SVG All-Stars: Kendall Burgess, as VP, Local Media Technical Operations, Major League Baseball After 20 years in the business, she is a stalwart in regional sports production By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Tuesday, October 1, 2024 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
In an era when sports production is evolving faster than ever, a new generation of leaders is beginning to make its mark on the industry. Our new SVG All-Stars series explores the journey of the industry's rising executives, showcasing their experiences and career highlights in the business, overarching philosophy and leadership strategy, technological and creative innovation, and where they see the industry headed. Join us as we uncover the story behind their ascent and the impact they are having in an ever-evolving industry.
Kendall Burgess has more than two decades of experience in the sports-broadcasting industry and has made a name for herself as one of the stalwarts of the regional-sports-production sector.
In 2023, as seismic change began to shake up the regional-sports-rights landscape, Major League Baseball launched its own Local Media department to help navigate the changing industry. Today, MLB Local Media Department is responsible for all regional game broadcasts for the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies and oversees broadcasts for the new national Roku MLB Sunday Leadoff package.
Kendall Burgess: The exciting things happening [don't] necessarily have an on-air impact, but they can make your workflows more efficient and might even save money that you can spend to enhance your broadcasts.
As VP of local media technical operations, Burgess oversees the operations team that manages and organizes all the technical details for these live productions. She coordinates with production teams in each city to provide mobile units, equipment, technical crew, transmission, and master-control integration. She also manages all related vendor contracts and invoice processing for these systems.
Prior to joining MLB Local Media, she was VP, technical operations, Bally Sports, working with production and engineering to provide direction for the 19 Bally Sports regional networks across the country, which produce more than 4,500 sports events annually. She shares her story, her philosophy, and advice for getting into the industry:
What is one key industry trend that you believe is having a major impact on your organization right now?
I believe there are several exciting things happening, with variations on centralized and cloud-based equipment integration. These aren't necessarily the things that have an on-air impact, but they can make your workflows more efficient and/or add equipment redundancy for backup purposes. Some of these systems might even save money so you can spend on the flashy things that enhance your broadcasts.
What is one core philosophy you try to live by when managing your team/operation?
Communicate, communicate, communicate. And then, when you think you have been thorough, communicate again. Operations is ultimately responsible for thousands of details in a live production, and all of them are important to the success of the broadcast.
What is your favorite event(s) you've ever worked?
In my current role, my favorite event was our first-ever MLB Local Media game with the Padres in Miami on May 31, 2023. Along with many talented people at the league office and MLB Network, we set up an entirely new system to produce these games in a very short time. It was extremely rewarding to finally get on the air and see all that hard work pay off.
How did you get started in sports production? What was your first real job in the business?
The summer before my senior year in journalism school at UGA, I interned at FOX Sports South in Atlanta. That summer, I took every opportunity I could find to learn about the business, including my first-ever visit to a production truck, where I was hooked right away. After graduation, they hired me back, and I stayed with that company in various capacities for over 20 years. I loved working in production at the beginning of my career, but, in some ways, I feel like my first real job was when I moved over to operations in 2004 because that became my career focus.
What's one piece of advice you have for someone just starting their career in this industry?
This business is incredibly small, so your relationships and your reputation are everything. The people in our industry are what makes it so special. Always try to be kind and work hard (in that order).
North America Stories
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
15/05/2026
Daniel Roher attends the Tuner Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Theatre on January 22, 2026 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Neilson Bar...
15/05/2026
86% of media planners would move more linear TV budget to CTV if they had show-level targeting and reporting - and 65% would also shift dollars from programmati...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Clear-Com will showcase new communications solutions and major platform updates at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7005), June 17-19, in the North and Central Halls of t...
15/05/2026
Following an outstanding inaugural year in 2025, Rise AV is proud to announce the return of its flagship leadership initiative, Elevate. The programme continues...
15/05/2026
Berklee Announces Lineup for Inaugural AI Music Summit The three-day event puts musicians at the center of the future of music creation, ethics, and the indus...
15/05/2026
Lightware returns to InfoComm 2026 with a focused showcase of scalable USB-C connectivity, next-generation AV-over-IP solutions, and technologies that help over...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Delivering a live, arena-scale production of a massively popular band is no small feat. Between expansive in-arena LED walls and a global live stream fed to onl...
15/05/2026
Connection is the heartbeat of any strong community, and with live streaming becoming more accessible in the modern era, it's much easier for faith-based or...
15/05/2026
Powered by GX 3 media servers, optimised IP-VFC workflows and on-site engineering expertise, the production delivers high-performance visuals for one of the wor...
SVG All-Stars: Kendall Burgess, as VP, Local Media Technical Operations, Major League Baseball After 20 years in the business, she is a stalwart in regional sports production By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. 
