Live From Super Bowl LVIII: Iconic CBS Sports Belaggio Studio Is at Center of a Busy Week Live drone is set to make Super Bowl history during NFL Today studio-show kickoff By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Sunday, February 11, 2024 - 11:26 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The Bellagio Fountains on the Las Vegas Strip are the iconic center of the city, so it's no surprise that CBS Sports settled on a small strip of sidewalk (and one lane of the actual Strip) in front of them as the home of its week-long studio-show operations. Today, the operations shift into game-day mode, hosting the first 90 minutes of the NFL Today pregame show.
CBS Sports' Mike Francis at the broadcaster's Super Bowl LVIII Studio at the Belaggio
For the first 90 minutes of the pregame show, the NFL Today talent team will be located at the Bellagio. At around 12:30 p.m., they will make the relatively short trip (around 15 minutes) to Allegiant Stadium, where they will settle in at an external set and, ultimately, at an interior set in the corner of the field.
There's a transition they have to navigate to get from here to the stadium, says Mike Francis, VP, engineering and technology, CBS Sports. We're going to capture that live in some way, and that will be fun.
CBS Sports will also make history today: it will be the first Super Bowl broadcaster to provide aerial shots from within the 10-mile no-fly zone around the stadium. Capturing the shots will be a heavy-lift drone from Beverly Hills Aerials outfitted with a Sony P50 camera and an FPV drone.
Of the Bellagio site, Francis says, We certainly looked at other locations, but we quickly knew we wanted to plant our flag at the Bellagio. We feel like it's everything Vegas, and it's a great backdrop for all our productions.
The CBS Sports Super Bowl LVIII studio complex is located alongside the Las Vegas Strip.
The studio complex houses two main stages, one on either side of a demo football field. The backdrop for viewers includes the Bellagio Fountains (the CBS team has control of them in the morning hours), and, because the set is alongside Las Vegas Boulevard, anyone driving by has a chance to see CBS Sports in action, and pedestrians walking by can even take selfies at two activation areas.
The Bellagio was great at connecting us with partners that know what they're doing so we can make it all work, says Francis. We were fortunate enough to get the first lane of Las Vegas Boulevard because there's not a lot of space to pop up tents and trailers for gear.
Studio-set design was led by CBS Sports VP, Graphics and Design, JP LoMonaco; Senior Art Director Komal Bhukhanwala; and Director Bob Matina; and Jack Morton Group Senior Design Director Andre Durette. The intention was to lean into and capture the extravagant, larger-than-life aesthetic of the Las Vegas Strip and announce CBS Sports' presence in the heart of it all.
It was a great collaboration, says Francis. Our goals from a design standpoint were to be multi-use so that all the Paramount partners could be here. It was important to be able to build something that could be shared as well as having your own space where you need it. The demo field in the center has been highly utilized across all the properties.
CBS Sports Super Bowl pregame coverage will kick off at Studio 2.
The set features multiple jibs, two pedestal cameras, a RF Steadicam, and RF handhelds.
They basically have everything they could ever want, notes Francis. We have roofs over the main stages. The desert gets really cold, too, especially when we start programming super-early in the morning, so built-in floor heating comes up under the desks to keep the talent from freezing for the early stuff.
An affiliates platform, he adds, enables owned-and-operated stations to come in and set up. The platform comes complete with power and lighting; the stations have their own transmission solutions (mostly bonded cellular) to deliver live hits back home.
Heavy use by Paramount shows and CBS stations has made the Super Bowl effort feel like a family affair and, best of all, a busy one. We have constant programming out here, Francis points out. CBS Morning News is here, The Talk has come out for multiple days, and we've been doing tons of CBS Sports Network programming daily on Stage 2, which has been running from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. almost every day. And CBS Sports HQ, which has a pretty big stage here, has been going nonstop all week [and producing its shows remotely from Fort Lauderdale].
The only production and technical facilities onsite at the Bellagio are F&F GTX20 (two units), an interconnect trailer where Lumen has its base of operations overseeing the dark-fiber paths, and plenty of Aggreko power. There is also the team operating the Flycam, which has a 1,000-ft.-long run across the fountain lake, and the drone.
The Flycam is inspected during a long day running back and forth across a 1,000-ft.-long run across the Bellagio Fountains.
We also have several 1-Gbps circuits for all of our needs as well as for anyone else who is working at this site, adds Francis.
The heavy programming schedule on CBS Sports Network has kept the production team in GTX20 very busy all day. They're not only servicing the onsite productions, says Francis, but are also the interface for all the remote productions at the BMW Building in New York.
GTX20 is linked to the NEP TFC (Total Facility Control) at Allegiant Stadium, allowing any feeds to be shared. The intercoms at the stadium and the Bellagio are trunked, creating one big intercom system.
F&F GTX20 is onsite at the CBS Sports Super Bowl LVIII studio at the Belaggio.
The small footprint of the technical facilities is testament to the power of remote workflows. Without the ability for productio
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
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...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
Live From Super Bowl LVIII: Iconic CBS Sports Belaggio Studio Is at Center of a Busy Week Live drone is set to make Super Bowl history during NFL Today studio-show kickoff By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
