NFL Draft 2024: NFL Network Embraces Motown Groove With Massive Production That Goes Beyond Detroit In addition to sizable onsite presence, NFL Media brings in dozens of remote video feeds By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, April 25, 2024 - 5:38 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
This week's NFL Draft in Detroit marks the 10th edition since the league opted to take the event on the road to Chicago in 2015. In the years since it departed New York City, it has become NFL Network's largest and most complex production of the year - in terms of both its onsite presence and the coordination of live remote feeds from coast to coast.
NFL Media's Adam Acone (left) and Dave Shaw on hand in Detroit
The Draft has become the biggest event we do year after year, Senior Director, Media Operations, Adam Acone, who will be retiring from NFL Media following the Draft, having played an integral role in the broadcast's exponential growth over the past decade. Of course, the Super Bowl and our game productions are extremely important, but, from a sheer size and scale perspective, I think this one stands alone. It's the show that we bring in the most crew and have the most assets to utilize - and it deserves that.
It has grown into this massive event that is truly a celebration of football, he continues. Each city, each venue has its challenges, and it has become my favorite [event] to work on as it has continued to grow.
In total, NFL Media is providing more than 60 hours of live coverage throughout this week (across NFL Network, NFL Films, NFL.com, NFL , the NFL App, NFL RedZone, and the NFL FAST channel) and has set up shop in the middle of the action in Detroit.
Says Dave Shaw, VP/ head of media operations, NFL Media, You have to hand it to the NFL events team for getting this all set up right in downtown Detroit in the heart of the city. They have fenced off different areas so that the [crowd flow] goes right from the riverfront all the way to the stage in the central area of the square. It's awfully impressive and gives us a great look from a TV perspective.
Detroit Rock City: NFL Media Aims To Capture Excitement in the Heart of Downtown NFL Network has once again worked with Filmwerks on its primary set, which is located in Cadillac Square just outside the main Draft Theater. With five cameras and a large footprint, the set will look out onto both the crowd and the main stage, with Rich Eisen, Daniel Jeremiah, Charles Davis, and Joel Klatt hosting the network's coverage. A second set is situated inside the theater, with Insider Ian Rappaport and other reporters reporting on breaking news and trades.
View from NFL Network's exterior set in Cadillac Square
The beauty of this Draft is, it creates this festival environment in the heart of downtown Detroit, says Acone. We wanted to be able to capture that excitement and scenery while also making sure we could appropriately cover the Draft itself. I think we've done that with our two stages.
A third set has also been erected inside the OCM building, where the Draft will move in the event of inclement weather. Because it's Detroit and there are potential of weather changes, the contingency space is a big deal, says Shaw. Thankfully, we're ready. The Draft will go on if the weather is good or bad. It's going to happen; it's just a matter of how we televise it.
Game Creek Video has rolled out its Prime (A, B, C, and D) mobile units to serve NFL Network's needs in Detroit. Also in the compound are an HFI truck for QC, transmission units from The Switch and AT&T, and a satellite uplink from Arctek. BSI is providing four RF cameras and RF coordination; CP Communications, RF audio; AY Productions, comms; and Filmwerks/Sunbelt, generators powering the compound and the sets. In addition, Bexel is supplying fiber, cameras, lenses, and monitors for the production.
NFL Media worked with ESPN, Van Wagner, and the league's events team to lay down approximately 20,000 ft. of fiber to move the multitude of signals throughout site.
NFL Network has more than 20 of its own cameras strewn across the Draft festivities and is also sharing seven feeds from Van Wagner and six from ESPN. With the throng of remote video feeds coming into the compound, the production team has close to 100 sources to handle within the broadcast.
In terms of specialty cams, NFL Media has also brought back the JitaCam that hangs from the top of the theater and offers a sweeping aerial perspective of the stage and the fans in the tent.
NFL Network production room inside Game Creek Video Prime truck
Also included in the camera arsenal are three RF handhelds and an RF Sony HDC-P50, a Steadicam from BSI, and six robos from Fletcher positioned across the campus: three Peapod robos with 40X lenses and three Sony HDC-P50's with 14X and 24X lenses.
The robo that's going to give us some of the best looks is up on a corner rooftop of the Chase Tower that's looking down into the Draft site, says Acone. It captures the Fan Experience area, fans walking up Woodward Avenue, and the Draft site itself in the square. The robotic up on that rooftop is able to shoot all the way down to Hart Plaza and all the way up the street and into the Draft site, providing a look at the entire scene out here.
Beyond Detroit: Live Feeds From Draft Room, Prospects' Homes, Team Parties, and More Of course, NFL Media's presence on-site in Detroit is only a portion of the overall broadcast, which integrates dozens of feeds from around the country - and the world - including Draft Room feeds from all 32 clubs, 30 remote prospects, a dozen team parties, and draft picks announced from outside the U.S.
Managing the Draft Room feeds, remote prospect feeds, club-party feeds are (from foreg
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Network Embraces Motown Groove With Massive Production That Goes Beyond Detroit In addition to sizable onsite presence, NFL Media brings in dozens of remote video feeds By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. 
