Big West Conference Taps Broadcast Management Group for Championship Events for ESPN BMG's Las Vegas-based centralized production hub will house live-production operations By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Thursday, September 16, 2021 - 3:11 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
In collegiate athletics, mass production and distribution of live coverage of sports events isn't just for the Power Five anymore. These days, every collegiate conference and its member institutions are looking to deliver live game coverage to not just selected sports but all of its sports.
That's what made this such an important summer for the Big West Conference.
In July, the Big West announced, in addition to a new logo, a key distribution deal with ESPN under which more than 600 Big West events - including numerous conference championships in both men's and women's sports - will stream on ESPN .
While production of many of the live games will be the responsibility of the schools, the conference office is tasked with the live coverage of 13 conference championship events hosted throughout the academic year.
It's a great time to be at the Big West, says Big West Conference Commissioner Dan Butterly. There's a significant number of changes going on here with our operations, our office locations, our staff. [The ESPN partnership] provides our institutions the means to go from producing 60 regular-season games and championship events a year to 600 and above. The ESPN package having an ESPN name to it definitely helps the distribution opportunities for our institutions. We're excited to join that family.
To meet the production demands on those championships, the conference has turned to Broadcast Management Group, a full-scale production-services company that is building up REMI (or at-home) production-operations hubs across the country, including its new crown jewel in Las Vegas.
Broadcast Management Group will produce Big West Conference championship events for ESPN from its Las Vegas production hub.
[At-home production] is where the future's going, says Butterly. The Broadcast Management Facilities, and what they've got on the Las Vegas Strip, was amazing to walk through. The things that they're able to do, the technologies that they're able to utilize were immaculate. We're really excited at what they bring and what they're able to do. It really is a benefit for us.
In addition to live coverage of many of these events, BMG will provide studio-show and highlight-show coverage, all originating from BMG's Las Vegas-based production hub. BMG officially launched a sports division in January and has assembled a team of about 20 directors, editors, producers, graphics and playback operators, and technical directors.
Our approach to production is centralized technology and decentralized staffing, says Todd Mason, CEO, Broadcast Management Group. That is what a lot of the sports networks have been doing for a number of years now. Our model is way beyond [a response to] COVID. It's being able to put the camera [operators] on the field, the commentators at the game, but then bringing all the video signals back to our cloud broadcast center.
It's almost irrelevant as to where it is, he continues, because it's the cloud center. The rest of the control-room team can be either there or in various locations around the country. It allows us to efficiently leverage our staff nationwide, reduce the cost of producing an event, while maintaining the highest quality and booking the best people.
The first championship broadcast from this collaboration will be the 2021 Big West Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships hosted by UC Davis. The full schedule is as follows:
Men's and Women's Cross Country: 30-minute recap show (Oct. 29)
Women's Soccer: Live finals coverage (Nov. 4-7)
Men's Soccer: Live finals coverage (Nov. 4-13)
Men's and Women's Basketball: Live coverage of all games (March 8-12, 2022)
Women's Golf: 30-minute recap show (April 10-12, 2022)
Men's and Women's Tennis: Live finals coverage (April 28-May 1, 2022)
Beach Volleyball: Live finals coverage (April 29-30, 2022)
Men's Golf: 30-minute recap show (May 1-3, 2022)
Men's and Women's Track & Field: 60-minute recap show (May 6-14, 2022)
With many events taking place on the campuses of Big West institutions, both Butterly and Mason note, there will be plenty of collaboration between the schools and BMG.
We have our technology infrastructure, so that we can do everything turnkey in-house for them, says Mason. But we also have a systems-integration division that designs and builds facilities. That's where we can partner with the universities to support them as they're upgrading their own facilities.
That will also manifest itself in opportunities for students interested in learning live sports production.
That's one of the things that we're both very interested in: helping to train the next generation in our industry, says Mason. Our industry is aging, in the sports world particularly. A lot of people have been doing it for a long time, and some are starting to age out. We need to look at the next generation of talent. We're able to work with their students and help them, train them in real-life, real-world production experiences. We look to work with the universities on technology. We look to work with them on helping to train their students on how to be good broadcasters and to tell the story of the Big West universities.
North America Stories
27/01/2026
L-R: Jonathan Cuchacovich, Sonia Kennebeck, Alan Fischer, Daeil Kim, Andrew Sta...
27/01/2026
Nielsen will continue to drive growth and provide local audience measurement
in...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Amagi Media Labs Limited, the only cloud-native SaaS provider offering end-to-end solutions across live production, content preparation, distribution, and monet...
27/01/2026
Miri Technologies Inc. today unveiled its V410 live 4K video encoder/decoder for streaming, IP-based production workflows and AV-over-IP distribution. Designed ...
27/01/2026
The Paul E. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell in Massachusetts has chosen Ikegami cameras for incorporation into its broadcast-quality television production facili...
27/01/2026
SipRadius, specialists in secure, low latency media transport, will show the pro AV community its end-to-end solution for high quality content distribution and ...
27/01/2026
Hiltron will highlight the fruits of its 45-plus years of experience in satellite communications system integration and product development at the annual GovSat...
27/01/2026
Klvr will demonstrate how its Charger Pro solution is delivering cost reduction and performance benefits for live entertainment and pro AV markets at ISE 2026 (...
27/01/2026
Amino, a global media technology leader in enterprise video and digital signage, today announced that its Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2026 booth (4N700) wil...
27/01/2026
ANI, India's leading news agency and a major content provider across the Asia Pacific region, today announced a significant expansion of its long standing p...
27/01/2026
Independent analysis confirms faster encoding, lower CPU usage, and improved perceptual quality compared to CBR and CRF
VisualOn, a leader in multimedia playba...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
When It Feels Real, Is It Still a Lie? The Art of Sarah' ...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
That Night premiering on Netflix March 13
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DOWNLOAD THE KEY ART
DOWNLO...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Revealed the Future of Mexican Stories Coming in 2026
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalMexico
Link copied to clipboard
Among t...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Four New Japan Titles Announced for 2026: Viral Hit', On...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
What's Next on Netflix from Japan: Expanding the Possibili...
27/01/2026
AI, graphics and virtual software power new production capabilities...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) today announced an exclusive partnership with Nu Studio, the company behind the first modular, portable studio designed for immersi...
26/01/2026
OpenDrives, the leader in high-end video data management and workflow solutions, today announced an add-on investment to its previous funding rounds, led by IAG...
26/01/2026
SmallHD today announced a major update to its award-winning PageOS software, introducing Fleet Control, Portrait Mode, expanded Camera Control features, and Dow...
26/01/2026
Whether rigging a PTZ on a truss, sliding a Blackmagic camera across a mezzanine railing, or capturing the mayhem from inside a drum, Filipic delivers visuals t...
26/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils Official Trailer for Salvador
Entertainment
26 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DISCOVER THE TRAILER
DO...
26/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Presents Our 2026 Series and Films and Announces New Projects
Entertainment
26 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
...
26/01/2026
Back to All News
Made in Louisiana: People We Meet on Vacation' Lights Up New Orleans
Emily Bader and Tom Blyth film on Royal Street in New Orleans' ...
26/01/2026
LinkedIn Gives Professionals the Edge with Verified Skills and Tools to Navigate the Job Search Show Proficiency of AI Tools such as Descript, Lovable, Relay.ap...
26/01/2026
Alfalite, Brainstorm, Dejero, Domo Broadcast Systems, FOR-A, KitPlus, Ontario So...
26/01/2026
Tyngsboro, Mass. - January 26, 2026 - Broadcast Pix is excited to exhibit at the Alliance for Community Media West Region Conference and Trade Show, taking plac...
25/01/2026
Back to All News
Sins of Kujo' Premieres April 2: Teaser Trailer, Art and ...
24/01/2026
Masami Kawai Selected as the 2026 Merata Mita Fellow; Isabella Madrigal and Tsanavi Spoonhunter Named 2026 Graton Fellows During Native Forum Celebration in Par...
24/01/2026
The MC-55A Peregrine aircraft will give the Royal Australian Air Force information superiority and serve as strategic assets for future Australian Defence Force...
24/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
24/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
24/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
WWE's Virtual Production Playbook: How the Professional Wrestling Super Powe...
23/01/2026
Tight set up: Squeezing the PSA's Tournament of Champions into Grand Central...
23/01/2026
Evolving production: The PSA on bringing squash to more viewers at the Tournamen...
23/01/2026
AFC Championship Preview: Behind the Scenes With NFL on CBS' Producer Jim R...
23/01/2026
NFC Championship Preview: FOX Sports Director Rich Russo Talks Technology, Story...
Big West Conference Taps Broadcast Management Group for Championship Events for ESPN BMG's Las Vegas-based centralized production hub will house live-production operations By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
