Live From MLB All-Star 2025: ESPN Preps for Home Run Derby Broadcast While Producing Seven Shows in Atlanta A crowded compound will handle onsite production for all the shows By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Monday, July 14, 2025 - 4:54 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
With the field set for tonight's Home Run Derby, ESPN will once again deploy an arsenal of production tools specifically to cover the dingers launched at Atlanta's Truist Park: the returning 4DReplay, a cabled FlyCam system, multiple AR-enabled live drones (both inside and outside the ballpark), five additional AR-enabled cameras inside the park, and plenty of miked players for live interviews during the festivities.
In addition to tonight's Derby broadcast on ESPN and Statcast Edition altcast on ESPN2, ESPN Manager, Remote Operations, Paul Horrell and his team are overseeing operations for ESPN Deportes, SportsCenter: 50 States in 50 Days, The Pat McAfee Show, Baseball Tonight, and last night's First Round of the MLB Draft.
This is always a monster event, says Horrell, noting that 12 operations staffers are onsite to support seven separate productions for MLB All-Star Weekend. It's months and months and months in the planning phases.
The ESPN operations team: (from left) Tatianna Montalvo, Kelsey Hahn, Steph Santora, Jon Winders, Sam Majewski, Kevin Cleary, Carla Ackels, Ryan Dobesh, Fred Clow, Carsen Kenney, Paul Horrell, and Kevin Wendling
Over the past eight or nine months, the team went through several rounds of planning for the onsite broadcast and production compounds, eventually landing on Plan F for the final layout. That has certainly been a challenge, he says. Real estate there is at a premium.
Multipronged Operation: Facilities Distributed Around the Venue With a snug compound space at Truist Park, FOX Sports, ESPN, and MLB Network have had to get creative in finding space for the production compound. As a result, facilities are spread out across multiple locations around the ballpark and The Battery Atlanta, Truist Park's mixed-use development featuring retail, restaurants, bars, and residential housing.
In the Delta Deck parking lot, ESPN has multiple production trucks including NEP Supershooter 8 and ST8, which handled Sunday's MLB Draft coverage at the Coca-Cola Roxy theater (in The Battery) and is also home to ESPN's Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter: 50 States in 50 Days onsite studio productions.
Additionally, The Pat McAfee Show is originating from the Coca-Cola Roxy this afternoon ahead of tonight's Home Run Derby. The production is fully onsite, with Pat McAfee's full crew in Atlanta and ESPN's operations team supporting them with equipment, staging, and facilities.
McAfee is using the same stage, desk, and lighting (all provided by West River) that ESPN used for its Draft coverage at the Roxy on Sunday and has rolled in Live Media Group MU14 mobile unit. ESPN's ops team is supporting the show's production and turned over the set and truck overnight to be ready for today's show, which features McAfee's signature arsenal of PTZ and Marshall POV cameras.
ESPN's NEP production trucks in the compound at Atlanta's Truist Park
Meanwhile, the same S3 lot also houses NEP EN1 A, B, C and D for the Home Run Derby broadcast. The S2 lot is home to EN1 E, a West River Light and Sound production truck, an ice trailer, crew trailer, and ancillary support. Parked in S5 are ESPN partners PSSI Global Services, supporting satellite uplink and transmission, and Cat Entertainment Services, supplying generators.
For tonight's Home Run Derby, the English-language main broadcast set for ESPN will be located on the inside end of first base, and ESPN Deportes will be on the inside end of third base. Meanwhile, SportsCenter: 50 States in 50 Days and Baseball Tonight are using the same set on the outside end of first base. Contingency plans for rain provide sheltered accommodations for the different productions.
Kevin Connors is hosting the Baseball Tonight pre-Derby show on ESPN along with analyst Xavier Scruggs and Tim Kurkjian.
ESPN Remote Operations Specialist Kevin Cleary is running point on the technical side, as he has done for several years, and Operations Producer Carla Ackels is onsite project manager. Both have done a fantastic job, says Horrell.
Speaking of ESPN's entire MLB All-Star Weekend production, Cleary says, I'm sure there are other events that are larger in scale and scope, maybe even in viewership, but those are singular events that may have some studio presence, some other things on it. [But] there are seven different actual events all happening in and around Home Run Derby and the Draft and the All-Star Game. As anyone who has ever done this knows, that's seven sets of producers and directors, seven sets of equipment, seven sets of everything - which is a lot to juggle. Having the team together and having the folks that we have here are what make this a success.
Getting Down to Capture: The Eyes on Tonight's Home Run Derby In terms of camera bells and whistles for the Home Run Derby, ESPN will have an AR-enabled drone flying around the ballpark and will take a delayed AR tracer feed of another MLB-operated drone inside the ballpark. Meanwhile, the half-moon-shaped 4DReplay camera ring features 16 cameras and is positioned directly behind home plate - the closest ESPN is able to get to the plate in any baseball scenario.
ESPN director Doug Holmes preps for the Home Run Derby.
In addition, an on-field robotic camera, a collaboration of ESPN director Doug Holmes and the NEP Specialty Capture (formerly Fletcher) team, will be on a small mast near second base, shooting as the loose centerfield camera, or Camera 4. Because there's a protection gate around the
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: ESPN Preps for Home Run Derby Broadcast While Producing Seven Shows in Atlanta A crowded compound will handle onsite production for all the shows By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. 
