Touchdown in Munich: EMG helps facilitate historic German NFL game By Michael Burns
Monday, November 21, 2022 - 13:45
Print This Story
The NFL comes to Munich's Allianz Arena [Credit Alex Van Knippenberg]
At the first-ever NFL regular-season game in Germany recently, Tampa Bay Buccaneers claimed a 21-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in front of 69,811 attendees. After the game at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Tom Brady, the Buccaneers' star Quarterback, described the win as, one of the great football experiences I've ever had .
Also buoyed by the success of the game, which took place on on Sunday 13 November, would have been Bill Morris, COO at EMG, who headed up the broadcast facility company's operations in Munich for NFL Media.
SVG Europe spoke to Morris before the start of play at Allianz Arena, normally the host to a different kind of football and home of reigning Bundesliga champions FC Bayern M nchen.
It's a world-class stadium, one of the most famous in Germany, says Morris. However, it has never done an event that was not football.
Bill Morris, COO at EMG, with Adam Acone from NFL Network in the Allianz Arena, Munich, ready for kick off
Huge scale
According to Morris one of the biggest hurdles, every time the NFL goes to a new stadium is explaining the scale of what is required.
There's a very steep learning curve for the venues that we go to, both in terms of the demands we make at the venue in terms of infrastructure and overlay that we put in, and the fact that the entire stadium is branded NFL. There's no soccer signage, he says. So it's not just a technical overlay, it's also an aesthetic overlay. There's a shock factor involved for the venue when this enormous operation rolls in and literally takes over.
We rolled into Germany with more or less the same circus that we use for the London Games in Tottenham and Wembley. It's similar in scale to a Monday Night Football, quite a large operation which we always refer to affectionately as a mini-Super Bowl per week
The NFL does things in a very specific way, he continues. Like rock and roll and major live entertainment shows, it has many facets which football - or soccer - does not. So the stadium had to adjust to the NFL's way of event management and the way they do their overlay in the stadium. There's been a learning curve on both sides, but the stadium has been fantastic. They've embraced the whole idea of having the NFL in Germany for the first time and are very much on message, organising locally, and doing the overlay that is so important to an NFL game.
Then there are the comms, which play a unique and crucial part in any NFL game. Everyone on the team, the coaches, the management, and the players, are linked by a comms system, whereby gameplay and strategy are changed and discussed in-play, says Morris. There are communication systems designed for the referees, and the governance of the game.
Then there's the fact that television runs the timing of the game. Unlike most European sports, the TV [dictates] when to break the play to coincide with commercial breaks, so there are also communication systems to support that. All of that overlay and infrastructure didn't exist, and it had to be shipped in.
Experienced hands
Morris and his team at EMG have been involved in broadcasting games for the NFL for the past 15 years, beginning with the commencement of the NFL London Games in 2007.
We rolled into Germany with more or less the same circus that we use for the London Games in Tottenham and Wembley, says Morris. It's similar in scale to a Monday Night Football, quite a large operation which we always refer to affectionately as a mini-Super Bowl per week'.
The TV compound at the Arena, where the host operation and the unilateral operations are based, consists of eight production trucks plus fifteen ancillary vehicles for offices, graphics operation, B-units, office space, transmission suites, and others. The main host broadcast control room is EMG's Nova 111.
Our US clients [in Germany] must adapt somewhat to the European way of working; the difference between European and US trucks is about 10 feet in terms of length, says Morris. So around the core of the trucks, we have built a small village of cabins. We brought our Flypacks and built out graphic areas, transmission areas, Hawkeye and NFL feed delivery areas, big refrigerator cabins and so on.
There are multiple unilaterals on site here in Munich, Morris continues. We have three with an OB presence: Sky and ProSieben in Germany, and DAZN. We also have Saudi Arabian television here, and multiple other media operations taking the feed remotely who may have a small footprint on site in terms of talent with a camera. There is an NFL international team who co-ordinate that and we discuss the technical facilities that are required for each broadcaster.
Each unilateral broadcaster will take up to a dozen feeds and they will also take the clean and dirty programme feeds from the US.
They usually take the US announcer [feed] for the immersive NFL experience; having the analysis given to the viewer by a US team who do it day and day out, explains Morris. It is a completely immersive experience and I think that's the intention; for the three hours you get immersed in the epicentre of US culture, which is the NFL.
In terms of connectivity, we're using IP over Fibre operated by Lumen. We have The Switch doing some unilateral delivery. Most of our reserve delivery is via uplink, which is booked directly by Fox, adds Morris.
The NFL comes to Munich, as Tampa Bay Buccaneers took on the Seattle Seahawks in front of 69,811 attendees
Sound and pictures
Despite the location change, and the full-on presentation extravaganza that NFL Network h
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...
08/05/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson reflects on the recent launch of Play Snooker, the new digital home of snooker by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker A...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced its return as a sponsor of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where the company will serve as the Official Connectivity ...
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
08/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Standalone Sequel to Global Hit La Palma
Entertainment
08 May 2026
GlobalDenmarkFinlandNorwaySweden
Link copied to clipb...
08/05/2026
ICG is excited to share news of our official launch in Northern Ireland, marking a significant milestone in the agency's growth.
Led by Digital Marketing M...
08/05/2026
Over the past ten years, Thames Water, in partnership with Arqiva, has installed more than 1.2 million smart meters, creating one of the most extensive advanced...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Touchdown in Munich: EMG helps facilitate historic German NFL game By Michael Burns 
