
Legends Behind the Lens: Tom Shelburne The father of remote television production founded the live production vehicle By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Thursday, July 2, 2020 - 12:00 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The story of American sports television is engrained in the history of this nation, rising on the achievements of countless incredible men and women who never once appeared on our screens. During this pause in live sports, SVG is proud to present a celebration of this great industry. Legends Behind the Lens is a look at how we got here seen through the people who willed it to be. Each weekday, we will share with you the story of a person whose impact on the sports-television industry is indelible.
Legends Behind the Lens is presented in association with the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund. In these trying times - with so many video-production professionals out of work - we hope that you will consider (if you are able) donating to the Sports Broadcasting Fund. Do so by visiting sportsbroadcastfund.org.
___________________________
Because of Tom Shelburne, live on location is not a special event but an industry standard. The father of remote television production, he has spent decades capturing and telling stories from even the most secluded events, making the mobile production trucks he helped create an integral piece of the broadcasting puzzle.
Shelburne founded NEP Supershooters, the world's leading mobile broadcast production company. For decades, NEP has led the charge in designing, building, and maintaining dozens of mobile production trucks dispatched across the globe to make events come to life. It was Shelburne's vision of what a truck could be and do that launched the remote production industry so essential to sports broadcasting.
He created an industry where one didn't exist, explains Dan Wilhelm, former Executive Vice President of NEP Broadcasting. Shelburne grew up in television. His family founded Scranton, PA-based WNEP, which soon became the highest-rated ABC affiliate. In 1986, the New York Times Co. purchased WNEP, but Shelburne, who had always been fascinated with mobile production, kept the company's mobile assets, including NEP Communications. At the time, NEP owned just three mobile units.
In 1987, Shelburne s mobile division of WNEP formed a joint venture with Pittsburgh-based TCS to broadcast the Pan American Games for CBS Television. With the production a success, Shelburne spearheaded a merger between the two entities, and NEP was born, capitalizing on the strengths of its parts: TCS was the management center, while WNEP provided the technical brawn.
Tom was one of the early pioneers in really being able to move the mobile-unit industry to the levels that we're at now, says CBS Sports SVP of operations and production services, Ken Aagaard. Shelburne tossed anything conventional to the side.
NEP Supershooters Co-Founder Debbie Honkus explains, Tom never followed the rules. When an audio board didn't fit, he'd cut it in half. When a producer wanted more TV monitors, he'd cut a hole in the side of the truck to fit them in. He'd do whatever it takes.
In 1994, NBC offered NEP Supershooters, by then a standalone business, an exclusive contract to provide mobile units for all NBC Sports events, marking the first time a major network had outsourced all of its remote production. Within five years, all the major networks were outsourcing, and Shelburne started it all.
This industry wouldn't be where it is today unless you had somebody who made sure that we were able to produce television of the highest quality from remote spots around the world, Wilhelm says. Tom was the one that was able to make it happen.
From The America's Cup and the Olympics to NASCAR and the launch of the Golf Channel, Shelburne's vision and passion allowed NEP to set the standard for making television happen.
He pushes us to be knowledgeable about every piece of equipment, every part of the truck, how it works, how it all comes together, Wilhelm says.
Tom has a real passion for making the equipment and the team come together, says Jeff Joslin, former Vice President and Chief Engineer for NEP Supershooters. He has a gut feel for what it takes to get it done, puts it on the back of a napkin, and then makes it come to life on the road. He still comes in and helps design, build, and work on the trucks.
The video in this profile was originally produced in 2007. For more on the life and career of this industry legend, visit their profile at the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
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
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
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...
11/06/2026
Telemundo will launch its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on Thursday, June 11 with...
11/06/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. Fubo customers can now stream Telemundo and Universo, with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced its in-app features for FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage in Spain...
11/06/2026
Roblox has released the 2026 Roblox Digital Expression Report: Wave 4 - Sports D...
11/06/2026
FIFA has unveiled DNA, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem, performed by A...
11/06/2026
ESPN will provide English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 across its U.S. media platforms from June 11 through July 1...
11/06/2026
The latest product of the outstanding RIT Sports Network program, this recent grad from Long Island is carving out a promising path in broadcast engineering
In...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced a multi-year agreement to make DSPORTS channels available to ...
11/06/2026
Laura Dern at the 1986 Sundance Institute Directors Lab (Photo by Eric Edwards)
By Lucy Spicer
It takes a village to bring together the Sundance Institute lab...
11/06/2026
As podcast formats evolve in the streaming era, podcasting needs updated, transp...
11/06/2026
As Spotify's global RADAR program enters its sixth year in Italy, a new class of artists is stepping into the spotlight. Today, we're announcing the six...
11/06/2026
Pride Month is a time for celebration, reflection, and amplifying the diverse stories and perspectives from the LGBTQIA+ community that enrich our world. To hel...
11/06/2026
First in new line of muted string libraries
VSL have just announced the launch of two new string libraries that represent the first two instalments in a new...
11/06/2026
New colour option for 61-key Launchkey MK4
At Superbooth 2025, Novation introduced the Launchkey Mini 37 White and Launchkey 49 White, bringing an additiona...
11/06/2026
Larger, but still compact!
Arturia's popular compact MIDI controller keyboard is now available in a, well, slightly less compact version! The new MiniLa...
11/06/2026
Eurosatory 2026: Rohde & Schwarz shapes the new-generation battlefield Rohde & Schwarz unveils next generation SIGINT/EW and CUAS solutions on uncrewed system...
11/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz unveils NEMACS - Directional, ultra secure connectivity for the ...
11/06/2026
MTI FILM acquires Mango/New Edit Posted by MTI Film on June 10, 2026
LOS ANGELES, CA - June 2026 - MTI FILM, the multiple Emmy Award winning Hollywood post-p...
11/06/2026
Study underscores the need for authoritative content intelligence to build trust...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Maxon Brings Real-Time Architectural Visualization to AIA26 With New Redshift fo...
11/06/2026
ABC Kid's Caper Crew Shoots Australian Adventure with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 11, 2026
0 Comments
DP Judd Overton and team bring Wes A...
11/06/2026
PTZOptics, and LayerJot today announced live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how prompt-based AI, robotic camera control, and high-performance computing...
11/06/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, announces the release of GPIO-Button-10S, a dedicated control interface enabling straightforward press-to-a...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/06/2026
Kiloview, a leading innovator in AV-over-IP video solutions, will return to InfoComm 2026 (Booth# N8327) with broadcast-grade AV-over-IP solutions designed for ...
11/06/2026
Australian Games Industry Glossary of Terms 10 June 2026
From DAU and EULA to COT and QADE, here's a list of game industry terms, industry jargon and their...
11/06/2026
Berklee's Tonya Butler Named Music Business Educator of the Year The Music Business Association honored Butler at its annual Bizzy Awards.
June 10, 2026
...
11/06/2026
Ann Mincieli to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee NYC Graduate Commencement The five-time Grammy-winning engineer and producer, known for her longstanding...
11/06/2026
Thursday 11 June 2026
Daisy May Cooper rallies the nation ahead of ICC Women's T20 World CupTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy options and...
11/06/2026
Back to All News
Hadewych Minis and Geert van Rampelberg to Star in New Netflix...
11/06/2026
Back to All News
Official Trailer for Anime Adaptation of Thunder 3' Unvei...
11/06/2026
Summer solstice shows from C il House and Late Date from 9pm on Saturday 20 Jun...
11/06/2026
The GeForce NOW summer sale kicked off today with limited-time savings of up to ...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...