2020 Sports Emmys: A Deeper Look at the Big Production and Technology Winners Relive the stories behind CBS Sports coverage of The Masters, Fox Sports efforts at the FIFA Womens World Cup, CBS/Turners work on 2019 March Madness, a graphics redesign at ESPN, and an esports breakthrough at League of Legends World Final By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - 2:27 pm
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Tuesday night's 41st Sports Emmy Awards was a celebration of an industry that prides itself in putting innovation and technology at the forefront. The roster of winners harkened back to 2019, a year loaded with production and operations achievement across the world of sports.
Thirty five trophies were given out during the virtual ceremony and here, we break down for you four specific projects that shined on Emmy night and stood above a wildly competitive year of sports television work: CBS Sports' coverage of the 2019 Masters, Fox Sports' coverage of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, CBS and Turner's work on the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, ESPN's NFL graphics redesign, and Riot Games' production of the 2019 League of Legends World Final.
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CBS Sports' Coverage of The Masters Rises to the Top It was fitting that an event steeped in tradition was celebrated for its significant steps forward in the video production and distribution of the event.
Director Steve Milton (left) and producer Lance Barrow sat at the front bench of the historic 2019 edition of The Masters on CBS.
CBS Sports' coverage of The Masters took home three of the most prestigious awards of the night in Outstanding Live Sports Special, Outstanding Technical Team Remote, and the George Wensel Technical Achievement Award.
At the center of CBS Sports' 2019 coverage was its Every Shot, Every Hole coverage; a comprehensive media management effort that spanned across linear and digital platforms.
Our Ken Kerschbaumer spoke with CBS about the efforts last year following the event:
The Masters 2019: CBS Sports Reflects on Groundbreaking Every Shot, Every Hole' Coverage.
In addition, at the 2019 SVG Summit, our Brandon Costa spoke with Brian Carr, Founding Partner of Thumbwar; Mike Francis, VP, Remote Engineering and Planning at CBS Sports; and Patty Power, EVP, Operations and Engineering at CBS Sports about the project:
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Fox Sports Takes Over Paris at 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Not to be lost in a year of global broadcast achievement, Fox Sports' coverage of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was celebrated with the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Technical Team Studio.
Fox Sports' studio in Paris for the FIFA Women's World Cup was the centerpiece of an effort that won the network a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Technical Team Studio.
The cornerstone of that operational effort was the network's eye-popping studio in the Trocad ro in Paris that gave viewers an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. Fox Sports worked with Los Angeles-based Drive Studios to create an environment designed to connect the studio to one of the world's most iconic landmarks.
While, at its peak more than 120 people worked on site, the studio was a multi-continental effort whose control room was an NEP unit on site that housed the video department, the front-bench team, audio mixing, and control of on-set robotic cameras. However, it also saw EVS and graphics operations located in Los Angeles, where the studio-show content was finalized before being delivered to the viewers' home.
Our Ken Kerschbaumer was on-site in Paris last summer and caught up with Fox Sports' VP, World Cup Operations Rod Conti and Director, Technical Operations Kevin Callahan to break down the magnificent structure:
Live From the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup: Fox Sports' Studio Eiffel Tower Backdrop Dazzles.
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At 2019 March Madness, CBS and Turner's Collaborative Efforts Hit an Epic Note While the first major sports cancellation of the COVID-19 era was the 2020 NCAA Tournament, CBS Sports and Turner Sports had reason to smile as they took home the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Playoff Coverage for its work on the 2019 edition of March Madness.
CBS Sports' and Turner Sports' production of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament which culminated in the Final Four in Minneapolis was celebrated at the 2020 Sports Emmys for Outstanding Playoff Coverage.
While the production of March Madness is a multi-week, nation-wide effort, the event truly culminates in the technical marvel that is CBS and Turner's operation behind the Final Four which, last year, was hosted at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The two networks packed two full production compounds (one inside the bowels of the stadium and another outside in a parking lot), more than 50 cameras in the bowl of the stadium, two unique studio sets, and more than 400 CBS staffers alone on site to pull everything together.
In addition to all of the action at venue, CBS also brought its CBS Sports Network out in force with an impressive pair of sets in Downtown Minneapolis at IDS Center.
Our Brandon Costa got time with CBS Sports' EVP of Operations and Engineering Patty Power to analyze the
Live From Final Four: For CBS and Turner, One of the Year's Biggest Productions Sings a Familiar - Albeit Epic - Tune
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ESPN's NFL Graphics Redesign Sweeps Pair of Emmys To honor the 50th anniversary of the iconic sports television property Monday Night Football, ESPN underwent
