Mayweather-McGregor: Showtime Sports To Deploy Most Cameras Ever for Record-Breaking PPV Fight

Mayweather-McGregor: Showtime Sports To Deploy Most Cameras Ever for Record-Breaking PPV Fight The 24-camera complement includes a SkyCam, two Sony HDC-4800 4K high-speed systems By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Friday, August 25, 2017 - 8:30 am

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Showtime Sports is set to deliver what is expected to be the most-watched worldwide PPV event in history on Saturday night when Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor finally enter the ring at Las Vegas's T-Mobile Arena after months of hype. The multiplatform production will be available via MVPDs, will be streamed on the Showtime PPV app and UFC.tv (and via a variety of providers worldwide), and will be shown in movie theaters and bars through Fathom Events.

With potentially the largest audience in the history of modern boxing, Showtime Sports aims for an equally historic production, with a record-high 24 cameras, including a SkyCam system and a pair of Sony HDC-4800 4K ultra-slo-mo cameras.

At Showtime, we've always had high-level productions - certainly for our pay per view and even on our Championship Boxing programs - but we're taking it even further for this fight because we anticipate this to be the most widely distributed pay-per-view event of all time, says Gordon Hall, SVP, Showtime Networks. So we want to give the record number of viewers at home their money's worth. When it comes to the production, we want that big-time-event look' to translate across the screen.

Two Dozen Cameras Headlines Plenty of High-Speed

Although high-profile fights are nothing new for Showtime, which has produced everything from Tyson and Holyfield fights in the '90s and 2000s to Mayweather-Pacquiao in 2015, Saturday night will set a new bar for the network in terms of camera coverage. The production will deploy 24 cameras to cover the ring, including a SkyCam cable-suspended system inside T-Mobile Arena, two Sony HDC-4800 4K ultra-slo-mo cameras, one aboard a helicopter for aerial shots of Las Vegas, and additional high-speed cameras covering the action inside the ring.

We're going to have more cameras than we've ever had In all of my years at Showtime, says Hall. We understand that the playing field is a 24 24 ring - with the ropes at 22 22, in this case - but we felt 24 cameras was necessary in order to cover not just the ring but also the many VIPs and celebrity entrances. We're also going to have all fighter arrivals covered, as well as backstage hallways and dressing rooms. And we will have live [aerial] coverage outdoors with the helicopter and indoor with the SkyCam.

The action inside the ring will be covered primarily by three Sony HDC-4300's (operating in HD mode at up to 480 fps), two HDC-4800 4K ultra-slo-mos (with up to 480-fps capability in 4K), and a Vision Research Phantom ultra-slo-mo system (provided by Inertia Unlimited) operating at 1,000 fps overhead.

Today, it's all about high-speed cameras and taking [viewers] inside that ring, says Hall. We're really ramping it up with additional cameras maximizing the high-speed factor.

In addition, the ring action will be covered by two roving RF HDC-2500 cameras and a pair of POVs in both corners serving as trainer cams.

The HDC-4800's, which will be positioned on the main-coverage side and opposite the main, will be key to Showtime's coverage. They will be paired with Sony's BPU-4800 processor unit/replay server, which provides Showtime with full HD cutout and zoom capabilities from the 4K frame. By taking a wide shot of the entire ring with the HDC-4800 and cutting out HD-quality closeup images for replay, Showtime will be able to provide viewers with closeups of key punches, as well as analysis of potential low blows, head-butts, and more.

We were early adopters of 4K [cameras in the HD production] a number of years back, and we've continued to push that [technology], says Hall. Since our playing field is only 24 24 - or 22 22, in this case - it allows us to take those 4K images and blow up that [HD] picture and play it back in extreme slow-motion multiple times throughout the broadcast. It's not like having one at the end zone [in a football game], where you're going to get maybe three or four plays in a whole football game to use that money shot. We expect to get those money shots throughout our broadcast using those two 4K cameras.

SkyCam, Host Set Add Big-Event Feel'

Given the large footprint of T-Mobile Arena, Showtime opted to deploy a SkyCam system for indoor aerial coverage as opposed to the JitaCam it used for Mayweather-Pacquiao and other big-ticket fights at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

We've been in discussions over the years, but we've never used it for boxing, says Hall. But, in this case, since T-Mobile is a much larger arena, we believed we needed to get some more movement in this really big space. We love the JitaCam, but the SkyCam allows us to go up and down easier, and we can track over some [fighter] walk-ins. In such a big arena, it will give us more movement, which I believe will give it more of a big-event feel.

To add to the big-event feel, Showtime will erect a host-set position at T-Mobile Arena - as it does for all its fight telecasts, including Showtime Championship Boxing. The desk, built by Creative Dimensions and reskinned with a customized design for the Mayweather-McGregor telecast, will feature two pedestal cameras and a jib.

Host Brian Custer will emcee coverage from the host set, and play-by-play announcer Mauro Ranallo, analysts Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi, and ringside reporter Jim Gray will call the fight. Showtime has also added UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich to provide MMA-focused analysis throughout the telecast. Executive Producer David Dinkens Jr. and director Bob Dunphy, both longtime Showtime boxi

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