NAB 2026: Fox Sports selects Appear X Platform for live production infrastructure

Fox Sports has selected Appear as a technology partner to support the next phase of its live sports production infrastructure. The broadcaster is deploying the Appear X Platform-a media processing and gateway system-to support remote production, live events, and IP workflows across its operations.

The deployment covers three areas of the production infrastructure: the modernisation of home run productions (HRP) REMI infrastructure, an IP-based workflow for a major global soccer event taking place in the Americas in summer 2026, and the broadcaster's jewel events production system. These deployments aim to create a common technology foundation for production models ranging from field kits to live events.

By adopting Appear across our REMI workflows, Jewel Events productions and Summer 2026 soccer coverage, we are creating a flexible production architecture that can support the scale and complexity of sports broadcasting today, said Rob Rees, Vice President, Live Production Engineering, Fox Sports. The ability to choose the right compression and transport approach depending on venue requirements, while maintaining the highest standards of performance and reliability, is critical to delivering the biggest moments in live sport.

The HRP REMI infrastructure refresh replaces legacy contribution and processing systems across field kits and mobile production trucks. By supporting both JPEG XS and low-latency HEVC on a single platform, the technology allows for consistent production approaches across various live sports, while enabling the optimisation of codec choice and bandwidth usage.

For the coverage of the soccer event in summer 2026, the broadcaster is utilising a REMI production workflow based on SMPTE ST 2110 and JPEG XS. This approach is designed to enable low-latency contribution of 104 live matches over 39 days, allowing workflows to adapt across venues with differing connectivity profiles. Additionally, the technology is being integrated into the jewel events system to support national live broadcasts.

The infrastructure includes Appear X20 platforms for HRP and jewel environments, alongside Appear X5 systems for commentator workflows. The X5 serves as a contribution solution for distributed production, allowing commentators at remote locations to receive live feeds and provide synchronised commentary with low latency. Using a single platform allows production teams to select workflows based on specific venue conditions, ranging from JPEG XS over SMPTE ST 2110 to HEVC and SRT for networks with variable connectivity.

Following the soccer event, the broadcaster intends to redeploy this infrastructure across other national broadcasts, including American football and baseball, to maintain long-term performance and reliability.

FOX Sports is setting a benchmark for how major broadcasters are evolving their live production infrastructures, said Ed McGivern, President and General Manager, Appear US. By deploying a single high-performance platform, they can scale workflows from compact field kits to the most demanding premium sports events.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/04/21/nab-2026-fox-sports-selects-app...
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