NFL Playoffs 2025: ESPN Scrambles To Get Production in Place After Wild Card Game Moves to Arizona An operations team familiar with State Farm Stadium helped smooth the effort By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor
Monday, January 13, 2025 - 12:49 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
On Thursday evening, the NFL decided to move tonight's Wild Card game between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, to State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals. The relocation, driven by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires and concern for public and fan safety, forced ESPN to execute a last-minute audible with its broadcast and production team.
It was a scramble, says ESPN Senior Operations Manager Tommy Mitchell, but it allowed us to utilize all the standard Monday Night Football facilities and plan. He adds that it does simplify the technical plan once production personnel arrived in Glendale, AZ.
The change of location, he says, was actually a huge benefit and eased some of those logistical challenges, allowing all production resources to be diverted to Arizona days ahead of the broadcast.
State Farm Stadium has been given a new look for tonight's Wild Card game.
Mitchell, who joined the Monday Night Football operations team ahead of the 2024 season after almost two decades in college football, and his team had not expected to know the game's venue until as late as this past weekend. Knowing all that is happening [in Los Angeles] really puts things in perspective for all of us, especially the human side of things. We were planning on what additional safety measures could be implemented should the game remain at SoFi.
ESPN delayed start-time plans in Los Angeles because of the possibility that the game would be relocated. Its production trucks were held outside of California and directed to Arizona once the game's relocation became official. Contingency plans included incorporating different mobile units into the production. Still, Mitchell says, a full complement of mobile units and broadcast gear will be deployed for tonight's broadcast.
Between the main broadcast, NFL Live, Monday Night Countdown, and the ManningCast, ESPN plans to integrate not only its onsite systems and the full production truck but also REMI and REMCO resources into the overall production. We are utilizing pretty much every single way that ESPN does shows, Mitchell notes. It's all encapsulated into what we will do for the Wild Card game.
NEP Broadcasting is supplying four expando mobile units for the telecast. A production trailer will also be an onsite. About 60 cameras will be incorporated into the broadcast, including a drone, RF Steadicam, Skycam, and 23 super-slo-mo units.
One differentiated component within the broadcast will be one of the down-the-line cameras, which are normally robotic. One will be upgraded to a full super-slo-mo camera chain with an operator, according to Mitchell. Multiple pylon cameras and robotic cameras will also be deployed. About 200 production personnel will be onsite at State Farm Stadium.
As for the effect of the last-minute relocation on staffing, he notes, the vast majority of the Monday Night Football technicians are core traveling members of the crew and worked to rebook their travel itinerary.
Even so, some crew members also worked the College Football Playoff semifinal games, and their travel has been hampered by inclement weather in the Southeast. We will work around those logistics as best we can, says Mitchell, adding that the late change of plans presented a local challenge in securing some utilities and runners. However, moving to a market like Phoenix is welcomed as they have a well-rounded sports-television community.
Mitchell has previously dealt with game-location changes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he worked on ESPN's college-football coverage. Moving an event/crew of this size is not as simple as a quick phone call or email, he points out. It takes a ton of people, all focused on the same things, who have been clearly communicated to about what the plan is going to be.
After his first full season working behind the scenes on Monday Night Football, Mitchell compares the experience with his days in college football. On a Saturday in the fall, with 20 to 30 games across ESPN platforms, A lot could go right, but a lot could also go wrong. Coming from that side, I'm well-versed in my phone ringing a lot on game day, with possible broadcast issues with power, cameras, or production trucks. That was kind of what I was expecting on game days for Monday Night Football. There are too many moving pieces. It's a big show. There are going to be some things that go wrong. We have to constantly put out fires.
That hasn't proved to be the reality, though. Reflecting on the 2024 season, he says, It was about as smooth as I could have expected it to be operationally.
He credits the engineering and operations teams: They're the best at what they do. They're on this show for a reason. Generally, what that means is, they've already thought of all the things that could go wrong, and they already have backup plans in place. If something does go wrong, they fix it before I even hear about it. That is a very comfortable place to be for someone in my role.
Wild Card Broadcast Notes Play-by-play caller Joe Buck and analyst Troy Aikman will lead the main Rams-Vikings broadcast on ABC and ESPN. The pair, who have called 60-plus NFL postseason games and six Super Bowls together, will be joined by sideline reporters Lisa Salters, reporting on the Vikings, and Laura Rutledge, covering the Rams.
Meanwhile, Peyton and Eli Manning will return for their 11th ManningCast of the 2024 season and their fourth Wild Card broadcast. Newly name
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
NFL Playoffs 2025: ESPN Scrambles To Get Production in Place After Wild Card Game Moves to Arizona An operations team familiar with State Farm Stadium helped smooth the effort By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor 
