Georgia Tech Turns Production Facility Into an ACC Network Fortress The new structure comprises three control rooms and 864 strands of fiber By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, August 22, 2019 - 9:06 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
The Georgia Institute of Technology, or simply Georgia Tech, is known mostly for developing the world's next great wave of biomedical and industrial engineers. As one of the best research universities in the nation, the Yellow Jackets know a little something about hard work. With today's official launch of the ACC Network, the institute gave a new meaning to Tech by renovating its 6,400-sq.-ft. on-campus production facility to a tune of $10 million.
Inside Control Room A in Georgia Tech's renovated broadcast facility
[Georgia Tech] is a really cool place to be as far as how it relates to sports and sports recruiting, says Andy Blanton, assistant athletic director, video and broadcast services, Georgia Tech. I've seen a lot of our teams use this facility as part of a recruit visit and show student athletes who might be interested in doing this just to show it off and allow them to get geeked up about the opportunity to either be showcased through this facility or have some sort of role inside of this facility. Right now, it's a shiny new toy, and everybody really appreciates what it is, and it has helped us recruit folks in many different ways and forms.
Building a New Beast: Georgia Tech Reaches Out to a Duo of Integrators
Like many great ideas throughout history, the start of a project generates a spark for others that will be created in the future. Sometimes, projects need a little nudge to get them into motion. When ESPN created its partnership with another prominent collegiate conference, Blanton began planning his masterpiece before the concept of an ACC Network had a stable floor. As with many of his cohorts, the team leveraged the advice offered by those who had gone before.
Conceptually, we started thinking about this along the same time that the SEC Network was starting to get off the ground [around 2013] , says Blanton. We started paying very close attention to what the SEC schools were being asked to do. A lot of the [staffers at the] ACC schools converse with their counterparts at an SEC school that might be their rival. In our case, I talked a lot with the University of Georgia and Auburn University.
When the ACC Network platform got the blessing of the ESPN in 2016, Blanton went full steam ahead to start the necessary procedure for a renovation. After filing paperwork for an estimated $10 million budget with the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents, his team began efforts to choose a consultant.
On July 18, [2018,] we were meeting with architects to design the building, design the footprint of the control rooms, and all of the fiber infrastructure on campus, he says. Then, we had the local group here in town, CTG [Comprehensive Technical Group], come alongside us in the beginning to do some consulting on what this project would look like financially.
Months later, on Sept. 10, Alpha Video was given the opportunity to lead the charge on the new initiative. With the help of Brian Beckwith, broadcast design engineer, Alpha Video, the two parties created a blueprint while the system integrator started constructing sets in Nashville. Around the holiday season in 2018, Alpha Video came on campus poised to complete the task.
[Working with Georgia Tech] was important because we have a strong presence in the area with the Atlanta Braves and some of the other folks in the area like the College Football Hall of Fame, says Jeff Volk, VP, Alpha Video. For us, it was a great extension of not only the partners and clients that we have in the region but someone that we've identified that we'd wanted to work with for a long time.
Another available space inside Georgia Tech's production facility
The Aches and Pains: Finding Even Ground in Uncharted Territory
Despite a constant flow of tips and guidance from folks in the Southeastern Conference, the effort was easier said than done. Although a $10 million budget was approved, Blanton and the team at Alpha Video needed to find a balance between shooting for the stars and coming in below the allotted dollar amount.
We needed to work with them in order to align the equipment list and the final system design to their budget, says Volk. At first, they were over budget, so we worked with them over a period to finalize their costs. We also included some onsite equipment demos with several camera vendors and replay-system demos. There was certainly some give and take, but, in the end, I think we more than delivered on all of their must-have items.
Also, a steady flow of productions doesn't stop with a new buildout. Blanton and Georgia Tech's staff of six full-time employees and eight student interns needed to devise a daily agenda to juggle a busy spring sports schedule.
The biggest challenge was just time management to stay on top of all of this in the busiest time of the year, says Blanton. We didn't really plan to start and end when we did; we just moved forward as the university channels allowed us to. The physical construction of the building dictated when the equipment and technological elements could come into play. In parallel with the building being constructed, you've got all other things to do, like picking out carpet and wall color, [from] types of lights to furniture and office layouts. It was very difficult to manage [more than] 90 productions that we were already doing out of our single control room while doing this major construction project.
In addition to the growing pains of construction, the increased influx of content generated by a new facility can be stressful as well.
Th
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
New appointments to Screen Australia board 7 July 2026
The Albanese Labor Government has made new appointments to the Screen Australia board.
Dr Tania Chamber...
07/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
07/07/2026
Berklee College of Music Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's...
07/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists train the immune system to make antibodies against numerous HIV strains Preclinical findings mark progress toward a long-sought vacc...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Open source AI has shown how quickly developers can innovate when models, data a...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Georgia Tech Turns Production Facility Into an ACC Network Fortress The new structure comprises three control rooms and 864 strands of fiber By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
