
A Blank Canvas : NBC Sports Brings Live Drones, High-Speed Cameras To Paint Cinematic Broadcast of NHL Games at Lake Tahoe With no fans allowed onsite, NHL takes a swing at unique, made-for-TV production By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, February 19, 2021 - 3:32 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
If you work long enough in this business, you might get the chance to be a part of a show that's truly once-in-a-lifetime. Perhaps it's an incredible moment that fans will never forget or a championship moment when it feels like the whole world is watching.
NBC Sports will broadcast a pair of NHL games this weekend from a rink on a golf course on the edge of Lake Tahoe in northern Nevada.
Crew members at NBC Sports and the National Hockey League will get a chance just like that this weekend, when a professional hockey game will be broadcast live from an environment that U.S. sports television, perhaps, has never seen before - and may never see again.
The NHL is hosting NHL Outdoors, a doubleheader of games - the Vegas Golden Knights face the Colorado Avalanche at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday; the Philadelphia Flyers battle the Boston Bruins at 2 p.m. on Sunday - played on a rink erected on the banks of scenic Lake Tahoe.
No roof. No fans. Just hockey and the great outdoors.
It's as close to a blank canvas as we've ever had for one of these outdoor games, says Charlie Dammeyer, who will direct both games this weekend for NBC Sports alongside his producer partner, Matt Marvin. That's the exciting part. I'm a big fan of being able to take people places that they can't go. You're going to see some shots that you've never seen in a hockey game before. I'm excited to do it. The whole crew is excited to do it. We're really looking forward to it.
Live drones? New camera positions?
Hockey like you ve never seen it before.
Don t miss #NHLOutdoors beginning Saturday at 3 ET on @nhlonnbcsports! pic.twitter.com/s7zKkW4fIh
NHL (@NHL) February 19, 2021
The site - which is built along the 18th fairway of Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Stateline, NV - offers a unique opportunity to try a wealth of new production ideas, and NBC will take advantage of it, deploying upwards of 40 cameras (comparable to most Winter Classics the network has broadcast in the past).
There are notable firsts in these shows, which mark the first time NBC Sports will use live drones on a hockey broadcast. In addition, high-speed super-slo-mo cameras will be in positions never used in hockey, including on a large jib behind one of the nets.
It's shaping up to be a truly made-for-TV sports event and with no fans in attendance, it was an opportunity for the league to try something unusual with purely television in mind.
The broadcast piece of this is why we are here, says Steve Mayer, SVP/chief content officer, NHL. This is a television event, and we're going to have a broadcast like our fans have never seen before. We've never experienced something like this. Because of how unique it is, it's going to resonate not only with hockey fans but with sports fans.
A First for Live Drone Coverage Many of the most eye-catching live shots of the broadcast with come from two drones: a large, heavier-duty drone carrying a robotic Sony P50; a small, speedy FPV drone that can zip around at up to 70 mph.
NBC Sports has partnered with Beverly Hills Aerials on two live drones. One (pictured here) is a larger drone carrying a robotic Sony P50 camera. (Photo: NHL)
NBC Sports is partnering with Beverly Hills Aerials on the drone deployment, and it's a very similar to the one-two punch deployed just last weekend at the Daytona 500 for Fox Sports.
It's like driving a school bus vs. a Ferrari, says Dammeyer, They're both automobiles, but they're completely different.
He notes that the big drone will be used as more of a cinematic camera for long, slow, smooth, stabilized establishing scenic shots for resets coming out of break or long breaks in the action. The FPV drone, on the other hand, is going to have some fun. Its nimble versatility will allow it to spin around the event site, even fly quickly along the surface of the lake, whose shoreline is mere feet away.
A FPV drone from Beverly Hills Aerials is capable of flying at speeds up to 70 mph. (Photo: NHL)
I think some of the pictures that are going to come from those drones are just going to blow people away, says Mayer.
It's worth pointing out that, for safety reasons, the drones are not permitted to fly directly over the playing surface, even with no fans in attendance. However, Dammeyer says he would love to use them more as a live tool in the future.
We're just kind of scratching the surface with this, he explains, It may turn out [great]; it may not work. But I the league was willing to let us try this, and that's the first step. You always have to take the first step to take 20 steps, so I'm proud of the direction that we're going. I'm excited about this, and I hope they do have lasting power.
In terms of aerial shots, a fixed-wing airplane is also a part of the plans (weather permitting).
Explosion of High-Speed Cameras In addition to the special angles, the NBC camera arsenal is also loaded with high-speeds. In fact, Dammeyer says, this is the most high-speed cameras he has ever deployed on a hockey broadcast. There are 11 to be exact, which is more than is used on crown-jewel events like the Stanley Cup, the All-Star Game, or the Winter Classic.
While standard angles like hards and handhelds will be shooting at 6X, two iso cameras will also be at a similar speed.
Even the jib, whose base will be positioned behind the glass behind one of the goals, will be shooting at 6X speeds. That's another element that Dammeyer has never used o
More from Sports Video Group
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
NBCU brings together News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo for a 50+ camera live pr...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
30/06/2026
As Brazil's only way for fans to see all 104 matches, YouTube channel proves the power of digital...
29/06/2026
By Andy Rayner, CTO, Appear
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the largest football tou...
29/06/2026
A new multi-country study from ESL FACEIT Group, Hero Esports, and Niko Partners estimates that 400 million Gen Z consumers regularly engage with esports, under...
29/06/2026
ESPN will mark America's 250th anniversary with a series of content initiatives across its linear, digital, and streaming platforms, including a special edi...
29/06/2026
The Esports Foundation has named OBSBOT the Official Camera and Webcam Partner for the Esports World Cup 2026, bringing the company's AI-powered imaging tec...
29/06/2026
Insight Productions has launched Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit designed specifically for esports production, live entertainment, and digital-fi...
29/06/2026
Gravity Media once again provided broadcast, streaming, and content-distribution...
29/06/2026
The All England Lawn Tennis Club and IBM have introduced new and enhanced digita...
26/06/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
26/06/2026
Strike Fighter League (SFL), a professional air combat digital sport combining f...
26/06/2026
Wisycom has announced three new additions to its professional wireless ecosystem...
26/06/2026
Eurovision Services inaugurated an expanded Master Control Room (MCR) in Madrid on June 1, 2026, building on a broadcast hub the company has operated in the cit...
26/06/2026
Midco Sports and the University of North Dakota (UND) have announced a two-year ...
26/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both part of the Panoptec Technologies Group, have appointed Vutec (Pty) Ltd as exclusive distributor for their KVM and ...
26/06/2026
Visit Seattle, the official destination marketing organization for Seattle and King County, has launched what it describes as the world's first drone scoreb...
26/06/2026
CP Communications provided RF video, audio, and crew communications support for ...
26/06/2026
Produced by longtime partner Echo Entertainment, the action-sports property is now a team-based year-round league
The inaugural season of the MoonPay X Games L...
26/06/2026
The deal establishes MultiDyne Robotics and Motion Control, maintaining the well-known MRMC brand.MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Systems has acquired the assets ...
26/06/2026
PX1 will debut at Sonoma as TNT leans into super-slo-mo, drones, SMT data integr...
26/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...