SVG All-Stars: Kendall Burgess, as VP, Local Media Technical Operations, Major League Baseball

01/10/2024

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).

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/10/01/svg-all-stars-kendall-burgess-a...
	See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 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...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

18/03/2026

Net Insight Names Larissa GrnerMeeus CPO

Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4. Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...

18/03/2026

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...

18/03/2026

SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog Goes Live as Countdown to Vegas Heats Up

The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...

18/03/2026

The Premiere of Dead Lover Showcases Grave Robbing and Sex With a Giant Finger

(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...

18/03/2026

Music Row Piano from Wiltone Productions

Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...

18/03/2026

Techivation introduce T-Warmer Mk2

Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...

18/03/2026

Tonal Balance Control 3 from iZotope

Mix-reference plug-in overhauled iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...

18/03/2026

Toontrack Transistor Organ EKX

Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...

18/03/2026

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture 18 March, 2026 Media releases New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...

18/03/2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz at NAB 2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...

18/03/2026

LCTWS 2026

London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...

18/03/2026

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...

18/03/2026