
147th Kentucky Derby: NBC Sports Brings Production Team Back Onsite, Debuts Live Drone, Live JockeyCams NBC Sports' backstretch Bat Cam returns for the first time since 2019 By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, April 30, 2021 - 2:28 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Typically one of the largest annual productions on the live-sports calendar, NBC's Kentucky Derby broadcast last year had a significantly reduced footprint and was produced remotely due to the pandemic. This year, in a sign that live sports production is returning to some normalcy, the Peacock's production and announce teams are back onsite at Churchill Downs, and they have plenty of new tech toys to play with.
The big difference is, last year, we produced the show out of our [Sports Production Operations Center in] Stamford, CT, says Rob Hyland, coordinating producer, horse-racing coverage, NBC Sports. This year, we're back in Louisville, and we're very happy to be back.
For the first time, a live drone and two live RF JockeyCam systems will be deployed in Derby coverage. In addition, NBC Sports' backstretch Bat Cam returns for the first time since 2019, offering a perspective from 15-18 ft. above the track and traveling at up to 80 mph.
NBC Production Team Returns to Churchill Downs NEP ND1 A, B, C, and D mobile units are on hand for NBC's Derby production.
Last year's belated Kentucky Derby broadcast was produced out of NEP EN1 mobile units parked at the loading dock in Stamford (and used NBC Sports' NEWBERT remote flypack to bring back feeds), and nearly all on-air talent was located in Stamford. On Saturday, Hyland's production team and the crew of more than 200 will be back in Louisville, operating out NEP ND1 A, B, C, and D mobile production units, and more than a dozen announcers are on hand at Churchill Downs.
Hyland, who has been a part of the broadcaster's horse-racing coverage since its first Derby in 2001, joins director Drew Esocoff at the front bench inside ND1's A unit. Coverage on NBCSN today and earlier on Saturday will be handled by producer Billy Matthews and director Kaare Numme.
Twenty years ago, I was part of NBC's first Kentucky Derby, recounts Hyland. It was about a two-hour show, with a small team of reporters, a couple of feature-story elements, and that was the lead-up to the big race. This year, we have more than a dozen announcers, a production staff of more than 200, and about 15 hours of coverage.
50+ Cameras Around the Grounds Range From Robos to a Blimp Producer Rob Hyland expects NBC's new drone to provide unique new views of Churchill Downs' iconic twin spires.
NBC has scattered more than 50 cameras in and around Churchill Downs this year, including 12 wireless RF systems, six slo-mos, two robos, a blimp, a Bat Cam two-point aerial system, two live RF JockeyCams, and a live drone.
According to Hyland, the concept of using a drone first came up following the 2019 Derby, and NBC explored using one on the 2020 race before the pandemic nixed those plans. This year, with the Derby back in full swing, NBC opted to introduce the drone into its production.
Provided by Beverly Hills Aerials, the drone system has been outfitted with a Canon CJ20ex5B 4K broadcast zoom lens. Hyland's team conducted rehearsals with the supplier on Wednesday and Thursday to establish a comfort level on its use within the broadcast.
NBC has deployed 50+ cameras at Churchill Downs this year for the Derby.
Although Hyland says the exact plan for the drone is still being worked on, he envisions its covering the frontstretch much the way the Bat Cam covers the backstretch. He hopes to get at least one drone shot from the infield for each race.
We can utilize [the drone] and take you places that we haven't before with our traditional cameras, Hyland says. Specifically, wrapping around the twin spires, going between the twin spires to the paddock, from the paddock back to the front side, around the track, back to the chute where the mile chute is - where it's hard to get cameras, a very narrow area. We believe this camera perspective will be a great - call it a magic carpet - ride for the Derby viewer of five hours of our telecast.
NBC has worked closely with Churchill Downs to ensure that the drone does not interfere with the races and does not pose a danger to patrons at the track.
Although live JockeyCam has been used often in Europe, this marks the first time it will be used on an NBC Sports Kentucky Derby production.
We were worried about that with Bat Cam years ago, but horses have never noticed it in a race, says Hyland. Churchill Downs has been great in working with us, and the vendor has been great. Our number-one priority is safety.
Also new for this year's production is a pair of RF systems provided by UK-based JockeyCam and mounted to aboard jockey helmets. NBC has used JockeyCam for the Breeders Cup World Championships, but this marks the first time the system will provide in-race action at the Derby.
We think it will be a really cool replay for both the turf races and dirt races, says Hyland. [It's] an effort to bring the viewers closer to the action and give them a sense of the speed and the decision-making that goes on in each race and how fast it is.
Kornacki, SMT Expand Data-Centric Conversation in Derby Broadcast SMT is once again providing data feeds for NBC's Derby coverage, which will be utilized by handicapper/reporter Eddie Olczyk (pictured) and Derby newcomer Steve Kornacki.
SMT is once again providing a trove of racing and betting data, helping drive the graphics for NBC's broadcast, and providing the interface for interactive touchscreen displays used by handicapper/reporter Eddie Olczyk and Derby newcomer Steve Kornacki.
Having captured the cultura
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
15/06/2025
July 2025 in Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam & London
Photo: Thea Martre
Music Production for Women (MPW) have announced that they will be running a series of fo...
15/06/2025
Composer/producer launches free virtual instruments
Sulcata Sound is the latest venture of Jason Graves, a two-time British Academy Award-winnning composer,...
14/06/2025
NEW YORK Pluto TV and the All Womens Sports Network have launched a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) AWSN channel in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Nor...
14/06/2025
NEW YORK and CINCINNATI E.W. Scripps has announced a new, multiyear agreement with the WNBA that will continue Ions regular-season coverage of the league on Fri...
14/06/2025
WASHINGTON The National Association of Broadcasters highlighted the hidden importance of spectrum in the production of major sporting events and described wha...
14/06/2025
WASHINGTON Sunsetting ATSC 1.0, expanding business opportunities for NextGen Broadcast and increasing international adoption of the ATSC 3.0 standard were top o...
14/06/2025
SAN FRANCISCO Samba TV and Acxiom have announced that they will dramatically expand their longstanding relationship....
14/06/2025
July 2025 in Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam & London
Photo: Thea Martre
Music Production for Women (MPW) have announced that they will be running a series of fo...
14/06/2025
San Francisco State University's School of Cinema Uses Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 13, 2025
0 Comments
More than 40 Blackmagic Design came...
14/06/2025
Boris FX Mocha Pro Adds New AI Tools To Tackle VFX Tasks Fast
Jessie Electa Petrov June 13, 2025
0 Comments
The 2025.5 release helps artists work more...
14/06/2025
AJA Debuts DRM2-Plus Mini-Converter Frame at InfoComm 2025
Brie Clayton June 13, 2025
0 Comments
Next-gen frame addresses diverse rackmount needs wit...
13/06/2025
(L-R) Lindsay Utz, Michelle Walshe, and The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Prime Minister at Eccles T...
13/06/2025
Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima
If you're a true lover of rom-coms, chances...
13/06/2025
Pure Drama and Fierce Rivalries set to dominate the world's most iconic spor...
13/06/2025
Johannesburg, 12 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an a...
13/06/2025
ABILENE. Texas A severe storm knocked down the tower and severely damaged the news studio and main facility of Sinclair-owned KTXS here on Sunday, June 8....
13/06/2025
Berklee's Music Business/Management Department Recognized by the Music Biz A...
13/06/2025
WASHINGTON The ATSC, the Broadcast Standards Association, honored veteran technologist Aldo Cugnini and Clarence Hau, Senior Vice President of Standards, Policy...
13/06/2025
(Editor's note: The 2025 UFL Championship Game between the D.C. Defenders and Michigan Panthers kicks off Saturday, June 14, at 8 p.m. Eastern. The game wil...
13/06/2025
New iPad/iPhone synth App announced
Following on from last year's release of Gradient Synth - which reached #6 on the App Store's Paid Music charts ...
13/06/2025
LONDON Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that HBO Max will launch direct-to-consumer in multiple new countries this July as the streamer becomes available in...
13/06/2025
AI voice transcription and captioning platform Verbit has added a new feature to its Captivate ASR solution the ability to identify specific features in automat...
13/06/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission member Anna Gomez has wrapped up two weeks in California visiting broadcasters, television studio executives, enter...
13/06/2025
WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives voted mostly along party lines to approve a rescission package that would cancel $9.4 billion in previously approve...
13/06/2025
At InfoComm 2025, AJA Video Systems announced DRM2-Plus, an intuitive, high-capacity 3RU frame that can neatly house up to 24 AJA Mini-Converters. Tailored to s...
13/06/2025
Cinema advertising leader to leverage AOS and suite of AI-enabled solutions to optimize forecasting, yield management, and streamlined ad sales and operations a...
13/06/2025
Manfrotto has launched the ONE Hybrid Tripod, a new support system designed specifically for professional content creators working with mirrorless cameras acros...
13/06/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that its Media Edge Gateway (MEG), an ATSC 3.0 software-based IRD, now supports Device Security requ...
13/06/2025
LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video contribution, production and distribution solutions, is deepening its commitment to the German-speaking market with th...
13/06/2025
Chaos, the leader in architectural visualisation software, today announces Chaos Corona 13, giving archviz designers new ways to add eye-catching style and flai...
13/06/2025
PALI's Nena Music Video Shot with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 12, 2025
0 Comments
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K and DaVinci Resolve Studio b...
13/06/2025
OddBeast Powers Up iRobot's Newest Roombas with Suite of CGI Launch Assets
Brie Clayton June 12, 2025
0 Comments
The motion design and production ...
13/06/2025
On Chick Coreas Birthday, a Newly Uncovered Archival Release The Visitors, composed by Corea and performed by vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Kirill Gers...
13/06/2025
In fulfilment of a recommendation by the Government's Expert Advisory Commit...
13/06/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Backblaze's Gleb Budman Talks Products, Partnerships, and the ...
13/06/2025
SVG Sit-Down: DAZN's Walker Jacobs Calls Streaming the FIFA Club World Cup ...
13/06/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Vecima Networks' Paul Strickland on How Improving QoE...
13/06/2025
Pitch Perspective: Where's Next for Specialty Cameras in Soccer? Leaders from Sky Austria and ACS discuss the possibilities of camera placement pitchside B...
13/06/2025
Premiership Rugby Final 2025: Vintage clash between Bath and Leicester gets full...
13/06/2025
Premiership Rugby Final 2025: TNT Sports gears up for Bath vs Leicester battle w...
13/06/2025
NCAA Men's College World Series: ESPN Adds Two-Point SupraCam, Invests in Ne...
13/06/2025
New FSWX signal and spectrum analyzer with novel architecture overcomes limits o...
13/06/2025
Apple today announced the addition of iPad to Self Service Repair, providing iPad owners with access to repair manuals, genuine Apple parts, Apple Diagnostics t...
13/06/2025
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today previewed iOS 26, a major update that brings a beautiful new design, intelligent experiences, and improvements to the apps use...
13/06/2025
At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple unveiled Apple Games, an all-new destination designed to help players jump back into the games they...
13/06/2025
Industrial AI isn't slowing down. Germany is ready.
Following London Tech Week and GTC Paris at VivaTech, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang's Europea...
12/06/2025
In 2018, Spotify launched Heart & Soul, a mental health initiative developed to ...
12/06/2025
50 Years Strong: SBS and NITV Supercharge NAIDOC Week 2025 in a joint 50th celeb...