will feature 16 super-slow-motion cameras (mostly Sony 4300's), four 4K sources (including the Skycam, whose feed will be carried as a 4K MegaCast viewing option on selected providers), 10 RF cameras (including the near- and far-sideline Line to Gain PylonCams), an RF shallow-depth-of-field rig on a three-axis gimbal, two Skycams, a fixed-wing aerial (the Goodyear Blimp), a Virtual jib, and a live drone (flying outside the building for exterior beauty shots coming in and out of break).
Ten PylonCams containing a total of 28 lenses are deployed at Lucas Oil Stadium for the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. (Photo: Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images)
The complement includes 18 hard cameras, seven of which are shooting standard game coverage and 11 having SSMO capability. There are four RF handhelds (Sony 2500's), an RF Steadicam, multiple robotics sprinkled throughout the venue (including a Panasonic AW-UE150 4K PTZ), and three 4K cameras positioned in the upper reaches of the stadium and stitched together to produce the All Everything Cam (or the All 22 ).
In addition, 10 PylonCams, containing a combined total of 28 lenses, are positioned on the front and back corners of both end zones and the line-to-gain pylons that move along the sideline during play thanks to RF connectivity.
As for the two Skycams, one is rigged higher than the other. The lower one will be used in the MegaCast's SkyCast offering and is outfitted with a Sony P1 to shoot in 4K. That 4K fee
More from Sports Video Group
16/04/2026
Appear ASA (OSE: APR) will announce three additions to its X Platform at NAB Sho...
16/04/2026
Harmonic has announced that CentralCast, a centralized master control facility for U.S. public media, has deployed Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor t...
16/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Encompass Digital Media has integrated its BA...
16/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate its Media Infrastructure capabilities at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C2408, Central Hall), bringing routing, signal processing, and orche...
16/04/2026
As preparations ramp up for the FIFA World Cup 2026, Verizon has outlined a sweeping connectivity and infrastructure initiative that will underpin broadcast ope...
16/04/2026
Advanced Image Robotics (AIR) has announced its selection for the 2026 MLS Innovation Lab. AIR will work with MLS clubs, players, and executives on automated vi...
16/04/2026
JWX has announced the acquisition of True Anthem, an AI-powered social publishin...
16/04/2026
Jomboy Media and FuboTV Inc. have launched the Jomboy Media Channel, a 24/7 channel available to FuboTV base plan subscribers. The channel, timed to the start o...
16/04/2026
Wave Central, a Domo Broadcast Company (Booth C2820), and EVS Broadcast Equipmen...
16/04/2026
Tata Communications and Formula 1 have released Race Before the Race, the firs...
16/04/2026
DPA Microphones has released a firmware update for its N-Series Digital Wireless...
16/04/2026
Sony's Live Stage at NAB Show 2026 is the place to hear directly from the content creators, end users, and technology experts who are pushing boundaries in ...
16/04/2026
Perfect Game and Youth Prospects have announced a partnership covering broadcast...
16/04/2026
National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) has announced a media rights partnership with Al...
16/04/2026
Audio-Technica has announced two new mid-side (MS) stereo broadcast microphones:...
16/04/2026
PSSI Global Services has announced the acquisition of Beagle Networks, a provider of IT infrastructure and onsite technical support for media and enterprise cus...
16/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has released Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3, a free update available now from the Apple App Store. The update will be demonstrated at NAB Show ...
16/04/2026
As live sports production continues to expand across linear, digital, and in-ven...
16/04/2026
Part of an infrastructure upgrade, the recently constructed spaces accommodate n...
16/04/2026
NBC has added NEP's Supershooter 11, which only just came online in time for...
15/04/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BBC World Service has selected its IP ...
15/04/2026
LiveU has announced an expansion of its collaboration with Sony Corporation, add...
15/04/2026
Ateme has announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to support live Apple Immersive ...
15/04/2026
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced a multi-year partnership renewal with DAZN DACH, covering Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, and...
15/04/2026
Canon U.S.A. (NAB Booth C3825) today took the lid off of the CINE-SERVO 40-1200m...
15/04/2026
Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America and NEP Group will demonstrate a...
15/04/2026
For the fourth year running, independent analysts found businesses across all industries and verticals pay roughly the same amount in fees as they spend on stor...
15/04/2026
The Soccer Tournament (TST) has announced a media rights deal with NBC Sports to...
15/04/2026
JB&A will host the Pre-NAB 2026 Technology Event on April 17-18 at Flamingo Las Vegas, ahead of NAB Show. The event features hands-on demonstrations and technic...
15/04/2026
The Sennheiser Group will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth 4931, Central Hall), with demonstrations from Sennheiser, Neumann, and Merging across three areas: Rel...
15/04/2026
NAB Show 2026 will take place April 18-22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, wi...
15/04/2026
AI-Media has announced the LEXI Text Encoder and LEXI Voice Encoder at NAB Show 2026, the company's first new encoder hardware release in more than a decade...
15/04/2026
Italian camera support manufacturer Cartoni will introduce several new products at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C6540, Central Hall), including the Master 30 OB fluid h...
15/04/2026
Lawo and swXtch.io have announced a memorandum of understanding at NAB Show 2026, under which Lawo will explore incorporating swXtch.io's groundSwXtch softw...
15/04/2026
CacheFly will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W3129, April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center), showcasing three new additions to its content delivery platform:...
15/04/2026
Synamedia has announced GO Shorts, a new module within its Synamedia Go OTT platform that uses AI to convert an operator's existing content library into a s...
15/04/2026
The NAB Show kicks off on Saturday, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams a...
15/04/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced an agreement to acquire Comprimato, a live video encoding and processing software company. The deal will unite the two companies...
15/04/2026
Prime Video Sports' NBA Playoffs coverage, which includes the entire SoFi NB...
15/04/2026
Just announced, the SDE standard provides a unified method and file format to ensure consistent and reliably comparable noise predictions
Sports and entertainm...
14/04/2026
Haivision has announced the Falkon X4, a 5G mobile video transmitter for live broadcast and remote production. The device will be showcased at NAB Show 2026.
...
14/04/2026
Founded by veterans of the production-truck world, Stripe TV was born out of a d...
14/04/2026
Grass Valley has expanded its partnership with Studio Berlin, supplying 12 LDX 135 UHD/HDR camera systems and 12 LDX 180 Super 35mm cinematic cameras, including...
14/04/2026
LTN has announced two senior appointments ahead of NAB Show 2026: Mark Romano as Vice President, Multichannel Platforms, and Edward Cox as Vice President, Sales...
14/04/2026
Sennheiser and Italian rental company Agor have begun preparations for their Eu...
14/04/2026
DAZN and ADI Predictstreet have announced a partnership to integrate ADI Predict...
14/04/2026
Deltatre has announced the completion of a direct-to-fan website and app for Leg...
14/04/2026
Daktronics, will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in partnership with Grass Valley at Booth C2408, Las Vegas Convention Center, April 19-22.
Daktronics will showcase a...
14/04/2026
Backblaze will host a series of partner presentations at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1259, North Hall), open to all exhibition hall badge holders. Showcase partners i...
14/04/2026
BRAHMA AI will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2415, West Hall), demonstrating its Enterprise AI Content Platform for media, entertainment, sports, and technol...