NWSL Makes Broadcast-Network Debut on CBS With Full REMI Workflow

NWSL Makes Broadcast-Network Debut on CBS With Full REMI Workflow NWSL Challenge Cup games are being produced remotely from Vista's Florida facility By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Tuesday, June 30, 2020 - 4:11 pm

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The kickoff of the NWSL Challenge Cup on CBS last Saturday not only marked the return of live team sports in the U.S. but also was the first time an NWSL match has appeared on a broadcast network. To produce the 23 match broadcasts (the opener and Championship Game are airing on CBS, with all matches streamed on CBS All Access) from Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, UT, the league and CBS Sports have teamed with longtime NWSL partner Vista Worldlink to remotely produce the matches from its centralized broadcast facility in Dania Beach, FL.

The bulk of the production team for NWSL Challenge Cup is located remotely at Vista Worldlink's facility

This was the first time CBS has ever done a REMI on their broadcast network, so it was new to a lot of people, says Michael Cohen, executive producer, NWSL, but we ramped up the level of production accordingly. There were two primary reasons that we chose to go REMI with a game of this magnitude: first, the technology was there to do it, and, second, we were dealing with medical-protocol issues related to allowing only a certain amount of people in the stadium. Since we have been using this technology and working with Vista for four years, we felt confident that we could do this not just at a digital level but a broadcast-network level.

When the NWSL inked a multiyear deal with CBS Sports and Twitch in March, the plan was that matches streaming on All Access would be produced via Vista's facility and those airing on CBS and CBSSN would be produced traditionally with a truck onsite.

However, when the coronavirus pandemic threw the season into disarray, NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird and her team crafted the idea for the NWSL Challenge Cup. After briefly exploring deployment of a truck onsite for the opener and Championship Game on CBS, Cohen and company opted to produce all 23 games (down from 25 when Orlando Pride was forced to pull out) remotely via Vista.

https://www.sportsvideo.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NWSL-Vista-ControlRoom.mp4

For this show and all our shows in general, our number-one priority is the health and safety of all the people working for CBS, says Steve Karasik, VP, remote production, CBS Sports. Of course, we have done other shows in this [REMI] fashion, but it certainly made sense in terms of health and safety to do it here. Largely, people didn't have to fly on planes, and we were able to keep the [onsite] footprint to a minimum.

Onsite in Utah: Minimal Crew But Plenty of Cameras

The camera complement at Zions Bank Stadium features six broadcast cameras (play-by-play, tight follow, low end zone, left 18-yard line, right 18-yard line, and handheld), two net cams, a beauty shot, and one ENG camera. Cohen says camera levels will continue to increase as the tournament gets close to the Championship Game.

NWSL reporter Marisa Pilla is delivering live interviews and reports from the stadium throughout the tournament.

In addition to reporter Marisa Pilla, who delivers live interviews and reports from the stadium throughout the tournament, approximately 16 crew members are onsite: camera operators, a video shader, A2 for audio, EICs, tech manager, utilities. A handful of alternate crewmembers are available in case someone tests positive for COVID-19.

NWSL Director, Broadcasting and Content, Dana Rubin oversees the onsite footprint and medical protocols for the production. All crew members who traveled to Utah were tested for coronavirus prior to their departure and once again on arrival. All individuals onsite are provided with masks and full PPE and are required to wear them at all times while at the venue. Quarantined housing has also been made available for the onsite staff.

Jason Cohen [VP, remote technical operations] and the CBS Sports team have been very generous and shared with us their protocols for [PGA TOUR] golf, where they have [functional groups] isolated in colored zones, Cohen explains. We replicated that policy, so that anybody that was going to be close to the field or players or each other would be [assigned to] the red zone and all others are in the blue zone. It has been really great to have.

In Florida: Announcers and the Production Team

A total of 18 transmission paths are sent from Utah to Vista's production facility - via satellite uplink, IP, and bonded cellular to ensure redundancy - to handle camera feeds and comms. Vista also expanded its Dante IP audio/comms system for more flexibility for the larger NWSL shows.

Jenn Hildreth calls the NWSL action remotely from Vista Worldlinks' Florida facility

We already had the foundation built for this project with our central broadcast facility and the fact that we've done over 300 NWSL REMI games over the past three years, notes Vista Worldlink President Josh Liemer. However, we had to enhance it significantly. These games have more cameras than our usual [REMI shows], so we have a lot more paths coming back. With that in mind, we wanted to create as many redundancies - what I like to call belts and suspenders - as possible with satellite, IP, and bonded cellular to ensure that everything came back exactly as we needed.

NWSL commentators Aly Wagner and Jenn Hildreth are located in Vista's studio in Dania Beach, FL.

NWSL announcers Aly Wagner and Jenn Hildreth are socially distanced at Vista's studio in Florida, calling the games off-tube and hosting pre/postgame and halftime content. They are presented in a two-box during the broadcast. Both are accustomed to calling games off monitors, having done so regularly during their work on F

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