146th Preakness Stakes: NBC's Pimlico Setup Builds on Onsite Derby Production Health and safety protocols are eased with changing CDC guidelines By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, May 14, 2021 - 2:06 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
After a return to big-time onsite productions at the Kentucky Derby, NBC Sports is at Pimlico this weekend for the second gem in horseracing's Triple Crown. All three of NBC's 2020 Triple Crown races were produced remotely, with the production team located at NBC Sports' production-operations center in Stamford, CT. This year, however, the production team is back at Pimlico, along with Director, Sports Operations, Tim Dekime and Senior Technical Manager John Roch , who were focused on NBC Sunday Night Football during last year's delayed race in October.
Since [the Preakness and Derby took place during] football season last year, John and I couldn't even be here, says Dekime. So [Technical Manager] Keith Kice was able to focus on this while we were focused on NFL, which created some continuity since he knows [Triple Crown productions] well. This year, it's really good to be back and have a full operation onsite again.
Stamford Still in the Mix: Editing and Graphics Operate Remotely NBC Sports' Tim Dekime (left) and John Roch at the Pimlico truck compound for the Preakness
At the Preakness this weekend, NBC's primary production team will once again be housed in NEP ND1 A, B, C, and D mobile production units - as was the case at Churchill Downs. Unlike at the Derby, though, NBCSN's broadcast also will be produced out of ND1 instead of in Stamford.
I think the 2020 [Derby] was a different year altogether, but we learned a lot, says Dekime. This year at the Derby, we did a hybrid [production] of what we did in 2020 and our [traditional onsite] setup that we had done in the past. Our NBCSN broadcasts were produced and directed through Stamford, and our NBC network broadcasts were done onsite with ND1, so we eliminated a TV truck that was dedicated to NBCSN in the past, and those cameras were streamed back to Stamford.
However, with far fewer hours of NBCSN programming for the Preakness than for the Derby, NBC elected to locate all productions onsite in ND1. Although the front bench will be in Baltimore, the bulk of NBC's graphics and editing teams will once again be in Stamford, deploying the same setup as for the Derby.
We have a lot of editing being done back in Stamford, along with our graphics operations, and that worked out really well [for the Derby], says Roch . It's very similar to what we do for Sunday Night Football, so we just basically mirrored that. The only difference with football is, there are a lot more cameras coming from the site. But it has been successful, and I think everybody thought was a good formula [for the Preakness].
According to Roch , NBC has deployed 31 cameras at Pimlico, primarily a mix of Sony HDC-4300's (including four in 6X-slo-mo mode), 2500's, and 1500's plus one HDC-4800 4K high-speed system and one HDC-P1R POV - all with Canon lenses. BSI is also on hand supplying seven RF cameras.
As CDC guidelines continue to evolve, so too do NBC's onsite safety protocols. For example, if on-air talent is vaccinated, they now need to be separated by only 3 ft. - instead of 6 ft.. - on the set or in the announce booth.
We still have very stringent safety protocols, notes Dekime, but, as CDC guidelines are changing, so are ours. We are still [enforcing] mask wearing and social distancing. We also have rented a large catering trailer so people could be separated during meals, as well as additional office trailers so we didn't have our talent and staff crowded together in one small area. Even as [protocols] change, we certainly continue to do a lot to create more space so we can social-distance.
Despite the lessening of social-distancing regulations, NBC's main set will be the same expanded desk used at the Derby, allowing all talent to be separated by 6 ft. Dekime expects the set at the Belmont next month to have a more traditionally sized set.
In order to have a larger depth, we have to [expand everything] from the platforms to the lighting, says Dekime. We have a pretty elaborate lighting truss set up and have heightened the rooftop to account for the larger desk and the lighting.
A Look Back at the Derby: Drone Is Popular with Crew and Viewers The Derby truck compound at Churchill Downs last month
Though not deployed at Pimlico this weekend, the drone that debuted on NBC's Derby coverage was a hit among production personnel and viewers. Provided by Beverly Hills Aerial (which also provided the drone for NBC's outdoor NHL game in Lake Tahoe), the heavy-payload drone featured a Sony HDC-P50 camera and captured shots never before seen in Derby telecasts.
They loved the drone in the production room, and it got some great shots, says Roch . The only limitation was that the battery could last only 10 minutes at a time because we were dealing with a heavy payload. But the shot worked great.
Dekime adds, That's the restriction of having a drone with a heavy payload. But they were extremely happy with the shots that we got, and I would imagine the drone will be a part of our broadcasts to the future.
Whether it's at the Derby, the Preakness, or next month's Belmont, Dekime and Roch are just happy to see some familiar faces in the compound after such a challenging Triple Crown year in 2020.
On the technical side of things, says Roch , it's just good to see a lot of people back to work, and everyone here is so happy be back to work. These are some of the most capable people around, and it's great to be back [onsite] and see them here again.
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...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
14/07/2025
The Royal Moroccan Air Force hosted a C-130 award ceremony with L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert a...
14/07/2025
UK launch set for September, following on from recent US and Germany releases
London - UK, July 14, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, da...
14/07/2025
SHENZHEN, China Telycam has added control options for its portfolio of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with a new plug-in for Elgato's Stream Deck family of con...
14/07/2025
The awards are open to IBC2025 show exhibitors and offer a valuable platform for companies to raise awareness for the new products and solutions they will be la...
14/07/2025
Clear-Com is excited to announce a significant expansion of the award-winning Arcadia Central Station with new software updates. Together, these releases dram...
14/07/2025
Grass Valley and Daktronics today announced a strategic technology partnership that unites Grass Valley's live production expertise with Daktronics' lea...
14/07/2025
Cloud playout solutions provider, Veset, and swXtch.io, provider of cloud-based multicast and reliable networking solutions, are partnering to deliver multicast...
14/07/2025
Tintri , a DDN subsidiary and leader in AI-powered data management solutions, today announces a game-changing and award-winning refresh to its global Partner P...
14/07/2025
HighField AI, the broadcast industry's first agentic and multimodal AI platform for automating graphics production, is now commercially available. Developed...
14/07/2025
Encompass Digital Media has today announced that it has been delivering a complex global services project for DAZN, the world s leading sports entertainment pla...
14/07/2025
MASV (massive.io), the fastest, most reliable large file transfer platform trusted by over 10,000 global organizations, announced today it will showcase its nex...
14/07/2025
Calrec is introducing a series of usability, customisation and system enhancements across the entire range of Argo consoles at IBC 2025, on Stand 8.C47. Look ou...
14/07/2025
Fincons Group, IT business consultancy and systems integrator company with more than 40 years of experience in the market, is proud to announce a new engagement...
14/07/2025
Stand 5.F45, IBC2025, Amsterdam, 12 15 September 2025 Intinor returns to IBC to present the latest updates to its Direkt series. A key development on show is ...
14/07/2025
Sony's New Coach's Headset Was Designed in Collaboration With the NFL Featuring a custom dynamic boom mic, the headset will debut in the fall By Dan Da...
14/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network's Marc Caiafa and Tom Guidice on th...
14/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix ISP Speed Index for June 2025
Product
14 July 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
One percent of Internet Service Providers (ISP...
14/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Begins Filming The Map of Longing With Al cia Falc , P...
14/07/2025
This July marks 100 days since I officially stepped into the role of CEO at Grass Valley, a milestone not of abrupt change, but of confident continuity.
Unlike...
14/07/2025
Enhancing Public Service Broadcasting with
Innovation, Accuracy & Sustainability
New regional detail and local towns featured...
13/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Expands B&B Universe' with Yu Jae Seok's B&B ...
13/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network Marks Five Straight Years of Onsite MLB...
12/07/2025
Ryan Coogler accepting the 2013 Vanguard Award. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez.
Editor's Note: In honor of Fruitvale Station s 12th anniversary, we're d...
12/07/2025
Key Code Education, the professional training division of Key Code Media, proudly announces a major update to its Adobe Premiere Pro Engineering and Advanced Op...
12/07/2025
Key Code Education, a leader in instructor-led post production training for over...
12/07/2025
As the death toll continues to mount, with at least 120 killed and more than 170 people still missing on July 10 from devastating Texas floods, a number of broa...
12/07/2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and MIAMI -DirecTV and TelevisaUnivision have signed a deal that will make the ad-supported premium subscription tier of ViX, ViX Premium wi...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
146th Preakness Stakes: NBC's Pimlico Setup Builds on Onsite Derby Production Health and safety protocols are eased with changing CDC guidelines By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
