Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

At Dawn of AAF Era, Technological Innovation Drives Live Productions

08/02/2019

At Dawn of AAF Era, Technological Innovation Drives Live Productions Dual Skycam, at-home production, and a virtual studio will play major roles By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Friday, February 8, 2019 - 2:11 pm

Print This Story

Story Highlights

The inaugural season of Alliance of American Football (AAF) kicks off this weekend, and all four game productions are expected to feature next-gen production tools aimed at delivering a football-viewing experience unlike anything viewers have seen before. Highlighting the tech expected to be deployed this season are dual Skycam systems on every game, a state-of-the-art virtual studio for pre/postgame and halftime shows, an RFID-chip-based player-tracking system, and live mics on coaches and quarterbacks.

The inaugural AAF season kicks off on Saturday night in primetime on CBS.

There are a number of technological advances that we're going to have, said Alliance of American Football Co-Head of Production Mark Teitelman during an SVG event at Sneaky Big Studios last month. Being able to build something from the ground up is something we're all proud of. I think the quality of football is going to be really, really strong; we certainly have a lot of impressive NFL people working on it. So I feel good about what we're going to put on TV. And it's our job as storytellers, as producers and directors to make it look as good as possible.

The upstart league is attempting to balance high-end production elements with cost-efficient workflows. During the season, two of each weekend's four games will be produced remotely from a control room at Sneaky Big in Scottsdale, AZ (where the virtual studio also is located).

The Viewing Experience: Streamlining How Fans Watch Football

The league has inked deals with CBS Sports, NFL Network, and Turner Sports. The action kicks off tomorrow with a pair of primetime games on CBS, which will also carry the Championship Game in April. On Sunday, CBS Sports Network kicks off its 11-week AAF Game of the Week at 4 p.m. ET, and NFL Network's 19-game AAF slate at 8 p.m. (the network will carry two primetime games per week for the remainder of the regular season).

The AAF production team will have more freedom to deploy Skycam in a variety of locations compared with NFL coverage.

TNT will televise one AAF regular-season game (Feb. 16 leading into NBA All-Star Saturday Night) and one playoff game. Additional regular-season games will be available weekly via B/R Live. Fans will be able to stream AAF games for free through the league's soon-to-launch app.

In addition to the technology, viewers can expect a more streamlined football-viewing experience. According to Teitelman, AAF games will have no TV timeouts and less than half the commercials of an NFL game, as well as no kickoffs and extra points. With a simplified structure and the league's full ownership of all eight teams, Teitelman believes, production teams will have an unparalleled level of freedom for storytelling.

When Charlie [Ebersol, AAF co-founder/CEO] pitched me to come on board, he basically said, You have a blank slate, says Teitelman, a veteran NFL Network/Fox Sports NFL-game producer. We own the league, and we own the teams, so we don't have to go get 32 owners' permission or go through a competition committee to [deploy new production elements]. We're certainly not a gimmick league, though; it's real football. But there are certainly some freedoms that we have that the NFL doesn't [provide]. That opens up a few more channels for us and gives us a chance to paint with a little wider brush.

Game Coverage: Coverage Will Be Based on Skycams

According to Teitelman, each game production will feature six or seven cameras - whether onsite or at-home production - including two Skycam systems. For the two at-home productions each week, the Skycam pilots will be onsite, but the operators will be located at Sneaky Big.

AAF's Mark Teitelman (right) previewed the league's production plans during a Q&A with Sneaky Big's Ben Grafchick at a SVG Regional Platinum Series event in January.

Although most football productions deploy three up-high cameras to cover the field, AAF games will typically have one. However, Teitelman says, production teams will compensate with a more liberal use of the two Skycam systems at their disposal.

Rather than simply locating the Skycam behind the offense or above the line of scrimmage, the production team will have the freedom to maneuver the systems almost anywhere on the field. Viewers can expect to see Skycam views never seen in NFL action, including from the defense perspective and off-axis sideline angles. In the red zone, the Skycam will often be located along the sideline, operating like a traditional camera cart but with the capability of flying down the sideline or toward the action.

Our goal is to figure out if there's a way we can show [the game] differently from what everybody else has been [showing it], says Teitelman. We'd like to see the Skycams on the sideline in a very intimate play-by-play [integration]. It's very complicated, and we have to play with it and really work at it. But there are a lot of things those cameras can do that producers have been a little reluctant to get super adventurous with.

On the audio side, head coaches and quarterbacks will be miked (including play-calling comms) when available. And, with more freedom to deploy live mics on the field, the production team will look to capture more NFL Films-style inside-the-game audio.

One thing that has always bothered me is, we do an NFL game on Sunday and, that Tuesday, you see the NFL Films version on Inside the NFL. And it's a totally different game because you hear everybody talking; you see what they're saying. I would love to be able to give view
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2019/02/08/at-dawn-of-aaf-era-technologica...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

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...

07/08/2025

Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, Redefining In-Car Entertainment Experience

July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...

18/07/2025

Realm of Satan Disturbs the Comfortable at 2024 Sundance Film Festival

Blanche Barton, Peter Gilmore, Scott Cummings, Sundance Institute Director of Programming Kim Yutani, and Peggy Nadramia throwing horns. (Stephen Lovekin/Shutte...

18/07/2025

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, the Directors of FOLKTALES

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...

18/07/2025

NESN Unveils Enhanced NESN 360 App for iOS, Android Devices

BOSTON Sports network NESN today relaunched the NESN 360 app with a redesigned user experience and upgrades....

18/07/2025

Berklee Singers Wow the Competition on Netflixs Building the Band

Berklee Singers Wow the Competition on Netflixs Building the Band Netflixs new music competition show features two Berklee artists looking to make their pop b...

18/07/2025

Trump Expected to Sign Bill Defunding CPB After House Approves $1B Cuts

As the House of Representatives voted early Friday morning to eliminate federal funding for public broadcasting, advocates warned that the elimination of $1 bil...

18/07/2025

Imagine Communications Sharpens Focus on Sports, Live Events Market

DENVER Imagine Communications has announced that it is deepening its commitment to the North American sports and live events market with investments in its prod...

18/07/2025

Netflix Beats Revenue, Profit Expectations

LOS GATOS, Calif. Netflix once again reported strong financial growth, with revenue increasing 16% year-over-year to $11.079 billion in Q2 2025 as net income s...

18/07/2025

Live from the 153rd Open Championship: SMT Enhances Video Board Experience; Enables Practice Scheduling for Players

Live from the 153rd Open Championship: SMT Enhances Video Board Experience; Enab...

18/07/2025

ShotTracker's Davyeon Ross on Revolutionizing Basketball On the Court and Beyond Through Tracking Tech

ShotTracker's Davyeon Ross on Revolutionizing Basketball On the Court and ...

18/07/2025

Home Pitch: How the Danish League Brought Its Live Match Production In-House

Home Pitch: How the Danish League Brought Its Live Match Production In-House Matchday Production produced 800+ matches across Denmark in its first year By Geor...

18/07/2025

Live From the 153rd Open Championship: EMG Debuts Spidercam for Golf, Expands Support for NBC Sports

Live From the 153rd Open Championship: EMG Debuts Spidercam for Golf, Expands Su...

18/07/2025

Usyk vs Dubois II: Bringing the Fight to Life with State of the Art Cameras and Graphics from DAZN and Gravity Media

Usyk vs Dubois II: Bringing the fight to life with state of the art cameras and ...

18/07/2025

Usyk vs Dubois II: DAZN's Head of Boxing Chris Glanville Talks Helicopters, a Ringwalk Spectacular and Directing the Action

Usyk vs Dubois II: DAZN's head of boxing Chris Glanville talks helicopters, ...

18/07/2025

Live From the 153rd Open Championship: NBC Expands Unilateral Effort; Shared Studio Gives Live From,' NBC Sports a Great View

Live From the 153rd Open Championship: NBC Expands Unilateral Effort; Shared Stu...

18/07/2025

Warner Bros. Discovery's Anne Graham on Training New Professionals to Ensure the Future of the Business

Warner Bros. Discovery's Anne Graham on Training New Professionals to Ensure...

18/07/2025

Live From the 153rd Open Championship: How R&A Spidercam Became a Reality for Golf Coverage

Live From the 153rd Open Championship: How R&A Spidercam Became a Reality for Go...

18/07/2025

ESPN Bulks Up Onsite Studios, Cameras, Player Mics for WNBA All-Star Weekend

ESPN Bulks Up Onsite Studios, Cameras, Player Mics for WNBA All-Star Weekend Besides the game, four studio shows will be produced onsite By Jason Dachman, Edit...

18/07/2025

The Sky Arts Awards Are Back, Live From The Roundhouse This September

Friday 18 July 2025 Credit: Marc Sethi The Sky Arts Awards will return on 16 September, once again taking place at the iconic Roundhouse in London. Produced b...

18/07/2025

2025-07-18

This month, players can dive into special crossover events featuring SpongeBob SquarePants in Snake.io+ and Crossy Road Castle, available exclusively on Apple A...

18/07/2025

Hurling Fans Flock Together for a Night of Craic agus Ceol on RT's Up For The Match this Saturday night

Up for the Match brings the fun, the passion-and a bit of Riverdance- tomorrow n...

17/07/2025

Realm of SatanDisturbs the Comfortable at 2024 Sundance Film Festival

Blanche Barton, Peter Gilmore, Scott Cummings, Sundance Institute Director of Programming Kim Yutani, and Peggy Nadramia throwing horns. (Stephen Lovekin/Shutte...

17/07/2025

Audiobooks+ Brings More Choice and Flexibility to Spotify Premium Subscribers

Spotify's goal with audiobooks is to help grow the publishing industry and create the best possible experience for booklovers, which is why we're launch...

17/07/2025

L3Harris to Expand Solid Rocket Motor Production in Arkansas

An advanced large solid rocket motor hot fire test conducted at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, site....

17/07/2025

L3Harris Has the Future of PNT Ready Now

L3Harris payloads and components have been on board every U.S. GPS satellite-more than 70 missions since the 1970s. Our technology is at the core of GPS availab...

17/07/2025

L3Harris Introduces Launched Effects Vehicles to Increase US Multi-Domain Superiority

L3Harris' pack of launched effects is comprised of multi-role vehicles that ...

17/07/2025

Nielsen taps Ryan Moore as Chief Business Officer of Gracenote

NEW YORK - July 17, 2025 - Gracenote, the content data business unit of Nielsen, has announced the appointment of Ryan Moore to the new role of Chief Business O...

17/07/2025

David Cohen Joins Miri Technologies as VP, Sales and Business Development

READING, Pa. Network technology startup Miri Technologies has added David Cohen as vice president, business development. He'll be tasked with expanding the ...

17/07/2025

Berklee Wins CASE Award for Standout Digital Campaign

Berklee Wins CASE Award for Standout Digital Campaign The Alumni Affairs team's Variations Signature Series earned recognition for offering an authentic p...

17/07/2025

Senate Votes to Strip Federal Funds for Public Broadcasting

Early Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate voted to cut federal funding for PBS and NPR in a bill that also included cuts for foreign aid. In a 51-48 vote, the act...

17/07/2025

British Innovation Leads the Way at IBC2025

GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions across IBC2025 (12 15 September, RAI Amsterdam) feature a remarkable 34 companies, each providing unique, innovativ...

17/07/2025

SMPTE Forms Study Group on Content Provenance and Authenticity In Media

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers today introduced its Content Provenance and Authenticity (CPA) in Media Study Group (S...

17/07/2025

NBCU Reports Highest Sales Volume in History' for 2025-26 Upfronts

NEW YORK Despite widespread concerns about a soft advertising market, NBCUniversal said it closed its 2025-26 upfront negotiation cycle with a record ad sales v...

17/07/2025

Study: TV Ads Are Top Influencer of Older Adults Buying Retirement Homes

NEW YORK Television advertising remains an effective means to market and influence younger baby boomer and Generation X consumers approaching retirement age, ac...

17/07/2025

Service Electric Cable TV Deploys OpenVault PMN

ALLENTOWN, Pa. & JERSEY CITY, N.J. Service Electric Cable TV and OpenVault have announced that the operator is deploying the OpenVault Proactive Network Manage...

17/07/2025

FCC Chair Outlines Busy Summer Agenda That Includes Major EAS Vote

WASHINGTON Following up on his first major policy speech just two ago, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is promising to buck the usual summ...

17/07/2025

SES Receives All Required Regulatory Approvals to Complete Intelsat Acquisition

Luxembourg, 14 July 2025 - SES received the final regulatory approvals for the SES-Intelsat transaction, including the US Federal Communications Commission. O...

17/07/2025

Berklee Alumni Nominated for 2025 Emmy Awards

Berklee Alumni Nominated for 2025 Emmy Awards Twenty-seven Berklee alumni received nominations across categories in sound mixing, sound editing, and compositi...

17/07/2025

What We Watched the First Half of 2025

Back to All News What We Watched the First Half of 2025 Entertainment 17 July 2025 Global Link copied to clipboard Today, we're sharing our latest Eng...

17/07/2025

Vote for Ivory 3 American Concert D in the MIDI Innovation Awards!

Cast your vote in 2 categories for Ivory 3 American Concert DIvory 3 American Concert D is in the 2025 MIDI Innovation Awards and we are honored to be nominated...

17/07/2025

SVG Sit-Down: OpenDrives' Sean Lee, Michael Wilsker, and Jason Matousek on Evolving Data Management

SVG Sit-Down: OpenDrives' Sean Lee, Michael Wilsker, and Jason Matousek on E...

17/07/2025

Oracle's Geoff Tognetti on Staying Ahead of the AI Curve Through Further Adoption

Oracle's Geoff Tognetti on Staying Ahead of the AI Curve Through Further Ado...

17/07/2025

NBA's Summer League Is a Hot Bed of AI, Immersive Innovation Testing

NBA's Summer League Is a Hot Bed of AI, Immersive Innovation Testing Audio mixing, intelligent camera framing are among AI-driven efforts By Ken Kerschbaum...

17/07/2025

SVG's TranSPORT Conference Returns to NYC on Oct. 21; Register Today!

SVG's TranSPORT Conference Returns to NYC on Oct. 21; Register Today! By SVG Staff Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 8:29 am Print This Story | Subscribe St...

17/07/2025

Gravity Media Chosen as Group Name for Merged OB Business

Gravity Media chosen as group name for merged OB business By George Bevir Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - 11:30 Print This Story Gravity Media executive chairm...

17/07/2025

SES Closes Deal to Acquire Intelsat, Creating New Giant in Satellite Connectivity

SES Closes Deal to Acquire Intelsat, Creating New Giant in Satellite Connectivit...

17/07/2025

How MLB Pulled Off That Unforgettable Hank Aaron Tribute at the All-Star Game

How MLB Pulled Off That Unforgettable Hank Aaron Tribute at the All-Star Game Vintage content, state-of-the-art projection/processing combine in marvelous mile...

17/07/2025

Riedel Communications Powers Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour with Integrated Network and Comms Solutions

Wuppertal July 17, 2025 Riedel Communications Powers Handa Opera on Sydney Har...