Live From the 153rd Open Championship: NBC Expands Unilateral Effort; Shared Studio Gives Live From,' NBC Sports a Great View The production is a mix of onsite and remote operations By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Friday, July 18, 2025 - 9:38 am
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The last time the 153rd Open Championship was played at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, in 2019, marked the last Open for which NBC Sports fielded a true side-by-side production; in the years after, the pandemic mandated a different approach. That's why this year's return to Royal Portrush is fitting: once again, NBC Sports is on hand with more unilateral cameras than it has deployed since 2019.
Even so, the broadcaster is still relying heavily on the world feed, particularly for early-morning coverage. Even though we aren't producing that coverage, explains Bridget Cugle, director, golf remote operations, NBC Sports, we do have our own talent for our viewers in the States.
From left: NBC Sports' Tavi Wright, Allison McAllister, Bridget Cugle, and Marc Caputo at the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush
The goal this year is to have more unilateral resources for the important NBC broadcast windows. We can focus on doing better coverage for those shorter windows, says Marc Caputo, director, remote technical operations, NBC Sports, and we have more options to make moments for American golfers bigger. We have access to all 18 holes of coverage with 95 feeds from the world feed, and we have 37 of our own cameras. We also have two ACS Hothead cameras on the course and shared with the Golf Channel.
The NBC feed is produced out of the large Production cabin in the middle of the compound. Additionally, NBC Sports is producing one of the two featured groups from onsite in Portrush, with the second feed produced offsite.
That mix of on/offsite operations permeates the effort. Although the NBC Sports presence in Portrush is expanded to about 130 people, there are plenty of folks working remotely. For example, there are three Hawkeye operators in Tulsa, OK, and the Live From control room (PCR8) is in Stamford, CT.
PCR7 there is doing the early coverage of the world feed, says Caputo, handling insertion of billboards and other things that enhance it. And PCR4 is doing an All-Access Show, which is something we produced last year.
New this year is that NBC Sports and Live From are sharing the same studio, which overlooks the beach and town of Portrush just north of the course.
We used this set for the first time at the Ryder Cup in Rome in 2024, says Caputo, noting, We made modifications so it can be more oriented to an Open vs. the Ryder Cup. The thought was to share this space so that both NBC Sports and the Golf Channel can have the same view of the buildings along the coastline.
In the studio are four cameras mounted on Ross Furio robotic pedestals. When NBC is on-air, the pedestals are controlled locally; when Live From is on-air, they are controlled from Stamford.
The NBC Sports studio at the 153rd Open is shared by NBC Sports and Live From.
As with all golf events, particularly big events with lots of trucks and facilities, local efforts often make a difference and make the long days and nights a bit easier. At Royal Portrush, a TV compound on a tarmac/parking lot provides level footing for trucks, cabins, and feet, and it drains quickly in the event of rain, which is in the forecast for this weekend.
Says Allison McAllister, VP, golf operations, NBC Sports, The R&A has done an incredible job here in Portrush from 2019 to 2025 to make this town super-special and get it prepared for everything that is coming their way. They've done an incredible job here, and they've really embraced it.
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Live From the 153rd Open Championship: NBC Expands Unilateral Effort; Shared Studio Gives Live From,' NBC Sports a Great View The production is a mix of onsite and remote operations By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
