Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Legends Behind the Lens: Deb Honkus

30/06/2020

Legends Behind the Lens: Deb Honkus The iconic CEO crafted NEP Broadcasting into a global remote production superpower By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Monday, June 29, 2020 - 12:00 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

The story of American sports television is engrained in the history of this nation, rising on the achievements of countless incredible men and women who never once appeared on our screens. During this pause in live sports, SVG is proud to present a celebration of this great industry. Legends Behind the Lens is a look at how we got here seen through the people who willed it to be. Each weekday, we will share with you the story of a person whose impact on the sports-television industry is indelible.

Legends Behind the Lens is presented in association with the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund. In these trying times - with so many video-production professionals out of work - we hope that you will consider (if you are able) donating to the Sports Broadcasting Fund. Do so by visiting sportsbroadcastfund.org.

___________________________

By Karen Hogan Ketchum

Former NEP Broadcasting CEO Deb Honkus has grown up alongside her remote-production trucks. In more than 30 years, she has built compelling client relationships that make her more a friend than a service provider. Her mobile units have supported every major sports event in the country, and her influence is felt among clients, colleagues, and friends around the world.

Deb has steered NEP to its position as the gold standard in the remote-facility business, says Howard Katz, SVP of broadcasting and media operations for the NFL. She has been a pioneer both as a woman in the field and in the field itself. As the television networks made the decision to get out of the truck business because of the capital-intensive nature of it, she and her colleagues had a vision to fill that void and the fortitude to step into it. Her success has been remarkable.

She Wore Many Hats

A native of Pittsburgh, Honkus began her career with Total Communications Systems (TCS) in 1978. With just one truck in the company's arsenal, Honkus's first job was covering Penn State football games, but a single title could not define her role.

She grew up with the remote business, says John Roch , senior technical manager for NEP. At TCS, she was running the business, taking orders, doing sales. She knew the remote television industry from its inception. Between her, Tommy Shelburne, and George Wensel, they are the reason why this industry succeeded.

In 1986, TCS merged with NEP, and Honkus became the general manager of the newly formed NEP. Renowned for being tough but fair and transparent in all of her interactions, she rose to vice president, president, and now CEO.

She was one of the original employees, and she's worn many hats, from owner to CEO, to operations manager, to visionary, says Dave Mazza, SVP of engineering for NBC Olympics. With all of her clients, she's considered a good friend to the people to whom she delivers services, and she is compassionate with her employees such that they always feel they have a shoulder to cry on. Her relationships in this industry are unique.

At the Helm

As she manages the day-to-day operations of the nation's largest television-production-services company, Honkus prioritizes the human capital of her company. For her, communication and teamwork have been as important to NEP's success as engineering and operations.

Debbie is concerned about people, first and foremost, says Eric Thomas, technical manager for NEP. She can be tough in a negotiation session, but she's concerned about the people involved in this business. She works us hard but always makes sure that we have time to see our mothers on Mother's Day.

With a communicate, communicate, follow up, follow up mantra and a philosophy of treating everyone at NEP like family, it is no surprise that Honkus's relationships run deep not only within her company but throughout the sports-broadcasting industry.

Deb is a brilliant strategist ,and she knows exactly what our clients want, explains NEP CTO George Hoover. She has the pulse of the industry. She knows everybody, talks to everybody, has relationships with everybody. From a camera guy on Monday Night Football to top executives at networks and leagues, Deb knows them all.

Taking NEP to a New Level

Those relationships have helped NEP obtain some of the biggest jobs in sports production, broadcast over every major sports network, including Super Bowls, Olympic Games, Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, PGA Tours, NASCAR, and U.S. golf and tennis opens.

Especially after her partner George Wensel died in 1995, Deb took NEP and moved it to a different level, explains Ken Aagaard, EVP of Operations, Production, and Engineering for CBS Sports. She's been able to do that because she has such a dynamic personality. She's a good listener, and you know that she's going to put you in a win-win situation as it relates to facilities and people. At almost every big event, you'll find some piece of NEP, and that says a lot.

Adds Tom McCracken, director of corporate development for NEP, A lot of the reason the company took off after George passed was her hard work and her dedication to the company and to the families of the employees. She always wants to move the company forward, but she is a very giving person.

People Are Her Priority

Among Honkus's accomplishments are serving as host broadcaster for the 1987 Pan Am Games, delivering support for multiple Olympic Games, and supporting back-to-back America's Cup events in 1993-94. Despite the multiple awards and accolades she has earned, she defers her success to the people with whom she works.

My priority
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/06/29/legends-behind-the-lens-deb-hon...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

19/03/2026

The Rise of Streaming, Particularly for Sports, Revives Loudness Issues

Live sports production increases complexity, with dynamic audio levels and an overall philosophy that encourages transient volume spikes Fourteen years ago, Am...

19/03/2026

Advanced Systems Group Names Peter Thordarson as Technical Account Executive

Advanced Systems Group, a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, announced the appointment of Peter Thordarson to the newly cr...

19/03/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Arya Taymuree, University of Washington

For this senior from the Bay Area, the speed and pressure of live sports production play right into her strengths In the live-sports-video industry, the future...

19/03/2026

Grass Valley Expands Partnership with University of Pittsburgh Athletics, Upgrading Production Infrastructure to SMPTE ST 2110 IP

Grass Valley has expanded its long-term partnership with University of Pittsburg...

19/03/2026

Audio-Technica Debuts ATV-SG1 and ATV-SG1LE On-Camera Shotgun Microphones

Audio-Technica has released the ATV-SG1 and ATV-SG1LE On-Camera Shotgun Microphones, designed for use with DSLR, mirrorless SLR, and other cameras. The ATV-SG1...

19/03/2026

NAB 2026: Harmonic Enhances XOS Advanced Media Processor to Streamline Next-Generation Broadcast Distribution

Harmonic (booth W2831) announces updates to its XOS Advanced Media Processor aim...

19/03/2026

DAZN and Top Rank Sign Multi-Year Rights Deal to Bring Marquee Events and Historic Archive to the Global Home of Boxing

DAZN and Top Rank have announced a multi-year partnership that will bring Top Ra...

19/03/2026

IHSE and Cyviz Announce Strategic Partnership

IHSE, a provider of KVM systems, has announced a partnership with Cyviz AS, a provider of technology solutions for collaboration and mission-critical operations...

19/03/2026

Net Insight appoints Larissa Grner-Meeus as Chief Product Officer (CPO)

Net Insight has appointed Larissa G rner-Meeus as Chief Product Officer. She joins the company's executive management team. G rner-Meeus holds a Dipl-Ing. ...

19/03/2026

Leader Appoints Rob Stanley as Regional Sales Manager UK & Northern Europe

Leader Electronics of Europe has appointed Rob Stanley as Regional Sales Manager for the UK and Northern Europe. In the role, he will manage key accounts and ha...

19/03/2026

FIFA and YouTube Team Up in FIFA World Cup 2026 Preferred Platform Agreement

FIFA has announced that YouTube will be a Preferred Platform for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Under the agreement, FIFA's Media Partners will be able to publis...

19/03/2026

Upgrade to NCAA March Madness Live App Expands Multi-Game Viewing, Enhances Second-Screen Experience

New features across mobile, connected devices, and automotive platforms undersco...

19/03/2026

PSSI Global Services Welcomes Ben Bradshaw as Director of Product and Network Development

PSSI Global Services has appointed Ben Bradshaw as Director of Product and Netwo...

19/03/2026

NAB 2026: Cobalt Digital to Unveil Additions to End-to-End IPMX and ST 2110 Ecosystem

Cobalt Digital has announced its NAB 2026 product lineup, which includes additio...

19/03/2026

Sportradar Releases Industry Outlook on the Future of U.S. Sports Viewing

Sportradar has released a new report, Innovation in Sports Media: The Next Era of Sports Viewing, examining how the sports viewing experience in the U.S. is evo...

19/03/2026

Matrox Video's ConvertIP Awarded in Rai Framework Agreement Supporting IP Modernization Strategy

Matrox Video has been awarded a three-year framework agreement to supply its Con...

19/03/2026

Controlled Chaos: Inside the Mighty Production Engine Behind the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament's First Week

CBS Sports' Jason Cohen and TNT Sports' Chris Brown lead the charge on n...

19/03/2026

Loud and Fun Is the Goal for NCAA Tourney Audio

A1 Dave Grundtvig and his team deploy plenty of mics to capture the sounds and energy from the stands as well the court March Madness is a tournament in which ...

19/03/2026

Spotify Marks 5 Years of EQUAL With EQUAL: The Podcast and Global Events

In 2021, we launched EQUAL, a program designed to address an industry reality that persists: Women artists, songwriters, and producers too often face fewer oppo...

19/03/2026

Toontrack release Transistor Organ EKX

Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...

19/03/2026

Roland preview Melody Flip

New generative AI plug-in due in May 2026 Roland have announced the upcoming launch of a new generative AI tool created in collaboration with Sony Computer ...

19/03/2026

Native Instruments CEO Statement

Nick Williams updates users on insolvency process Nick Williams, the CEO of Native Instruments, has released the following official statement regarding thei...

19/03/2026

Milab to restart production

Iconic Swedish mic manufacturer back in action Legendary Swedish microphone manufacturer Milab have announced that production is now fully underway, and mic...

19/03/2026

FT1-EMU plug-in from Freqport

Acclaimed saturation unit goes virtual Freqport's Freqtube FT1 (reviewed here in SOS February 2023) offers a convenient way to integrate real valve-base...

19/03/2026

SGL Carbon: Restructuring ensures earnings forecast and creates basis for new growth

The discontinuation of loss-making business activities as part of the restructur...

19/03/2026

Silicon Valley satire The Audacity premieres 15 April on SBS and SBS On Demand

Silicon Valley satire The Audacity premieres 15 April on SBS and SBS On Demand 19 March, 2026 Media releases From one of the writer/producers of Succession...

19/03/2026

SBS brings communities together at Bondi Pavilion for Harmony Week multilingual broadcast

SBS brings communities together at Bondi Pavilion for Harmony Week multilingual ...

19/03/2026

Clarification from SBS regarding Western Sydney expansion

Clarification from SBS regarding Western Sydney expansion 19 March, 2026 Media releases From an SBS spokesperson: SBS wishes to clarify some media coverag...

19/03/2026

Leader appoints Rob Stanley as Regional Sales Manager UK...

Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, is pleased to announce the appointment of Rob Stanley as Regional Sales Manager - UK & Northern Euro...

19/03/2026

Accedo One and Magine Pro Officially Launch Leyra Deliver...

The recently announced joint venture between Accedo One and Magine Pro has been officially launched as Leyra. The new company will combine the two complementary...

19/03/2026

Lightware matrices are the go-to choice for signal manage...

Budapest, Hungary, March 2026 - Demand for traditional matrix switching remains strong across live events, rental and staging markets. With a reputation for rel...

19/03/2026

DPA Elevates 4097 Micro Shotgun With CORE Technology

DPA Microphones adds to its CORE microphone selection with the 4097 CORE Micro Shotgun, which delivers a new level of clarity, headroom and sonic transparency...

19/03/2026

Starfish highlights flexible TS Splicer releases and new...

Starfish Technologies will present the latest releases of its TS Splicer (Win) and TS Splicer (K8) at NAB Show 2026, together with a new Monitoring Dashboard de...

19/03/2026

TrueVisions Selects Bitmovin Observability

Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming solutions, has announced that TrueVisions NOW, a leading streaming platform in Thailand, and part of the TrueVis...

19/03/2026

Harmonic Enhances XOS Advanced Media Processor to Streaml...

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced significant enhancements to its XOS Advanced Media Processor that lower the cost of broadcast distribution while enablin...

19/03/2026

Cobalt Digital to Unveil Additions to End to End IPMX and...

Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of award-winning signal processing products, and a founding partner in the openGear initiative has announ...

19/03/2026

Magewell Connecting Any Source Anywhere in Any Form Facto...

Magewell a developer of innovative, high-performance video I/O and IP workflow solutions will be at the 2026 NAB Show on booth C6113. In addition to several...

19/03/2026

Triveni Digital Expands NextGen TV Innovations and Suppor...

Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting and quality assurance solutions, today announced it will showcase...

19/03/2026

Imagine Communications to Showcase Purpose Led Innovation...

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Preview April 19 22 Las Vegas Booth N.1328 Summary: At the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Imagine Communications will showcase the lat...

19/03/2026

Pebble demonstrates partnerships performance and future-r...

Broadcast playout leader highlights innovation and industry collaboration Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist...

19/03/2026

Tuxera showcases stunning performance with Fusion SMB and...

Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking technologies, is highlighting remarkable advances in performance at NAB Show (booth N1...

19/03/2026

Intinor introduces enhanced SRT monitoring, HDR transport...

Intinor will showcase several new developments to the Direkt platform at NAB 2026, including enhanced SRT monitoring, expanded HDR transport capabilities and su...

19/03/2026

Caretta Research Finds Broadcasters Rebuild Live Operatio...

Broadcasters are rebuilding live operations workflows around IP delivery as satellite and dedicated fibre distribution decline, according to new research from C...

19/03/2026

Berklee Popular Music Institute's 24th Showcase Channels '80s Prom Nostalgia

Berklee Popular Music Institute's 24th Showcase Channels '80s Prom Nosta...

19/03/2026

Study: Creator Content Plays Growing Role in Streaming Habits

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...