
Live From CFP National Championship: ACC Network Battles Weather for Onsite Studio Programming Jax Brewery is hosting three physical sets By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Monday, January 13, 2020 - 3:13 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
With the help of Clemson's football dynasty, the ACC Network punched its ticket to New Orleans in its first year of linear operations. Prior to the first snap of tonight's College Football Playoff National Championship Game, the network worked around gloomy weather and a tight schedule to produce nearly 20 hours of pre/postgame content.
The ACC Network constructed three physical sets, including this one inside the Jackson Brewery location.
It's three days in three different locations, explains Aaron Katzman, coordinating producer, ESPN. Saturday was Media Day at Xavier University. which was a whole setup. Jackson Brewery is functional and operational all weekend, but weather caused a lot of changes. We have two inside sets going on at the same time, which is a pretty remarkable achievement to put a year's worth of planning and then, in two hours, move everything inside because of lightning and thunderstorms.
In the Heart of NOLA: Three Main Sets Take Over the French Quarter
Debuting on the main stage with this production, the network has flaunted its lineup of studio shows at Jax Brewery on the perimeter of historic Jackson Square, including The Huddle with Dalen Cuff, Eric Mac Lain, EJ Manuel, Mark Richt, Kelsey Riggs, Jon Beason, Roddy Jones, and Mark Herzlich; and Packer and Durham (sans dogs). On the building's fourth floor, three physical sets were constructed and are being used by a wide range of talent.
This facility works great because you get multiple angles with multiple sets, says Amy Rosenfeld, VP, production, ESPN. The ESPN team scouted this location the week after the National Championship Game last year, and Aaron sat down with [Coordinating Director] Lorenzo Lamadrid and [Managing Producer] Lindsey Lloyd and fit [our coverage] into the puzzle because the complexity of the timing is really something.
Developing an intricate plan is a major reason the ACC Network's coverage is rolling along with minimal hiccups. With the Tigers once again in the mix as one of the best college football teams in the country, Katzman, Rosenfeld, and the rest of the crew got a bit of a head start on planning, based on the likelihood that they would be making a trip to the Big Easy.
The great thing about Clemson is that everyone is always aware that there is a really good chance they're going to be here in the National Championship, Rosenfeld continues. If they potentially win it all, it provides an opportunity to have a lot of positive content.
A Change in Plans: Rough Weather Pushes Operational Limits
Despite the network's best-laid plans, a patch of weather bringing wind, rain, and even a potential tornado derailed the original blueprint for the shows. Many of the outdoor or semi-outdoor plans - including the idea of having the Mississippi River as the background - were ultimately foiled. The staff decided to move operations indoors and use spacing to produce numerous shows simultaneously.
Despite the weather, a set is being used in a semi-outdoor patio area.
Along with the weather problems were timing issues. The physical set inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome was in jeopardy of having to be assembled and placed on the field a day later than usual.
Monday, we're at the Superdome, which had its own set of issues, says Katzman. A week and a half ago, there was a lot of thought that the New Orleans Saints would host a playoff game, and that would have pushed us back to bringing our equipment onsite a day later.
A Makeshift Content Factory: A Deeper Look at the Jax Brewery Setup
Bringing a variety of studio shows on the road has its share of logistical hurdles. In an unfamiliar venue, the ACC Network created a temporary control room responsible for a majority of the onsite production duties. An onsite producer, director, and other staffers who raise the total to 15 are working in New Orleans, but, at headquarters in Bristol, CT, graphics implementation and the final product are handled in a dedicated control room. This not only allows a streamlined workflow but also permits high-profile shows deriving from that location to use shared resources, such as footage.
In addition to production functions handled in Bristol, the crew has a temporary control room onsite.
We have a core group of ACC Network people that are here, says Katzman. In addition, there are others doing everything on the technical and production sides. One of our directors working on the pregame show is also directing NFL Countdown, so it's really all hands on deck and one big team to help the ESPN family out.
Although the environment may be crowded, the setting has allowed both talent and behind-the-scenes personnel to establish a stronger bond with those associated with ESPN's NFL side.
It has been great to see our talent in an office space like this with College GameDay talent and watch some of the newer TV personalities be flies on the wall with these people, Katzman says. It has also been great for all of them to share stories with each other and cross-promote material on the shows.
Although another network is busy churning out content that highlights the opposing LSU Tigers, the ACC Network is working hand-in-hand with the SEC Network as well. There has been some on-air crossover - including having the SEC Network's Marty and McGee on Packer and Durham, Richt speaking in a segment with former SEC head coach Gene Chizik, and Mac Lain and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy on College Football Live - but, more important, the new network is leaning on its heavily experienced colleagues.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
07/09/2026
By Ramona Flume and Lucy Spicer
There's a particular kind of magic that hap...
07/09/2026
Two new full-range, flat-response cabinets introduced
HeadRush have recently introduced a pair of new full-range, flat-response cabinets designed for player...
07/09/2026
Answering questions about AI in game audio
GameSoundCon, the largest professional conference for video game music and sound design, have announced that they...
07/09/2026
New directional headset mic on show at IBC
Just ahead of this week's IBC show, DPA have announced the launch of a new directional headset that's bee...
07/09/2026
We are not building systems to replace human decision-making; we are building systems that execute our decisions at machine speed. The media companies that win ...
07/09/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces New Lower Price for Blackmagic PYXIS 6K and Blackmag...
07/09/2026
GB Labs to Unveil Core.ONE at IBC2026, an Intelligent Storage Platform for Media...
07/09/2026
Monday 7 September 2026
Freddie Meredith joins cast of SNL UK ahead of start of Season 2
Freddie Meredith Images
ZIP (3MB)
Saturday Night Live UK announces ...
07/09/2026
Monday 7 September 2026
Sky and NFTS team up to launch new routes into screen careers
Sky has today announced a new apprenticeship programme, with application...
07/09/2026
Monday 7 September 2026
Sky Sports announces most comprehensive NFL coverage to...
07/09/2026
Dolby, MainConcept, Techex and J nger Audio will showcase the industry's first demonstration of Serial Audio Definition Model (S-ADM) in a cloud-based produ...
07/09/2026
dB Broadcast will showcase APIS Hive, its software platform for designing, deploying and managing modern broadcast infrastructures, at IBC 2026.
Developed from...
07/09/2026
552,000 streams on RT Player
The historic fight, which saw Katie Taylor become...
06/09/2026
Recreates Rolands TB-303 & MC-202
BS-203 MacroAcidizer is the first virtual instrument from Born Second, and it offers a recreation of two Roland classics -...
06/09/2026
London, UK September 2026 PlayBox Technology is inviting broadcasters, OTT and FAST operators, content owners and media organisations worldwide to become De...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
05/09/2026
MK2 & Bass system control app improved
HEDD Audio have just launched a new and improved version of the control software that pairs with their MK2 and Bass m...
05/09/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
05/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/09/2026
InSync Technology, the leading provider of premium video conversion solutions, will showcase a new generation of products at IBC 2026, designed to help broadcas...
05/09/2026
GlobalM successfully supported quattro media GmbH and World Rowing, the world governing body of the Olympic sport of Rowing, with the international distribution...
05/09/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-In recognition of his exceptional work to understand the chemistry of carbohydrates and the role they play in health and disease, Scripps Family Ch...
04/09/2026
Media organisations interested in the Media Innovation Europe 3.0 Business Innovation Synergizer (BIS) can now consult a new FAQ document providing additional a...
04/09/2026
Eluvio will demonstrate updates to its Content Fabric platform at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Stand 8.MS5, and Future Tech Zone, Hall 14, Stand 14.A58, September 11-14). C...
04/09/2026
LiveU has joined the IBC Accelerator's Smart Stories consortium, a multi-vendor initiative developing an open standard for Story Context interoperability in...
04/09/2026
Telos Alliance will demonstrate new audio observability capabilities at IBC2026 (Stand 8.D37, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), covering monitoring of audio heal...
04/09/2026
World Team Tennis (WTT) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports, the sports division of Versant. USA Sports will air all six of WTT's live mat...
04/09/2026
Gravity Media has appointed Alex Pannell as Chief Business Officer. Pannell joins from Appear, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer. He will be based in ...
04/09/2026
By Carrie Bowden
Staff Writer
Dalet has announced new agentic workflow capabilities for Dalia, its AI platform for media organizations, ahead of IBC2026. The ...
04/09/2026
L-Acoustics has achieved EN 54 certification across a portfolio of loudspeakers,...
04/09/2026
EVS and Matrox Video have announced a technology partnership integrating Matrox ...
04/09/2026
NEP Group will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 7, Stand 7.B55, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), demonstrating software-defined production capabilities across NEP Platf...
04/09/2026
The Television Academy has awarded an Engineering Emmy to Dr. Roman Foltyn, Chief Engineer of FoMaSystems, and Curt O. Schaller for the development of the ARRI ...
04/09/2026
InSync Technology will exhibit at IBC2026 (Stand 2.C30, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), demonstrating its FrameFormer and InGear conversion platforms for frame...
04/09/2026
The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has signed a multi-year agreemen...
04/09/2026
Accedo and MediaKind have announced a white-label, end-to-end streaming solution for operators, combining Accedo's native application framework and cloud-ba...
04/09/2026
TAG Video Systems has announced TAG Blue, a cloud platform for shared monitoring visibility across video delivery chains, with AI-powered root-cause analysis. T...
04/09/2026
TwelveLabs has launched a video compliance platform for media organizations, inc...
04/09/2026
The Television Academy and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences ha...
04/09/2026
Powerful new soft synth announced
Traveler is the first software instrument to be released by KeySolutions Sounds, and it's an ambitious one! Said to co...
04/09/2026
Free virtual instrument range expanded
The latest expansion of e-instruments' free Fragments series introduces a packed-down version of the company'...
04/09/2026
Company recognised for second time
Two years after winning an Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Award for dxRevive Pro, Accentize have been recognised ...
04/09/2026
Bilbao - 3rd September 2026 -AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV and vi...
04/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/09/2026
ACEMAGIC First to Introduce Ryzen AI Max PRO 495 AI Mini Workstation at IFA 202...
04/09/2026
Krotos Brings Video to Sound Footsteps Directly into Premiere Pro and DaVinci Re...