Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

SVG All-Stars: Jason Hedgcock, Senior Director, Remote Technical Operations, MLB Network

08/10/2024

SVG All-Stars: Jason Hedgcock, Senior Director, Remote Technical Operations, MLB Network During a decade in baseball coverage, he has become an operations linchpin By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Tuesday, October 8, 2024 - 7:00 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

In an era when sports production is evolving faster than ever, a new generation of leaders is beginning to make its mark on the industry. Our new SVG All-Stars series explores the journey of the industry's rising executives, showcasing their experiences and career highlights in the business, overarching philosophy and leadership strategy, technological and creative innovation, and where they see the industry headed. Join us as we uncover the story behind their ascent and the impact they are having in an ever-evolving industry.

During a decade of work at MLB Network (MLBN), Jason Hedgcock has established himself as an irreplicable piece of the sport's live-production puzzle.

From delivering critical video workflows at annual events like MLB All-Star, MLB Postseason, and the World Series, Major League Baseball's expansion into special events - World Baseball Classic, MLB at Field of Dreams, international ventures like the London Series and Seoul Series - wouldn't be possible without his hard work and expertise.

In this week's edition of SVG All-Stars, Hedgcock shares his story, the technological innovations he has his eye on, and his advice for succeeding in dynamic live-sports-production industry.

At 2024 MLB All-Star in Arlington, TX, Jason Hedgcock (right) with Rob Brotzman (left) and Agustine Rivera.

What are the key responsibilities of your current role?

Television is an art form, and my responsibility first and foremost is to provide the tools to the artists. In my role as senior director of remote technical operations, I help plan and execute the technical elements of remote programming for the MLB Network and NHL Network. This includes not only the hardware like cameras and mobile units but also the software like the talented technicians that make everything possible. I often say that I don't control what you see and hear but that you can see and hear it.

What is one key industry trend that you believe is having a major impact on your organization right now?

The pandemic had a tremendous impact on our industry. It greatly accelerated the shift to deliver content to the audience in two significant ways: fans want to watch their content not only on demand but on the device they have in their hand at that moment. This has driven amazing technological leaps, but I think at the foundation of these leaps is risk tolerance.

We are in a unique time that has occurred at only a few points in the entirety of broadcast development. Viewers have become less critical of minor flaws in a broadcast, and our senior leadership team is more open to taking chances in this post-pandemic landscape. Prior to 2020, bonded-cellular transmission devices were certainly commonplace but not being used as creatively as they are now. Putting an entire remote studio show on a bonded-cellular device clearly comes with risk but also allows for a show that might never have happened without bonded cellular.

At the 2023 MLB London Series, Jason Hedgcock (right), with (from left) Jason Lamanna, Shaun Glanville, and Luigi Sborea

The same can be said about REMI and cloud productions. The drive to get live content to audiences while facing all the challenges brought on in 2020 forged a new, stronger relationship between what I have always viewed as the four sides of broadcast: production, operations, engineering, and administration. Streaming has desensitized the audience to technical difficulties. While that hasn't deterred anyone from striving for perfection in every broadcast, it has allowed all sides to take more risks with a lower chance of negative audience response.

What core philosophy do you try to live by when managing your team/operation?

As clich as it sounds, treat others the way you want to be treated. I think, at its core, it's just that simple. It is easy to deliver positive information to anyone, but how do you deliver negative information? I always try to empathize with others in a situation and handle any situation the way I would want it presented to me.

What is your favorite event(s) that you've worked?

This is an incredibly hard question! I think I can narrow it down to four, and they each hold a special place in my growth in this industry. In the summer of 2005, I had the opportunity to be a part of 50 States in 50 Days on ESPN. I learned, often the hard way, how to be a human traveling on the road. I had already spent some time on the road by then and thought I knew a whole lot more about the travel side of this business than I did.

Hedgcock being interviewed prior to the 2019 MLB All-Star Game

My time on ESPN Thursday College Football was an experience that solidified what I wanted to do in the industry and, more important, how I wanted to accomplish it. Greg Swartz [then operations producer, ESPN] taught me how to truly lead and manage a crew. The crew taught me what it meant to be a part of this small industry.

Being at MLBN for 10 years, I could list another five events that I will always treasure, but I think I would have to settle on the 2017 World Baseball Classic and the 2024 Opening Series from Seoul. The '17 WBC changed my perspective on how to approach scalable engineering models and make cohesive production executions on a global scale. The Opening Series from Seoul proved definitively that, with the right team and maybe a dash or two of luck, extraordinary things are possible.

How did you get started in sports production? What was your first real job in the business?

I got my first taste of national sports production at my first national
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/10/08/svg-all-stars-jason-hedgcock-se...
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 ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

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

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

27/08/2026

ESPN Adds College Football Saturdays to Disney+ This Fall

ESPN and Disney are launching College Football Saturdays, adding two college football games per week to Disney for U.S. subscribers as part of their existing ...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: Zixi to Showcase Live Video Platform and Broadcaster v19

Zixi will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 5, Stand 5.A76, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), demonstrating the Zixi Platform and the latest release of Zixi Broadcaster, ...

27/08/2026

NDI Surpasses 1.2 Million Hardware Nodes as IBC2026 Showcase Expands

NDI has announced that its ecosystem has surpassed 1.2 million NDI-enabled hardware nodes worldwide, spanning products from more than 200 hardware brands across...

27/08/2026

Clear-Com FreeSpeak Cell Trialed During Rio Carnival Before Commercial Launch

Clear-Com conducted a pre-launch field trial of FreeSpeak Cell during Carnival 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with Brazilian systems integrator Savana C...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: BVH SportsBox Remote Mixer Becomes Reality

BHV returns to IBC 2026 with an important milestone for its own SportsBox: the broadcast industry's smallest remote vision mixer and format processor has mo...

27/08/2026

TOGETHXR and Snapchat Announce Second Snap the Gap Athlete Cohort

TOGETHXR and Snapchat have announced the second cohort of their Snap the Gap content creator program, welcoming nine athletes as Snap Stars. The program provide...

27/08/2026

CNBC UK Selects MediaKind Beam for Live News Infrastructure

MediaKind has announced that CNBC UK has selected Beam to modernize its contribution and distribution infrastructure for live broadcast operations. The deployme...

27/08/2026

Monitor Engineer Chris Dwight Deploys Sennheiser Spectera on Puscifer and A Perfect Circle Tours

Monitor engineer Chris Dwight has deployed Sennheiser's Spectera wideband bi...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: Telestream Expands UP Platform

Telestream has announced an expansion of its UP cloud-native platform, adding capabilities for orchestrating Telestream services, third-party technologies, and ...

27/08/2026

Swerve TV Signs Multi-Year Partnership with GLORY Kickboxing

Swerve TV has signed a multi-year partnership with GLORY Kickboxing, bringing live GLORY events and library programming to Swerve Combat, Swerve TV's free a...

27/08/2026

AFP and Dalet Integrate AFP Content Into Dalet Flex Newsroom Workflow

Dalet has announced a new integrated content experience with Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Dalet Flex, designed to bring AFP's editorial metadata into the p...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: Grass Valley to Demonstrate Integrated Live Production Environment

Grass Valley will demonstrate an integrated live production environment at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), combining K-Frame, Maverik X, ...

27/08/2026

NWSL and Roku Expand Partnership with Sunday Night Streaming Package

The National Women's Soccer League and Roku have announced an expanded partnership, with the Roku Sports Channel becoming the exclusive streaming home of ei...

27/08/2026

Fubo Adds ACC Network Extra and SEC Network+ to Streaming Service

FuboTV has announced the launch of ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) and SEC Network (SECN ) on the Fubo streaming service at no additional cost to subscribers with En...

27/08/2026

Moment Branding: Using Sound to Create More Powerful Fan Experiences

Sports marketers have entered the experiential age. Today, sports teams, leagues, and venues are increasingly using immersive interactions and real world events...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: MultiDyne to Debut MDoG-8800 12G Fiber Transport Module

MultiDyne will introduce the MDoG-8800 at IBC2026 (Stand 11.C12, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), extending its openGear portfolio with a high-density fiber tra...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: JT-DMF To Host Ask Me Anything' Sessions

The Joint Task Force on the Dynamic Media Facility (JT-DMF), an initiative of AMWA and the EBU, will host a series of informal Ask Me Anything sessions during...

27/08/2026

Homestream Syncs Duke, Auburn and Georgia Tech Football, Basketball Radio Calls to Live TV Broadcasts

Homestream, a mobile app that automatically syncs a team's local radio broad...

27/08/2026

Spikes Under the Lights Brings Collegiate Volleyball to AT&T Stadium in a Made-for-TV Event Built for Scale

A packager for TNT Sports, Kwokman Productions is on hand for the unique event w...

27/08/2026

25 Seasons of New York Yankees on YES Network: The Day 1 Crew Looks Back on a Quarter Century in the Bronx - and Stamford

After more than 3,000 games, five members of YES Network's original staff re...

27/08/2026

Dreamtonics unveil Instrument X orchestral alternative

Physical modelling orchestral instrument announced Following their recent cryptic hints, Dreamtonics have officially revealed the latest addition to their s...

27/08/2026

Apple update the Mac mini & Mac Studio

M5 Ultra-equipped Studio most powerful Mac to date Apple have just announced a design refresh which they say makes the Mac mini fiercer and more versatil...

27/08/2026

Bitwig Studio 6.1 now available

Sampler receivers major upgrades Bitwig's latest DAW update brings some major changes to the Sampler device, kitting it out with new slicing options, tw...

27/08/2026

Arturia release Pure Sub

Designed specifically for hard-hitting modern bass Designed specifically for bass-heavy electronic music, the latest plug-in from Arturia aims to offer an a...

27/08/2026

Gracenote's first DSP integration brings show-level content intelligence to The Trade Desk

Advertisers gain granular CTV targeting and turnkey reporting across eligible in...

27/08/2026

Boland Debuts ST 2110 Option for its 4K HDR Monitors

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

Adele Hixon-Day Joins C-SPAN as Chief Development Officer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

Profuz Digital presents intelligent AI workflow orchestra...

Profuz Digital makes a mark by launching a powerful upgrade to its Profuz LAPIS digital media management platform this IBC in Amsterdam at Stand 8.A88. The late...

27/08/2026

DHD to Introduce its Third-Generation Audio Mixing Consol...

DHD.audio has chosen IBC 2026 as the launch venue for what it defines as one of the most radical advances in the companys 30 year history. Every broadcast trad...

27/08/2026

FOR-A integrates with CuePilot for dynamic automated prod...

Direct connectivity between planning, production and graphics for creativity and streamlined workflows...

27/08/2026

New Photoshop innovations bring you more choice and control at every stage of your creative process

New Photoshop innovations bring you more choice and control at every stage of yo...

27/08/2026

First Two Seasons of Vertical Series Vultures Shot on Blackmagic Design Cameras

First Two Seasons of Vertical Series Vultures Shot on Blackmagic Design Cameras Brie Clayton August 27, 2026 0 Comments Director and DoP of Vultures ...

27/08/2026

3Play Media data shows audiences are embracing AI dubbing

For years, the media and entertainment industry has hesitated to use AI-voiced dubbing due to concern for audience experience. New data from 3Play Media, a glob...

27/08/2026

Starfish adds voice synthesis support to Advantage AD in...

Starfish Technologies has announced the forthcoming V9 release of its Advantage AD workstation, adding support for voice synthesis services and giving Audio Des...

27/08/2026

Lightware UBEX Helps Rental Teams Deploy Faster And Saf...

Lightware's UBEX is a powerful AV-over-IP product well suited for rental and staging workflows where systems must be fast to deploy, easy to repurpose, and ...

27/08/2026

Lightware extends TPN platform to 100 endpoints with TPN-...

Lightware has expanded the scalability of its 10G TPN AV-over-IP platform with the introduction of the new TPN-MMU-X100 Matrix Management Unit, enabling systems...

27/08/2026

Federal Appeals Court Blocks Some FCC Political Ad Discount Rules

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

Zixi To Demo Hybrid Workflows At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

Study: Americans Spend More Time Watching YouTube Than Live TV

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

Magewell To Highlight Newly Released Director Plus At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

PlayBox Neo continues to shape the media landscape by ini...

PlayBox Neo Stand 7.C29 IBC2026 - 11 14 September Well-established global specialists in media playout, automation, and streaming solutions, PlayBox Neo ...

27/08/2026

Rise Academy Invites the Industry to Join Race 4 The Futu...

Rise Academy, the broadcast and media skills charity dedicated to delivering practical media technology learning experiences, careers resources and work experie...

27/08/2026

Mediagenix Takes Title Management Beyond the Catalog at I...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, will showcase the latest evolution of its ...

27/08/2026

Screen Australia opens applications for Global Fellowships Program

Screen Australia opens applications for Global Fellowships Program 27 August 2026 Applications are now open for the Screen Australia Global Fellowships progra...

27/08/2026

Sir Grayson Perry and Rebecca Lucy Taylor (aka Self Esteem) to host the third annual Sky Arts Awards at the Roundhouse on 13 October

Thursday 27 August 2026 Sir Grayson Perry and Rebecca Lucy Taylor (aka Self Est...

27/08/2026

Riedel Evolves Leadership and Global Go-to-Market Organization

Wuppertal August 27, 2026 Riedel Evolves Leadership and Global Go-to-Market OrganizationRiedel Communications is strengthening its leadership and global go-to...

27/08/2026

Exciting updates for Sneaky Sasquatch come to Apple Arcade - UPDATE - Posted on 27 August 2026

More Sasquatch, more fun: Today, the sneakiest crossover of the summer lands exc...