
NHL Returns: Hockey Audio Balances Sticks And Crowds' Broadcasts will feature a combination of real and enhanced' audio By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Friday, July 31, 2020 - 10:36 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Every sport is finding its own way back on the air, and, when the NHL returns this weekend for the start of its abbreviated-but-rapid-fire 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers series - 16 teams playing best-of-five series to determine the eight teams to advance to the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs - it'll be with the classic sound elements of blades, sticks, and pucks on ice.
Games will originate from just two venues: the Toronto Maple Leafs' Scotiabank Arena, where NEP's ND6 truck is the nexus of hockey on NBC, and the Edmonton Oilers' Rogers Place arena, where Dome Productions mobile production units are managing the games for Rogers SportsNet. Both locations are contracted by NHL through NBC - as are their respective A1s Tim Dunn and Patrick Castonguay - to do the world feed, from which NBC Sports will take the stems.
NBC Sports will backhaul its elements to NBC Sports' Stamford, CT, studios. The Stamford submix of all the elements - including venue, remote, and home-based announcers - is done by Rick Bernier, with Mike DiCrescenzo mixing the intermission studio segments, and is distributed via a world-feed model, similar to how the network handles its Olympics broadcasts.
A Special Category of Mixer The sonic signature for hockey's pandemic era is evolving. This season will feature what is emerging as a new category of audio submixer for television sports: the A1 tasked with mixing enhanced sound - a euphemism for the artificial crowd and effects noises that some consider necessitated by venue seats kept empty by the COVID-19 outbreak. These new specialists are mixing audio elements, often assembled by videogame developers from actual games played in teams' own venues, into a menu of crowd reactions to sprinkle throughout the games. The goal is to re-create the sound of a full stadium or arena from the Before Times, when coronaviruses were phenomena that happened elsewhere or in thriller novels.
NBC Sports will produce crowd audio with two Ableton Live audio-software systems on Apple laptops filled with sounds recorded in NHL arenas for EA Sports videogames.
It's a very specialized position, notes Karl Malone, audio and audio systems engineering designer, NBC Sports and Olympics. It takes someone who really knows the sport and the teams and the way their fans react. Especially for NHL, they have to be able to follow a very fast game and know its nuances.
He says that describes Matt Coppedge, who has mixed hockey and other broadcast sports as an A1 for NBC Sports. For this series, he will work a pair of Ableton Live audio-software systems (one main, one backup) on Apple laptops that hold several gigabytes of sound effects from the EA Sports libraries, recorded in all the NHL arenas for videogames, such as EA's NHL 20. The inventory includes two separate crowd-sound beds and an array of reaction sounds, such as oohs and boos, as well as team-specific cheers and chants.
As a hockey player and fan, I can't think of a cooler gig than mixing live crowd ambience for the 2020 NHL Playoffs, says Coppedge, noting that both NBC and NHL production teams have dropped in to offer suggestions to guide the crowd mix. Re-creating a live sports crowd for any sport is a big challenge. That challenge is magnified when you try to replicate passionate fans for one of the fastest sports in the world.
He is mixing through Ableton's Push 2 control surface, which assembles the various audio elements into a menu, with certain elements hot-keyed for quick access. His counterpart in Edmonton, Jeff Kozak, is using the same EA Sports system and audio elements.
Using the Push 2 allowed for a very natural workflow and quick access to every sample in the session, Coppedge says. After a few level and key adjustments within Ableton, the project is ready for the puck to drop.
Working with a front-row view of the action from the media gondola at Scotiabank Arena lets him follow the action and react to the game much like a regular NHL crowd would.
After a few periods, he explains, creating the natural ebb and flow of a live crowd began to feel very comfortable. The only thing missing was a hot dog and the kiss cam!
Malone says that, although there had been talk of wiring several players per game for sound, as is done routinely during regular-season play, the league had decided against it for the COVID-shortened season. That may be just as well. The Ross AirCleaner profanity-elimination delay device being used this year smoothly diffuses the sounds of profanities, instead of covering them jarring bleeps. It was getting a workout, with the broadcast feed experiencing as many as 50 garbles per game and the clean feed without announcers getting as many as 90.
NBC Will Ease Into Use of Fake Crowd Sound The faux crowd audio is an experiment for now, being evaluated during the preseason games. How and how much it will be applied on-air will be determined by the league as play progresses. When it is, it will be mixed with the audio from the network's announcers and the effects microphones surrounding the rink, including as many as a dozen Crown PCC160 boundary microphones that Malone says are the best at capturing the key analog effects of hockey: blades, sticks, and pucks on the ice.
None of that will be pumped through the venue PA system, as some other sports are doing. Instead, the NHL venue PA systems will carry music, as well as the goal and period-end horns and buzzers. The network broadcast will come with actual field-of-play effects and announcers' commentary, and any enhanced sound that may eventually be added.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
26/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/08/2026
PTZ Camera Manufacturer and FPGA Design Specialist Join Alliance to Advance IPMX and Open AV-over-IP Standards
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today...
26/08/2026
BATON offers ZOO Digital advanced audio and video quality analysis, and scalable architecture
Interra Systems, a leading provider of end-to-end quality assuran...
26/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced the continued expansion of its managed coach communications partnership with Scottish Rugby Union. Now entering its third ...
26/08/2026
Zixi brings Broadcaster V19 and showcases interoperable platform on Stand 5.A76
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, will be exhib...
26/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Jeffery Kelly, the H. Lutcher Brown Professor of Chemistry at Scrip...
26/08/2026
Indie Developer Launches Orty, aWindows App That Helps Freelance VideoEditors Fi...
26/08/2026
BTS on Sinners and Is God Is Shot with Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro
Brie Clayton August 25, 2026
0 Comments
Award winning filmmaker Travis Henry elevat...
25/08/2026
Open, Sustainable, Predictable: What Utah Scientific Is Bringing to IBC 2026 As broadcast leaders prepare to gather at the RAI Amsterdam for IBC 2026, the main ...
25/08/2026
NC State's Matthew Byrd breaks down how an IP-based infrastructure is delivering greater flexibility and scalability for Wolfpack productions...
25/08/2026
Deal expands the DTC reach in-market of Capitals, Wizards, Mystics games and oth...
25/08/2026
The two-year renovation period will create a stadium of the future for the NFL f...
25/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
25/08/2026
Shell Energy Stadium in Houston has installed a new L-Acoustics A Series loudspeaker system, designed and installed by LD Systems, a Clair Global brand. The 20,...
25/08/2026
FloCollege is expanding its distribution and product offerings for the 2026-27 season, covering more than 20 NCAA partner conferences across Division I, II, and...
25/08/2026
TNA Wrestling and REVOLT have announced a content partnership bringing exclusive TNA Xplosion matches and content from TNA's library to REVOLT.
Our indust...
25/08/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its Q3 2026 Data Hub analysis showing that FAST sports programming is growing at more than ...
25/08/2026
Amagi has appointed Thomas d'H rouville as Head of Sales for France, Benelux, and Nordics. Based in Paris, he will lead Amagi's growth strategy across t...
25/08/2026
IPC has appointed CCATech as its channel partner in Brazil, expanding the company's presence in Latin America. CCATech was founded in 2023 by Carlos Abrah o...
25/08/2026
FanConnect has announced the FC4, a multi-output media player designed to drive mid-sized video walls, multi-screen concession stands, and multi-display digital...
25/08/2026
JWX has launched JWX Content Hub, a platform for publisher video that combines content transformation, social distribution, audience engagement, and monetizatio...
25/08/2026
Techex has appointed Stuart Almond as Chief Revenue Officer. Almond brings more than 25 years of experience across technology, media, and telecommunications, ha...
25/08/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate infrastructure connecting SDI, SMPTE ST 2110, MXL, and software-based processing at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September...
25/08/2026
Franchises are taking greater ownership of production, distribution, and the fan...
25/08/2026
The first-year circuit for former professional athletes leans on LiveU, Starlink...
25/08/2026
Announcing the 2026 Sundance Institute Breakthrough | Focus Features Fellows
L...
25/08/2026
Auction Part 3 running until 9 September 2026
Soundgas have announced that the latest stage of their John Paul Jones Gear Auction is now live, and that bids...
25/08/2026
Over 60 award-winning artists, songwriters, producers, engineers
The MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo SF), San Francisco's premier event for m...
25/08/2026
All three versions receive firmware upgrade
Groove Synthesis have just launched a free firmware update that kits the 3rd Wave out with two major new feature...
25/08/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Lingopal, the AI-powered live translation and localization specialist, is unveiling new platform capabilities at IBC2026 (11 14 September, RAI Amsterdam), helpi...
25/08/2026
Bminty is supporting TV5MONDE in the evolution of its editorial processes through a new AI-assisted press information generation solution. Combining the Louise ...
25/08/2026
Two Cultures. Millions Reached. One Berklee Connection. Meet Annie Dickinson and Zhengxi Zhang-the couple who turned their creative partnership into music car...
25/08/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced that Law&Crime has migrated its Court TV channel, s...
25/08/2026
Broadcast Solutions, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, is showcasing the breadth of its ca...
25/08/2026
Thatcham, UK 25 August 2026: Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, has announced that leading broadcast rental company Minitech has purchased a Le...
25/08/2026
Appear's X20 Platform enables visually lossless video contribution with sub-frame latency and full path redundancy for TVTEL's centralised VAR operation...
25/08/2026
World-first demonstration combines 5G Broadcast and Media over QUIC for seamless, ultra-low-latency hybrid media delivery
Big Blue Marble will showcase new dev...