Live From The Open Championship: EMG UK Efforts Power World Feed, Unilateral Rightsholder Operations An EMG team of 600+, specialty cameras help make the 150th anniversary memorable By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Friday, July 15, 2022 - 11:31 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 150th Open Championship is under way, and, for the team at EMG and all the rightsholders, the important anniversary brings with it additional production challenges, including having facilities ready to go not only for the first round of play on Thursday but earlier in the week for the extra events.
EMG UK's Terry James (left) and Hamish Greig at The 150th Open Championship
There are a lot of extra toys and extra facilities for the 150th, says EMG UK Deputy CEO Hamish Greig. On Monday afternoon, there was a Celebration of Champions, and it was a 35-camera show on Holes 1, 2, 17, and 18. But it was still a very high-spec show, with all the specialist cameras we would have for the main show. That meant we had to have the whole IBC infrastructure up to be able to facilitate it as we didn't want to double up by configuring a truck and then having to reconfigure it and reroute it. That just didn't make sense, but we had to bring crew and the build forward by two days.
A team of more than 600 is working across the Old Course and in the compound (adding rightsholders to the total credentialed brings that number to around 1,500). The team is using 56 Sony hard cameras, 12 Toptracer cameras, 29 Sony RF cameras, Panasonic POV cameras, and two super-slo-mo cameras to help bring the story of the 150th Open Championship to viewers around the world. The biggest new toy is a 550-meter-long CamCat wired camera system flying over what is known as The Loop, which includes Holes 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 and features crisscrossing fairways, shared greens, and a location right on the water.
That was a request by [world feed producer] Jim Storey, who wanted to make the production special, says Greig. It's just a beautiful location.
ACS (Aerial Camera Systems) is overseeing operation of the CamCat system, and, according to ACS Operations Manager David Whitlock, its advantage is that it can carry a larger camera package.
The CamCat system can hold a gyrostabilized gimbal and a camera, providing smooth shots in windy conditions.
The bigger the camera package, the more stable we can make it, he explains. This is carrying a Cineflex gimbal that is the same as you would have on a helicopter, making it as stable as you can get. Especially with the wind, there will be vibrations, and you need a system that can match the conditions so you can get more out of it. We can also cover five holes with it, which will help make it worthwhile.
A railcam on the Road Hole at the Open Championship is providing a unique view of one of golf's unique holes.
Another new specialty item is a 70-meter-long Railcam riding along the wall that is on the Road Hole.
It has a Cineflex gimbal as well, says Whitlock. GL built a platform behind the wall, and the key was to get it at a level that was the same distance from the top of the wall for 70 meters and we can get some foreground elements to give a sense of moving.
ACS also installed a lipstick camera on the first tee, looking back toward the players teeing off, and four bunker cameras on the course. Golf Channel and Sky Sports have bunker cameras located in the practice area.
The 17th bunker cam has a new camera, the Antelope Pico, which is a high-frame-rate minicamera, says Whitlock. We are shooting at 350 fps, and we've never done that before in a mini-cam.
Inside the Compound The Open Championship world-feed-production gallery
The Open Championship compound is based in a building that is home to the world-feed IBC and NBC's unilateral production facility. One of the improvements to the IBC is the addition of Imagine routers, which have built-in multiviewers.
We use a lot of multiviewers, says Greig. There aren't enough available in the hire market, so we had to address the problem by using the Imagine routers. We're also doing a lot embedding and de-embedding.
The Open Championship compound features a mix of trucks and an IBC which is home to the world feed and NBC's gallery and related rooms for replay, graphics, and audio.
Complementing that facility are trucks that handle other functions, such as Featured Groups and coverage of three holes in UHD HDR. The traditional EMG golf green-branded fleet, which is a mainstay at The Open, is joined by one truck and two containers from the EMG white-branded fleet.
Capacity mandated use of the trucks, according to Greig. We've always had two or three sister trucks here to help us with setting up infrastructure for comms, get cameras going, and be a place for ACS to set up. Sky need lots of infrastructure, and TV Asahi again have gone for a flypack option, which we've provided.
On the audio side, there are 30 on-course commentator mics as well as 25 high-power on-course effects mics and another 80 stereo mics for the tees, greens, and general effects.
We also have about 60 low-power radio mics, 55 high-power radio mics, 72 duplex channels, and over 650 radios, adds Greig.
EMG has a couple of new clients: IMG's Live at the Range and Netflix. And Sky Sports is once again producing its coverage from a gallery at its Osterley, UK, headquarters.
It's year two of the Sky remote, notes Greig. It has worked very well as it's similar to last year except with added facilities like an extra studio for the 150th Open. We also have some Toptracer operators in Sweden, some ARL operators in New Zealand; TV Asahi has a remote flypack, with their main program finished in Tokyo. There are also remote Hawk-eye operators in Basingstoke, UK, and for NBC
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
22/10/2025
Prime Video Inks Deal To Present NFL Black Friday Game Worldwide By SVG Staff
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 10:06 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
22/10/2025
NBA Tip-Off: ESPN Goes 1080p HDR End-to-End, Flipping HDR Switch on REMI and REM...
22/10/2025
FloSports Empowers Division II, III Athletic Departments With Turnkey Production...
22/10/2025
Wall Street Video Summit Debuts, Bringing Together 200 Financial Enterprise Vide...
22/10/2025
Dueling Pianos: International Chopin Piano Competition Is as Competitive as a Ba...
22/10/2025
In 1995, a young Colombian artist released an album that would change Latin pop ...
22/10/2025
Over the past few months, a photovoltaic system has been installed on a three-he...
22/10/2025
The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission is stacked on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kenn...
22/10/2025
L3Harris' Hybrid SATCOM is resilient by design, offering path diversity that eliminates vulnerabilities by routing data across the best available networks i...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. Organizers of NAB Show New York said they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countries along with 260 exhibitor...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, supplied an extensive gear package of professional-grade equipment for ...
22/10/2025
Lightware, a global leader in signal management and AV connectivity solutions, is seeing strong market momentum for the UCX-3x3-TPX-RX20, a compact transmitter-...
22/10/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released PAINT 10.2, the latest update for its telestration platform, adding support for SMPTE ST 2110 IP workflows, expanding brandin...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON Run3TV today said NBCUniversal is joining as an investor in the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority, which develops the Run3TV NextGen TV application platfo...
22/10/2025
ATLANTA swXtch.io will feature two new networking solutions extending the company's reach across more cloud and on-prem workflows at NAB Show New York, set ...
22/10/2025
The Warner Bros. Discoverys HBO Max streaming services has increased prices for all its streaming tiers effectively immediately for new customers. Existing cust...
22/10/2025
LOS ANGELES OpenDrives has signed a new distribution partnership deal with Versatile Distribution Services (VDS) to strengthen its channel and streamline how it...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Samora Pinderhughes Brings Immersive Sound to Berklee's Signature Series The artist and composer, who's worked with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Co...
22/10/2025
BMI Day at Berklee Celebrates Composer Fil Eisler and Awards Scholarship to Stud...
22/10/2025
October 22nd, 2025 TRIBECA ANNOUNCES STAR-STUDDED LINEUP OF MEMBERSHIP EVENTS F...
22/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF cooperate in drone defense Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF partner to deliver a comprehensive drone defense solution combining Rohde & S...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
22/10/2025
Everyone Gets a Better Deal on Verizon with New FOX One Perk The $15 FOX One streaming service perk is yet another way Verizon continues to add savings for cu...
22/10/2025
First Look Hidden Assets Series 3
Premieres on 9th November 9:30pm on RT One & RT Player
WATCH HERE Promo Link: Hidden Assets Series 3 | RT
The Crimin...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: At the Front Bench With Producer Frank DiGraci and Director ...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: NBC Sports, NEP Build Ultra-Flexible Production Plan That Se...
21/10/2025
Indigenous storytelling has been at the heart of the work of the Sundance Instit...
21/10/2025
Top L-R: Mysterious Skin, American Dream Second Row L-R: Little Miss Sunshine, D...
21/10/2025
Last week, Spotify and Columbia Records transformed Pier 4 at the Brooklyn Army ...
21/10/2025
SBS Learn's Dharug Ngurra resource empowers classrooms to meaningfully celeb...
21/10/2025
As global operators simplify and evolve their digital platforms, NPS improvement...
21/10/2025
Critical Design Review completion is a key milestone on the path toward Wideband Global Satellite Communications certification for the network in 2026, opening ...
21/10/2025
New Australian undersea training range to implement and improve warfighting tactics, proficiency and safety; enable joint/allied training that contributes to pr...
21/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
21/10/2025
September, the beginning of autumn, brought an expected revival to the TV market, largely due to the new fall TV schedules. The time spent in front of the TV sc...
21/10/2025
Broadcast Booms with 20% Uptick vs. August, Achieving Largest Monthly
Increase ...
21/10/2025
During September, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.5%, a marginal shift of -0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YU...
21/10/2025
RENNES, France BBright and GlobalM have conducted a technical trial validating Ultra HD interoperability across the entire contribution chain in the cloud, achi...
21/10/2025
Kokusai Denki Electric America will mark the U.S. debut of a new 4K camera at the 2025 NAB New York, Oct. 22-23. Now available, the Z-HD6500-S1 UHD/HD productio...
21/10/2025
Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting, and quality assurance solutions, will showcase its entire NEXTGEN TV ...
21/10/2025
Radio Azzurra FM, longest-running radio station in the province of Novara, northwest Italy, has invested in an DHD SX2 audio routing and mixing console for inte...
21/10/2025
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, has announced the appointment of G Morgan as Executive Vice President of...
Live From The Open Championship: EMG UK Efforts Power World Feed, Unilateral Rightsholder Operations An EMG team of 600+, specialty cameras help make the 150th anniversary memorable By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
