NAB 2019 Reflections: SportZcast's Mike Connell Envisions Vast Expansion Into New Sports Ventures Sports gambling, college sports, increased venue deployment are targets By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor
Friday, April 19, 2019 - 9:06 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
SportZcast specializes in live-scoreboard-data decoding and distribution for professional leagues and teams across all sports. With scorebots compatible with multiple graphics packages and scoreboard models, in-venue productions are simpler and smoother. Last week in Las Vegas, Mike Connell, president, SportZcast, discussed the latest innovations displayed at the company's NAB 2019 booth and previewed the company's next plan of action.
What are the hottest products on the market for SportZcast at NAB 2019?
We have two new products. One of them, ScoreLink, allows any [venue] scoreboard a data output that is suitable for tying directly into all of the graphics systems, such as Vizrt, Ross Xpression, or ChyronHego.
The second product we are showing is ScoreHub, which is kind of the same concept: with any data from any scoreboard or any custom graphic that we're generating internally at the console, the [output] comes out as NDI or multiple NDI feeds. Doing a sporting event, [a producer] can have a lower-third bug, a statistics page, extended graphics since there are multiple feeds coming out of the [ScoreHub]. There's also [the capability] of an HDMI feed, if you have a scorer's table and want to run a video scoreboard below it.
[Also], we are offering a single-camera sports solution. It's an off-the-shelf, IP camera that's very inexpensive and looks like a typical security camera. We add our software to that camera to produce a scoreboard overlay. We also remote-control the camera from anywhere on the internet, so a [college] sports information director doesn't have to go to the baseball game [to control it]. They log in, put the scorebug in wherever they want, and stream the event live to their providers.
How is SportZcast continuing to expand in other avenues in sports?
The score network [that we have] is in over 2,800 venues with live-score data that's available for repurposing and resharing. One of the really big things coming up for us is the sports-gambling industry. No one [in the industry] can provide data faster from a video perspective than what we're doing. We call it time-zero data because we're giving [fans information] the millisecond the ball [is in play.] We're looking for partners to do that, so it will soon be available for the gambling industry.
Another [aspect] that is important to us is the switchover to college sports. We're working [on] an interface to make ScoreHub the hub between statistics, video, and scoreboard data in local and [widespread] distribution.
[Moving forward], we want to get a scorebot in every venue. We're starting to push into more of the professional stadiums, and we're providing data solutions for traditional production environments. Since the data is all cloud-based on remote-production feeds back to the studios, it's already there. It's just about getting the word out to companies like Fox, ESPN, and NBC.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
North America Stories
16/07/2026
This recent graduate and Georgia native has turned an early fascination with live production into a growing passion for camera work
In the live-sports-video in...
16/07/2026
TNDV is marking the first anniversary of Aspiration 35, a mobile production truck built around ARRI Alexa 35 Live camera systems. Over its first year, the truck...
16/07/2026
ATSC has completed a major revision to its A/85 Recommended Practice: Techniques...
16/07/2026
FloSports has announced an exclusive global media partnership with CrossFit for the 2026 CrossFit Games, presented by Air National Guard, beginning July 21 in S...
16/07/2026
Sennheiser has released firmware version 1.4 for its Spectera wireless system and announced the Spectera Command Button (Cat. No. 701014). The update adds comma...
16/07/2026
ESPN and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) have announced a multi-year...
16/07/2026
Audio-Technica has announced the 20 Series Control Application, a Stream Deck plug-in for compatible Audio-Technica USB microphones. The application is compatib...
16/07/2026
The fifteenth season of The Voice - La plus belle voix on TF1 used four Solid St...
16/07/2026
Gray Media and the Atlanta Hawks have announced a broadcast partnership that wil...
16/07/2026
Season 3 of Netflix's docuseries, which dropped this week, follows Jayden Da...
16/07/2026
The Texas Rangers and Rangers Sports Network presented by Progressive (RSN) have announced BZZR as the new direct-to-consumer distributor for Rangers game broad...
16/07/2026
With England's FIFA World Cup 2026 team getting ready to fly home after losi...
16/07/2026
In a return to Royal Birkdale, the team enjoys partnering with ETP and Gravity M...
16/07/2026
Along with a new studio at Ball Arena, the Colorado-based RSN is working with XR...
16/07/2026
Austria was back at the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, and the team d...
16/07/2026
With 42 RF cameras and high-power radio mics deployed, the spectrum environment ...
16/07/2026
June brought stabilization to the television market. Poles spent an average of 3 hours and 36 minutes a day in front of their TV screens exactly the same as i...
16/07/2026
Glensound returns to IBC with a major new addition to its intelligent loudspeaker range, the Greater Divine Supernal studio monitor, alongside recent developmen...
16/07/2026
33 leading exhibitors are taking part in the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions and linked locations across IBC2026 (Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September)...
16/07/2026
Hitomi Broadcast will introduce Spectra, a new HDR colour verification solution measured in picture, not using VPID, at IBC2026 (Hall 10, Stand A40). Expanding ...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
16/07/2026
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is coming to GeForce NOW at launch, with the playable...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
NAB 2019 Reflections: SportZcast's Mike Connell Envisions Vast Expansion Into New Sports Ventures Sports gambling, college sports, increased venue deployment are targets By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor 
