NFL Los Angeles Spotlight (Part 1): How NFL Media Launched a State-of-the-Art Production Facility Amid a Pandemic Engineering team built technical lab in Burbank, weathered pandemic challenges By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 - 2:34 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
It has been 3 years since the NFL announced that NFL Media would be moving from its longtime headquarters in Culver City, CA, to a brand-new facility adjacent to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. In that short period, the NFL Media engineering, operations, and production teams came together to create one of the most state-of-the-art IP-based, 4K- and HDR-capable production facilities anywhere on earth - and they did it largely during a crippling pandemic.
The new NFL Los Angeles facility serves as home to NFL Media. (Photo: Jeff Lewis/AP Images for NFL)
Early on, we wanted to plant the flag and create a truly innovative facility that would be designed for all formats and all types of content creation, says Dave Shaw, VP, head of media operations, NFL Media. From the beginning, we built the infrastructure for not only how we currently do our jobs but also how we plan to do them in the future. And we never wavered from that goal, even during the pandemic. Of course, it impacted us, especially on the construction side, but we were able to be one of the few studios that continued building right through [the pandemic].
The result is NFL Los Angeles, a 450,000-sq.-ft. Class A building at Hollywood Park with 214,063 sq. ft. of office space and 74,922 sq. ft. of studio and studio-support space to serve as the home for NFL Network, NFL.com, NFL RedZone, the NFL app, and many other departments supporting the league's media and business operations. The facility, which officially opened on Sept. 8, now serves as the league's new West Coast headquarters.
CLICK HERE for Part 2 of SVG's NFL Los Angeles Spotlight, which details the equipment and technology deployed at NFL Media's new facility.
Out of the Gate: Committing to 2110, Preparing for 4K and HDR From the very early stages of development, NFL Media's engineering team looked to create a primarily IP-based facility that would be capable of live 4K and HDR production. While the live SMPTE ST 2110 IP-production ecosystem has matured greatly over the past four years, NFL Media was still in bleeding-edge territory when it committed to SMPTE ST 2110 and began making key IP-equipment decisions in 2018 and 2019.
The NFL Los Angeles officially opened on Sept. 8 (Photo: Dan Steinberg/AP Images for NFL)
When we started this process three or four years ago, we wanted to leverage all the latest technologies, including IP, which weren't as mature as they are now. So it was kind of a leap of faith, says Bruce Goldfeder, VP, engineering, NFL Media. We did best-of-breed tests with all the key manufacturers and decided that we were comfortable enough to go with a COTS [routing switch]. Then we tested other [IP] components to make sure there was interoperability, and we found that it was possible to do.
Although NFL Los Angeles launched as a 1080p SDR production facility, Goldfeder and his team also designed its backend infrastructure to be fully 4K- and HDR-ready for when the distribution market and archive/storage technology for these formats are more developed. NFL Media is currently producing 1080p60 broadcasts with Dolby 5.1 audio out of the building but is capable of 4Kp60 with Dolby Atmos 7.4.2 audio and can scale to any format in the future, including HDR or 8K.
One of six production-control rooms at the NFL L.A. facility (Photo: Dan Steinberg/AP Images for NFL)
We can do two 4K shows simultaneously right out of the gate, says Goldfeder, but we started off with 1080p SDR because we just did not have the infrastructure to change over all of our legacy content and archives. And we didn't think it was prudent to make that jump at this time. All our cameras are ready to go [for 4K HDR], but we just weren't ready to make the storage commitment to make everything 100% 4K-compatible. That said, it's very scalable for any format in the foreseeable future.
Another early goal for NFL Media was that the new building serve the diverse production needs for its various content operations - not just NFL Network but also content creation for digital, streaming, and social media.
Right now, we're flexible, and we can support traditional [linear] production, digital production, social production, says Shaw. We've truly built a facility for all. We also wanted to have a facility that users were going to enjoy and that gave them the best possible technology and high-end workspaces.
Technical Development: Switching, Networking Systems Are Prebuilt Once NFL Media tapped Diversified as its technical-systems-integration partner, Goldfeder and his team created a Technical Lab at Diversified's 20,000-sq.-ft. warehouse in Burbank, where the majority of the equipment (including the core switching and networking systems) could be prebuilt while construction was completed at Hollywood Park.
Much of the technology was integrated in Burbank prior to arriving onsite at the new NFL L.A. facility. (Photo: Jeff Lewis/AP Images for NFL)
Because of the pandemic, however, the majority of equipment vendors were unable to be onsite in Burbank for that part of the process. As a result, the NFL Media and Diversified engineering teams took on much of the technical integration themselves. Despite the challenges, the majority of the technical systems were built in Burbank in time for NFL Media to move into the new NFL L.A. building.
We were able to test everything out, and, with the help of the manufacturers remotely, we were able to become very knowledgeable on all of the different aspects of PTP timing, 2110, and ga
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
NFL Los Angeles Spotlight (Part 1): How NFL Media Launched a State-of-the-Art Production Facility Amid a Pandemic Engineering team built technical lab in Burbank, weathered pandemic challenges By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
