Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Live From NFL Draft 2025: ESPN's Massive' Production Features 1,700-foot Cabled Aerial Camera, Multiple Studio Sets Outside Historic Lambeau Field

24/04/2025

Live From NFL Draft 2025: ESPN's Massive' Production Features 1,700-foot Cabled Aerial Camera, Multiple Studio Sets Outside Historic Lambeau Field The league estimates that about 250,000 fans could flood into Green Bay over three days By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 3:56 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

The word you'll hear a lot in the ESPN production compound in Green Bay in the lead up to tonight's 2025 NFL Draft is hope.

It's what makes this event the NFL's traveling spring festival such a compelling product: every team has it. And with every team currently holding a first-round selection (the first time that's happened since the league expanded to 32 teams), there's an excitement that truly every fan base will have a reason to tune in on Night 1 tonight.

ESPN's main NFL Draft set is located off the right hand side of the stage inside the main theater.

Throw in the fact that this Draft is taking place on the football-equivelant of hallowed ground adds another compelling layer to this year's production as ESPN and The Walt Disney Company will deliver wall-to-wall coverage across its family of platforms, transforming the historic Lambeau Field into the epicenter of football's future.

As has become the tradition, the Draft's first round, airing Thursday night, will deliver distinctly different experiences for audiences watching on either ESPN or ABC. ESPN's coverage is centered on team needs and player performance-bringing hardcore fans inside the war rooms and onto the field. Meanwhile, ABC's approach, now in its seventh consecutive year, leans into human interest, highlighting player journeys, backgrounds, and the emotional gravity of their NFL leap.

Live coverage airing on ABC on Thursday and Friday night will be hosted from a set behind the Draft crowd in the Lambeau Field parking lot.

In total, ESPN's 14 hours of Draft coverage spans three days and seven rounds, bolstered by 257 picks and comprehensive digital support. But the broadcast isn't just about what's on air-it's about how it's captured.

Three virtual jibs will float above the crowd, adding dynamic movement to crowd reactions and pick announcements. Drone shots, positioned at the opposite end of the stadium from the crowd, offer sweeping aerial visuals. Hard cameras atop Lambeau's roof will deliver top-down angles rarely seen in traditional football coverage. And thanks to the NFL's partnership with LiveU, coverage includes 23 virtual prospect feeds and 32 team cameras to follow each pick as it happens.

One of the most versatile tools in this production? Supracam-a 1,700-foot line camera that runs through and around Lambeau. We have to really pay attention to creating establishing shots, otherwise it could look like we're just in a parking lot in any American city, says Tommy Mitchell, Senior Operations Manager at ESPN. Supracam allows us to see inside the stadium and then fly back out. It's like the marquee shot at the Rose Bowl. In the past, that camera has been primary for a crowd shot, now it's really going to help us a lot as an establishing shot, too.

ESPN has rigged up a Supracam over the crowd. The cable run stretches approximately 1,700 feet from the stage to one of the videoboards inside Lambeau Field.

The 2025 NFL Draft marks a milestone in the League's offseason showcase, as it lands in its smallest-ever host market. With a population of just over 107,000, Green Bay is preparing to welcome more than double its usual size, with 250,000 fans expected over three days. It's a logistical and technical challenge unlike any other, and ESPN's operations team is tackling it with the precision and scale usually reserved for championship broadcasts.

Everything about this is temporary, says Mitchell, who is working his second NFL Draft. This production essentially originates from a blank slate.

ESPN has three jibs with Sony cameras on site at the 2025 NFL Draft, all with virtual graphics capabilities.

Unlike college football stadiums or arenas outfitted with ready infrastructure, Lambeau Field's surrounding area had to be reimagined and rebuilt to accommodate a broadcast of this scale. That means bringing in everything-power, fiber, staging, camera positions, and more-from scratch.

Crews began arriving well in advance to construct the NFL Draft theater and accompanying sets, strategically placed in the shadows of Lambeau. ESPN's main set is housed inside the theater area, just behind the crowd and to the right of the main stage. ABC's set, along with The Pat McAfee Show's draft platform, is nestled near Lambeau's iconic Atrium, accompanied by additional reporter positions for Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel.

While Green Bay may lack the size of previous hosts like Detroit-whose 2024 Draft drew a record-setting 775,000 attendees-it offers something different: intimacy, character, and football legacy. But making it TV-ready? That's the kind of challenge ESPN's team thrives on.

Executing this scale of broadcast requires a herculean team effort-one that Mitchell is quick to praise. It's a clich to say it's a team effort and we have the best crew, he says. While a clich , its true especially at an event like this when you consider how much pre-planning goes into it and things change when you get here. You have to have the people who are adept at saying ok, that's disappointing but let's figure out the best outcome of this.'

ESPN's primary NFL Draft coverage will be anchored out of NEP's EN1, which has been the home of Monday Night Football for more than a decade.

On the ESPN side, producer Bryan Ryder and director Steve Zawilinski are steering the ship, supported by a veteran
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/04/24/live-from-nfl-draft-2025-espns-...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

01/05/2025

Fired CPB Board Members Sue Trump Administration

WASHINGTON The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from firing three of its board members, claiming the pre...

01/05/2025

Riedel Opens Hong Kong Office

HONG KONG Riedel Communications today said it has opened a new office in Hong Kong, enhancing its presence in the Asia-Pacific region....

01/05/2025

NextGen TV: Sinclair Applauds New ATSC 3.0 D2M Phones

MUMBAI, India & BALTIMORE In a development that could advance efforts to bring NextGen TV to cellphones, FreeStream Technologies, Lava International and HMD hav...

01/05/2025

Screen Australia empowers 100+ distinctive Australian narratives

01 05 2025 - Media release Screen Australia empowers 100 distinctive Australian narratives All The Boys Are Here writer/director Goran Stolevski and It s All...

01/05/2025

How PFX Delivered 750 VFX Shots in Just Four Months For Anthony Hopkins Thriller Locked

How PFX Delivered 750 VFX Shots in Just Four Months For Anthony Hopkins Thriller...

01/05/2025

Careline's New Wave Makeup Commercial Shot With URSA Cine 12K LF

Careline's New Wave Makeup Commercial Shot With URSA Cine 12K LF Brie Clayton May 1, 2025 0 Comments CAD Studios relies on large format, full fram...

01/05/2025

RT Investigates reveals details of Christian Brothers who managed congregation's assets are now convicted jailed child sexual abusers

RT Investigates reveals details of Christian Brothers who were senior leaders a...

01/05/2025

RT Statement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project

RT Statement The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project is one of the projects that was funded from the proceeds of RT 's land sale in 2017, the init...

01/05/2025

RT is Supporting 28 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this May

Watch our promo: RT Supporting the Arts | What's on This May, RT is delighted to support Bealtaine Festival, Fastnet Film Festival, and Dublin Dance Fest...

01/05/2025

Wandercraft Begins Clinical Trials for Physical AI-Powered Personal Exoskeleton

For Nicolas Simon, advancing the field of robotics is a personal mission that could change his siblings' lives. Two-thirds of Simon's family members us...

30/04/2025

Inside the Archives: Preserving and Saving At-Risk Films Takes a Village

Film elements held at the Deluxe warehouse in March of 2015. Photo by Luis Silva...

30/04/2025

Spotify and EA SPORTS Team Up To Pilot a New Kind of Audio Experience

EA SPORTS FC 25 fans in Australia and Saudi Arabia, get ready to immerse yourselves in the beautiful game like never before. Spotify is excited to announce a n...

30/04/2025

Tucker Wetmore Celebrates His Debut Album Release With an Intimate Performance for Fans

The past year has been nothing short of a whirlwind for Tucker Wetmore. After th...

30/04/2025

Spotify Celebrates Mexico's Booming Podcast Scene With First-Ever Podcast Awards

Mexico's love for podcasts is no longer a trend-it's a lifestyle. With m...

30/04/2025

Slam poet Huda the Goddess wins 2025 Les Murray Award

Slam poet Huda the Goddess wins 2025 Les Murray Award 30 April, 2025 Media releases Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Huda Fadlelmawla...

30/04/2025

SBS, NITV and NIDA partner to empower the next generation of screen creatives

SBS, NITV and NIDA partner to empower the next generation of screen creatives 30 April, 2025 Media releases SBS, National Indigenous Television (NITV) and ...

30/04/2025

Why Now is the Perfect Time to Join HPA

By Joyce JC Cataldo The media and entertainment industry is evolving faster than ever. Technology is shifting the way we create, distribute, and experience c...

30/04/2025

On-Demand Imagery: Enhancing Monitoring and Analysis with Advanced Streaming Platforms

An image of Valencia, Spain, in the OneAtlas Living Library...

30/04/2025

WPSD-TV Taps Bitcentral To Modernize Playout

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. WPSD-TV, the NBC affiliate in Paducah, Ky., has selected Bitcentral's Central Control playout system to upgrade the station's mast...

30/04/2025

Baris Zavaroglu Appointed CEO of Zero Density

AMSTERDAM Zero Density, a global provider of virtual studio productions and on-air graphics, has appointed Baris Zavaroglu as its new CEO. Zavaroglu succeeds Of...

30/04/2025

The Avit Group Elevates Audio-visual Experiences with Mar...

The Avit Group, a forward-thinking audio-visual technology company, is bringing over 50 years of combined experience in delivering audio-visual design and insta...

30/04/2025

NXTGENbps brings portable, sustainable battery solutions...

NXTGENbps will be showcasing its latest sustainable battery power solutions at this year's Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), appearing alongside pa...

30/04/2025

Van Dyke Scores Hit with Hockey Comedy Shoresy Shot on Ze...

Van Dyke skates and operates on Shoresy | photo by Dave Ferguson Toronto-based Cinematographer Brett Van Dyke (Heartland, Jann, Carter) stepped into the rink...

30/04/2025

PlayBox Neo presents Next-Generation Smart Media Solution...

Leading provider of media playout solutions PlayBox Neo will exhibit a vast array of significant upgrades to its range of smart media innovations at CABSAT from...

30/04/2025

QuickLink StudioEdge Transforms Remote Contributions for...

ITV Studios is renowned for its award-winning productions, including the reality TV phenomenon I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! Produced by Lifted Ente...

30/04/2025

UK Pavilion exhibitors continue to impact at CABSAT and S...

The UK's presence at this year's CABSAT brings together 20 innovative companies under the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland banner. From advanced infra...

30/04/2025

Lightware Reinforces ESG Commitment with Participation in...

Lightware continues to strengthen its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives by fostering diversity, inclusion, and community engagement within...

30/04/2025

LiveU to Demonstrate LiveU IQ in UK For The First Time at...

LiveU is demonstrating for the first time in the UK, its revolutionary technological breakthrough in IP-video transport, LiveU IQ (LIQ ) and bringing its expand...

30/04/2025

Calrec MPTS 2025 Preview

Stand: A40 Calrec has been putting sound in the picture for more than six decades and is still pushing the boundaries of audio broadcasting with a full range o...

30/04/2025

Buckinghamshire New University opens advanced virtual pro...

Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) has opened its new virtual production studio, designed and integrated by CJP Broadcast. The installation equips students wi...

30/04/2025

Collective Newsroom chooses nxtedition for seamless workf...

Independent news producer in India focuses on delivering stories nxtedition has supplied a complete newsroom system to Collective Newsroom, based in New Delhi,...

30/04/2025

FOR-A Showcases Next-Generation Broadcast Solutions at CA...

Connecting the present, building the future FOR-A, a cutting-edge video broadcast technology company backed by more than 50 years experience, will showcase it...

30/04/2025

DAD by NTP Technology Highlights Upcoming Expansion Optio...

DAD by NTP Technology reports a successful NAB Show in Las Vegas where the company focused on upcoming expansion options in development for its Thunder | Core a...

30/04/2025

CVP and Canon unveil 2025 Canon Stories in Motion Young F...

CVP and Canon UK & Ireland are proud to announce the winning projects from the third annual Stories in Motion Young Filmmakers Awards, which took place on the e...

30/04/2025

beIN scores world first with new beIN STREAM using Syname...

Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that beIN MEDIA GROUP ( beIN'), one of the foremost global sports and entertainment broadcasters...

30/04/2025

The Canadian Premier League launches new digital experien...

The Canadian Premier League (CPL) today launched a new-look website and app, offering supporters of Canada's men's domestic professional soccer league a...

30/04/2025

FCC's Carr Says Regulator Wants to Empower Local Broadcasters'

WASHINGTON In a wide-ranging press conference, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr had both good and bad news for broadcasters, stressing that ...

30/04/2025

Filipino Sports Streamer Leverages Quickplay Shorts for Video Prep

TORONTO Cignal TV is relying on Quickplay's Shorts tool for its recently launched Pilipinas Live Shorts service, available to millions of users of Pilipinas...

30/04/2025

TVB President and CEO Steve Lanzano to Retire

NEW YORK Steve Lanzano will retire as president and CEO of the Television Bureau of Advertising at year-end, the group said....

30/04/2025

Collective Newsroom Deploys Nxteditions Newsroom System

The news production tech provider nxtedition is reporting that it supplied a complete newsroom system to Collective Newsroom, an independent news producer based...

30/04/2025

IAB Double-Clicks on AI Efforts

NEW YORK As part of a major push to advance the role that artificial intelligence (AI) plays in the advertising industry, the Interactive Advertising Bureau has...

30/04/2025

SES Open Orbits Selected by Two National Carriers to Equip their Fleets with Truly Seamless Connectivity Services

Uzbekistan Airways is the latest airline to choose SES's network, while Thai...

30/04/2025

Loaded Uses Blackmagic Design for shroud Subathon Live Streams

Loaded Uses Blackmagic Design for shroud Subathon Live Streams Brie Clayton April 29, 2025 0 Comments Blackmagic Studio Cameras and Micro Studio Camer...

30/04/2025

Help shape the future of video creator tools with MIDiA

Help shape the future of video creator tools with MIDiA Brie Clayton April 29, 2025 0 Comments After a successful debut in 2024, MIDiA is calling once...

30/04/2025

Tania Len and Kelli O'Hara to be Honored at Boston Conservatory at Berklee's Commencement Ceremony

Tania Le n and Kelli O'Hara to be Honored at Boston Conservatory at Berklee&...

30/04/2025

Andr 3000 and Sara Bareilles to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee College of Music 2025 Commencement

Andr 3000 and Sara Bareilles to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee College ...

30/04/2025

New RT News Podcast Behind the Story Available Now

You've seen the headlines, now it's time to go Behind the Story RT News has today (Wednesday) launched a brand-new news podcast, Behind the Story, h...

30/04/2025

Re-imagined series of Bergerac set to return to U and U&DRAMA in 2026

Damien Molony will head back to Jersey for a second series of Bergerac, written by Toby Whithouse alongside Ashley Sanders, Emilie Robson and Faebian Averies D...

30/04/2025

Advancing multi-domain EW operations: Rohde & Schwarz unveils latest innovations at AOC Europe

Advancing multi-domain EW operations: Rohde & Schwarz unveils latest innovations...