2024 NHL Stadium Series: ESPN's Front Bench Paints Compelling Picture of Outdoor Hockey in the Garden State Best Seat in the House concept, fan activities around the venue played a key factor By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Monday, February 19, 2024 - 9:05 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
A short drive on the New Jersey Turnpike away from New York City, MetLife Stadium turned into a prominent NHL venue this past weekend with the two-day NHL Stadium Series. Aside from capturing two regular-season matchups featuring four Metropolitan Division rivals on the ice, ESPN's production team was tasked with highlighting the activity and fanfare surrounding the rink constructed at the home of the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets.
A camera with a fish-eye lens captured the vastness of MetLife Stadium.
We focused on how to create energy [in the broadcast] and show the energy that took place [at the venue] to our fans who watched at home, says Linda Schulz, coordinating producer, ESPN. We went with the approach of really embracing the fact that we were in New Jersey and at an NFL stadium.
A Larger Broadcast Canvas: NFL Venue Brings Football-Style Tailgating, Grandiose Entertainment Despite the pregame festivities at NHL arenas being quite impressive, it doesn't match to the vibes that go into a traditional NFL tailgate. With massive parking lots that surround MetLife Stadium and the passion that these four respective fanbases - the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and Philadelphia Flyers - carry with them, the tailgating experience for the contest on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning didn't disappoint. From the perspective of the NHL on ESPN, they aren't as used to capturing this party-like atmosphere at a sports venue with a bigger footprint. For example, two of the four teams - the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils - play at arenas in heavily populated areas - Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan and Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. For this weekend, they were prepared to traverse the crowds that gathered before puck drop via a TVU-powered camera.
SkateCam was on the ice with Kevin Weekes during a studio segment on Saturday afternoon.
Then, there was the weather that was appropriate for the locale. Northern New Jersey in February can present a bit of a challenge for a normally indoor sport being played in the elements. Temperatures dipped for the nightcap between the Flyers and Devils on Saturday evening, but earlier in the day, the city of East Rutherford, NJ anticipated two to three inches of snow on Friday night. The total hit in the middle at 2.6 inches, and while it didn't have a major effect on the production of both games, the weather could have thrown their plans off kilter if the snow fell later in the day.
Levy, Messier, and Subban interviewed the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid before their game against the Dallas Stars.
Last year in Raleigh, NC gave us a chance to learn the aspect about playing this game outdoors, says Schulz. In addition, when you look at sporting venues, they're all not created equal. [Carter-Finley Stadium] was small to others but huge to us, and while the weather was a lot more comfortable, being in the massive structure that is MetLife Stadium was pretty cool.
The larger nature of the building allowed the introduction of more technological firepower at the front bench's disposal. Along with Schulz, the trio of director Doug Holmes, producer Jeff Dufine, and technical director Craig Short intertwined the use of a four-point aerial Skycam and a camera with a fish-eye lens mounted at the top of the venue to show the full breadth of the stadium and its sold-out crowds. This was paired with the typical bells and whistles seen at other tentpole NHL events and standard regular-season games, including an on-ice SkateCam and a package of virtual graphics. This technology was also used to highlight the multiple points of in-venue entertainment happening around the playing surface. This included the presentation of The Jonas Brothers' pregame and second intermission concerts on Saturday and AJR's performance on Sunday, the NHL Street activation that had kids playing pick-up street hockey on rinks decorated by local artists, and more.
A four-point Skycam flew over the ice and the fans on both Saturday and Sunday.
Setting the Scene: Best Seat in the House, NJ-Centric Talent Headline New Creative Ideas Although new technologies gave way to enhanced viewing angles for the viewing audience, Schulz and her production colleagues worked on creative pieces and concepts for the two-day affair. For the live games, the team wanted to create an opportunity to bring certain individuals closer to the action in the stadium. Tapping the interview skills of reporters Emily Kaplan and Kevin Weekes, the duo interviewed a handful of NFL players like the Giants' running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Tommy DeVito, local legends like drummer Max Weinberg of the E Street Band, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. After the conclusion of the interviews, a POV camera showed the select guests in a two box in hopes of a reaction to a goal or major play.
Best Seat in the House placed guests right up against the glass.
As for content that brought the broadcasts back from commercial breaks, the team tapped into celebrities that are associated with New Jersey. A staple at Madison Square Garden for New York Rangers games and a character on the 21-time Emmy Award-winning show, The Sopranos, the appropriate choice was actor Steve Schirripa to voice videos about the state. For the games' opening teaser, the network leveraged the personality of DeVito as well as cameos of Messier and Bettman.
Additionally, to show how important these two games were to
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...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
2024 NHL Stadium Series: ESPN's Front Bench Paints Compelling Picture of Outdoor Hockey in the Garden State Best Seat in the House concept, fan activities around the venue played a key factor By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor 
