Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

MLS Cup Final 2023: League, Apple, NEP Group Partnership To Produce First Championship Match on MLS Season Pass

08/12/2023

MLS Cup Final 2023: League, Apple, NEP Group Partnership To Produce First Championship Match on MLS Season Pass The companies will also provide linear coverage on Fox Sports, Fox Deportes in the U.S. By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor

Friday, December 8, 2023 - 10:17 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

After a highly entertaining eight months of Major League Soccer on Apple TV featuring more than 1,000 matches, the digital platform's inaugural regular season will conclude with the MLS Cup Final on Saturday, Dec. 9, with one of the original clubs, the Columbus Crew, vs. the third-newest team in the Western Conference, Los Angeles FC (LAFC). The three-pronged partnership of MLS, Apple, and NEP Group will elevate the production quality of the league's biggest event and cap off an exciting first year of MLS Season Pass.

This is the most complex workflow in the world right now, and we're delivering an exponential amount of video [because of it], says Seth Bacon, EVP, media, Major League Soccer. It's controlled chaos, but there's something nice about being able to have a week to plan for an event like the MLS Cup Final.

75+ Deliverables, 20+ Cams in 1080p: Connected-Production Ecosystem Is Put to the Test For the marquee MLS event, the production and operations teams are deploying their tech arsenal as well as their connected-production ecosystem. The match will include more than 20 cameras to capture every angle of the action, but the most impressive aspect of the MLS Cup Final is the multi-layered production workflow that debuted at the start of the 2023 regular season. Based at NEP's data center in Dallas before being dispersed to other locations - VISTA Worldlink's South Florida-based facility, NEP's Mediabank MAM operations in Washington, DC, the Apple Live Operations Center (ALOC) in NEP's Production Center in Los Angeles, the MLS Season Pass studios in New York City - the workflow is firing on all cylinders to handle the multiple responsibilities of distributing the match to the masses.

Inside the control room of Major League Soccer's headquarters in New York City (All photos: MLS)

The platform offers many deliverables for this one event, says Joshua Liemer, president, VISTA Worldlink. That's the secret sauce to what MLS has been delivering this year. Early on in this journey, we set out to build this ecosystem, but what has impressed me the most is that [the final will] be delivered in a variety of languages and graphics packages.

In addition to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, the crew will be sending feeds to numerous linear platforms: domestic broadcasters Fox Sports in English and Fox Deportes in Spanish, Canadian broadcasters TSN in English, RDS in French. With all the video signals in 1080p, any match day can be quite daunting, but, with the ecosystem in place, the operation can move forward with minimal hiccups.

The ecosystem is what has been able to connect all these dots, adds Liemer. We always say it takes a village, but, in this instance, it takes the ecosystem to bring it all together.

Operations in Ohio: Logistical Challenges Resolved With Columbus-Cincinnati Semifinal Although the ecosystem served as the main artery for distribution during the regular season and broadcasts of Leagues Cup, the production strategy will be used in a support role for Saturday's game. Opting for an onsite production to crown this year's champion, the team will be working out of three trucks (one for English-language team Jake Zivin, Taylor Twellman, and Katie Witham on Apple, one for Spanish-language team Sammy Sadovnik, Eduardo Biscayart, and Antonella Gonzalez on Apple, one for the linear outlets). Two of the trucks are from NEP Group: Supershooter 7 and Supershooter 29.

Logistically, a prior result - Columbus Crew's dramatic 3-2 victory over FC Cincinnati in a postseason edition of the Hell Is Real derby - helped solidify operations plans for the last match of the year. Because of playoff seedings, the winner of the Eastern Conference Final would dictate where the championship would be held. At slightly more than 100 miles from the teams' respective venues, Lower.com Field in Columbus, OH, was the best possible outcome for the drivers of NEP mobile units and the onsite technical staff.

It was a dream scenario because were able to lock in the exact crewing that we wanted and needed, says Liemer. We've been able to prepare to produce from this venue for a good amount of time.

NEP Group is a pivotal piece in the production of MLS Season Pass on Apple.

In addition to preparing for the 2023 final, the team has become familiar with the stadium that will host the 2024 MLS All-Star Game on July 17, 2024. To make things easier for next summer's broadcast, two-year-old Lower.com Field is the third-youngest stadium in the league. With a recently opened venue comes an updated tech infrastructure, which is very much welcomed for a production emphasizing connectivity.

The new MLS stadiums being built are the most technologically advanced from both a fan experience and a production standpoint, says Bacon. We have very strict standards that we put on our clubs in regard to camera locations, connectivity, and fibering. It was helpful to know that Ohio was going to be our destination, but, when you go through a season with 77 Leagues Cup matches in 34 days, you become pretty good at being nimble and reacting quickly to deploy a full-scale production.

This special relationship with Lower.com Field will allow on-field studio programming before and after the match on MLS Season Pass. The English-language team will feature Sacha Kljestan, Kaylyn Kyle, Liam McHugh, Andrew Wiebe, and Bradley Wright-Phillips; the Spanish-language team, Tony Cherchi, Miguel Gallardo, and Diego Valeri.

Year 1 Reflec
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2023/12/08/mls-cup-final-2023-league-apple...
See more stories from svg

North America Stories

07/07/2026

Disagreements Abound Over the Adequacy of C-Band Replacements

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/07/2026

Cameras Become More Connected to Production Workflows

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/07/2026

NFL on TV: Time to Move the Regulatory Goal Posts?

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/07/2026

Building a Future-Ready Facility for Tomorrow's Broadcasters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/07/2026

Rewriting the Control Room: How Broadcasters Are Going Remote

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/07/2026

Fincons Group appoints Andrea Fravega as Global BU Media...

The appointment will drive growth and innovation across the Media Business Unit Fincons Group, a leading IT business consultancy and systems integrator company...

07/07/2026

Big Blue Marble debuts next-gen ultra low latency MoQ str...

International broadcast and streaming expert Big Blue Marble has announced a multi-month Proof of Concept (PoC) for Media over QUIC (MoQ) during a major interna...

07/07/2026

Leader provides Test and Measurement for global broadcast...

Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, is proud to announce that two of its leading products, the PHABRIX Qx rasterizer and LeaderPhabrix L...

07/07/2026

Clear-Com Powers Ross Production Services Mobile Producti...

Clear-Com announced that Ross Production Services (RPS), a leading provider of mobile production solutions for live events and broadcasts, has standardized on ...

07/07/2026

Q Era Innovations Take Center Stage for LiveU at IBC2026

LiveU redefined live newsgathering with the invention of cellular bonding. At IBC2026, Stand 7.C24, the company will show how that foundation is evolving into t...

07/07/2026

Camera to Cloud Meets Camera to Timeline LucidLink Unifi...

LucidLink, a leader in cloud-based file services for content creators, today announced an enhanced workflow integration between LucidLink and Adobe Frame.io tha...

07/07/2026

Comcast's Sky to Acquire ITV Media and Entertainment

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/07/2026

Digital Alert Systems Details ATSC 3.0 EAS Capabilities to FCC

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/07/2026

July 06, 2026

Scripps Research scientists train the immune system to make antibodies against numerous HIV strains Preclinical findings mark progress toward a long-sought vacc...

06/07/2026

Inside OneSoccer's FIFA World Cup Ops: Canada's Soccer Network Goes Behind the Scenes for CanMNT's Historic Moment

Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...

06/07/2026

Lumine Group Acquires Imagine Communications, Continues To Build Portfolio of Media Businesses

The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...

06/07/2026

SVG All-Stars: Stuart Mitchell, Senior Coordinating Producer, Spectrum SportsNet LA

This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...

06/07/2026

Case Study: How IMS Productions and FOX Sports Scaled Coverage of the 109th Indianapolis 500

IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...

06/07/2026

Lumine Group Completes Acquisition of Synamedias Video Network Business

Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...

06/07/2026

NASCAR and Motorsport Network Announce Content and Commercial Partnership

NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...

06/07/2026

Versant To Acquire Full Swing for Approximately $530 Million

Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...

06/07/2026

DAZN Secures Global Rights to 3ICE Hockey

DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...

06/07/2026

Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice President, Operations

Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...

06/07/2026

Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development

Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development Brie Clayton July 6, 2026 0 Comments The strategic new appointment supports...

06/07/2026

Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve

Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve Michael Cioni July 6, 2026 0 Comments This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...

06/07/2026

Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro

Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro Colin Smith July 6, 2026 0 Comments Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...

06/07/2026

Flavor's FirstEver Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Executive Producer Kate Smith Rises to Lead the Studio

Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...

06/07/2026

How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat

How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...

06/07/2026

Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with the first drop

Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...

06/07/2026

NVIDIA and Hugging Face Bring New Models and Frameworks to LeRobot for the Open Robotics Community

Open source AI has shown how quickly developers can innovate when models, data a...

06/07/2026

How Nations Are Deploying AI for Strategic Priorities

Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...

06/07/2026

How Open Models Are Driving AI Research

Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work. This year's ...

05/07/2026

Fox Sports AR/XR Studio Graphics Team Shows Power of Next-Generation Operations

We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...

04/07/2026

Inside OneSoccers FIFA World Cup Ops: Canadas Soccer Network Goes Behind the Scenes for CanMNTs Historic Moment

When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...

04/07/2026

Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program

Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program Brie Clayton July 3, 2026 0 Comments Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...

04/07/2026

iZotope Joins Boris FX

iZotope Joins Boris FX Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026 0 Comments iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...

03/07/2026

Broadcast Solutions Acquires BFE

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/07/2026

AdClarity Expands CTV Offering to 20 Countries

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/07/2026

Mountain West Conference Launches SVOD Service With New Revenue Model

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/07/2026

Death Star

Death Star Andy Marken July 2, 2026 0 Comments Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...

03/07/2026

Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's Next

Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...

03/07/2026

July 01, 2026

Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...

03/07/2026

July 02, 2026

Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...

02/07/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Abby Finke, University of Dayton

Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD In the live-sports...

02/07/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 22: Winnipeg Jets Kyle Balharry - Going to Work in the Great White North

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

02/07/2026

BLAST Reports $133 Million in 2025 Revenue, Opens New York Headquarters

BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...

02/07/2026

Riedel and SKAARHOJ Expand Collaboration with SimplyLive Integration

Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...

02/07/2026

Czech Fire Rescue Service Deploys LiveU Video Transmission for Emergency Operations

The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...

02/07/2026

Gravity Media USA Appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development

Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...