Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Live From the Ryder Cup: 2021 Production Is a Family Affair for Sky Sports and NBC Sports

24/09/2021

Live From the Ryder Cup: 2021 Production Is a Family Affair for Sky Sports and NBC Sports Collaboration will be key at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Thursday, September 23, 2021 - 2:08 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

After a year's delay, the 2021 Ryder Cup is set to begin Friday, with Team USA and Team Europe squaring off at Whistling Straits in Kohler, WI. It's the first Ryder Cup for which Sky Sports and NBC Sports are part of the same corporate family, and collaboration will play a big part.

Both units are very excited to be broadcasting it for the first time in three years and to be working together and talking together, says Jason Wessely, executive producer, Sky Sports Golf. Not only to make sensible efficiencies, sensible savings, and environmentally responsible savings but to pull resources so that the customer gets an enhanced experience, not a lesser experience. Collectively, we're stronger, and it's very exciting [to be] looking at the future of golf broadcasting as we work together with each other and with partners like the European Tour Productions and PGA of America.

The biggest area of collaboration will be around Golf Channel's Live From show, which has become a staple for golf fans, especially at the majors and events like the Ryder Cup.

We worked pretty hard to get Live From throughout the season onto the Sky platform because it's a nice product that has a continual news flow for the Sky customer, says Wessely. So we're going to join forces and throw to a Sky set and then go back and forth to the Live From Golf Channel set and give a complete, comprehensive show that throws back and forth between the two groups.

There has been a lot of work with Live From Coordinating Producer Matt Hegarty and his team, he adds, but we'll be able to have the American take and the European take on things, and, hopefully, over the next couple of days, we'll find a real good rhythm with a dovetailing effect between the two units. There is also a different stylistic difference that will be interesting to watch.

Sky Sports will have a studio presence at the first tee and a crew of 40 onsite at Whistling Straits.

The core of Sky's coverage for the competition will be the world feed, which will be produced by IMG and European Tour Productions. Telegenic's TWiz production trailer will serve as the broadcast hub onsite, housing commentary booths and technical facilities that include audio mixing and Simply Live operations.

It's a very clever truck that has been designed purposefully for Sky, Wessely points out. It's got office space, it's got a green room, it's got a commentary booth, it's got the sound mixing, and it's got the operation for the touchscreen.

TWiz historically has been used week in and week out for Sky's PGA TOUR coverage, but the pandemic put a pause on operations, which didn't restart until August for the Fed Ex Championship. Having it back in the operation will allow around 50 signals to be sent to Sky's production facility in Osterley Park outside London.

The workflow is split between the Telegenic truck onsite and two galleries at Sky that are essentially working throughout the week, explains Wessely. The main gallery will look after the main coverage Friday to Sunday, and a second gallery will look after Live From. That gallery is PCR 35, which will curate the Live From program and deliver it to transmission while Gallery 5 ends up being the content generator.

The two are working in tandem, he continues. One challenge is fitting into the various corporate workflows back home: we have just over 40 people working here at Whistling Straits, but, back home, we have as many as 150 people working at Sky Studios.

Sky Sports typically has a massive studio presence at the first tee, but, this year, that presence will be smaller, and studio operations will be located near the 18th green (Golf Channel will have its studio presence at the first tee).

Twenty minutes before the [competition starts] , says Wessely, we will go our separate ways from the Golf Channel, and our presenting team will be down at the first tee, alfresco-like standing on the grass. [Golfers] Nick Dougherty and Paul McGinley will be there, talking about the atmosphere as the crowds get loud. The viewer will feel as though they're in the heart of the action.

Once the action starts, the world feed will be at the center of the Sky offering, and the PGA TOUR Entertainment Group is filling in gaps created by the need to deploy as few people as possible. Four or five RF cameras will be key to the coverage, cut into the world feed, which will rely more than ever on NBC's coverage.

We are truly doing a joint world feed, says Wessely, so we'll need to know where NBC is going, when commercial pieces are coming in, etc. It will rely on very good communication between [Golf producer] Tommy Roy at NBC, ETP, and Sky.

In recent years, Sky has also embraced NCAM to deliver augmented-reality video captures of Team Europe golfers into the studio environments, and this year is no different. Players stand on a pedestal in a greenscreen environment, and a Trackman camera system rotates around them, capturing them from all angles.

Unless the camera moves, you don't get the 3D aspect to it, says Wessely. We will also use a Steadicam in our studios and a pan rail. The players get sort of beamed up into our studio, and we can put our presenter in there and make it look like the players are being transported into our studios.

Something new onsite this year are touchscreens that give the presenters more control over video highlights and other elements.

When you have the touch functionality, says Wessely, it's crucial that the
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/09/23/2021-ryder-cup-is-a-family-affa...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

15/06/2025

Music Production for Women free in-person workshops

July 2025 in Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam & London Photo: Thea Martre Music Production for Women (MPW) have announced that they will be running a series of fo...

15/06/2025

Jason's Piano & API Drums instruments from Sulcata Sound

Composer/producer launches free virtual instruments Sulcata Sound is the latest venture of Jason Graves, a two-time British Academy Award-winnning composer,...

14/06/2025

Pluto TV Adds All Womens Sports Network's FAST Channel

NEW YORK Pluto TV and the All Womens Sports Network have launched a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) AWSN channel in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Nor...

14/06/2025

Scripps Inks Multiyear Agreement for WNBA Games on Ion

NEW YORK and CINCINNATI E.W. Scripps has announced a new, multiyear agreement with the WNBA that will continue Ions regular-season coverage of the league on Fri...

14/06/2025

NAB Highlights Hidden Importance of Spectrum in Major Sports Broadcasting

WASHINGTON The National Association of Broadcasters highlighted the hidden importance of spectrum in the production of major sporting events and described wha...

14/06/2025

1.0 Sunset, BPS and NextGen Broadcast's Potential Dominate ATSC Meeting

WASHINGTON Sunsetting ATSC 1.0, expanding business opportunities for NextGen Broadcast and increasing international adoption of the ATSC 3.0 standard were top o...

14/06/2025

Samba TV and Acxiom Announce Massive 40-market Global Expansion

SAN FRANCISCO Samba TV and Acxiom have announced that they will dramatically expand their longstanding relationship....

14/06/2025

MPW announce free in-person workshops

July 2025 in Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam & London Photo: Thea Martre Music Production for Women (MPW) have announced that they will be running a series of fo...

14/06/2025

San Francisco State University's School of Cinema Uses Blackmagic Design

San Francisco State University's School of Cinema Uses Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton June 13, 2025 0 Comments More than 40 Blackmagic Design came...

14/06/2025

Boris FX Mocha Pro Adds New AI Tools To Tackle VFX Tasks Fast

Boris FX Mocha Pro Adds New AI Tools To Tackle VFX Tasks Fast Jessie Electa Petrov June 13, 2025 0 Comments The 2025.5 release helps artists work more...

14/06/2025

AJA Debuts DRM2-Plus Mini-Converter Frame at InfoComm 2025

AJA Debuts DRM2-Plus Mini-Converter Frame at InfoComm 2025 Brie Clayton June 13, 2025 0 Comments Next-gen frame addresses diverse rackmount needs wit...

13/06/2025

Prime Minister: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Leader Who Champions Kindness

(L-R) Lindsay Utz, Michelle Walshe, and The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Prime Minister at Eccles T...

13/06/2025

Materialists' Director Celine Song Reveals the Inspirations Behind the Film's Soundtrack

Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima If you're a true lover of rom-coms, chances...

13/06/2025

Pure Drama and Fierce Rivalries set to dominate the world's most iconic sporting event

Pure Drama and Fierce Rivalries set to dominate the world's most iconic spor...

13/06/2025

Press Release: NFVF Opens Call for Public Film Screenings on GBV Awareness as South Africa Confronts Ongoing Femicide Crisis

Johannesburg, 12 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an a...

13/06/2025

Central Texas Storm Knocks out KTXS Tower, Severely Damages Building

ABILENE. Texas A severe storm knocked down the tower and severely damaged the news studio and main facility of Sinclair-owned KTXS here on Sunday, June 8....

13/06/2025

Berklee's Music Business/Management Department Recognized by the Music Biz Association

Berklee's Music Business/Management Department Recognized by the Music Biz A...

13/06/2025

ATSC Honors Aldo Cugnini, Clarence Hau

WASHINGTON The ATSC, the Broadcast Standards Association, honored veteran technologist Aldo Cugnini and Clarence Hau, Senior Vice President of Standards, Policy...

13/06/2025

ESPN Doubles Down on Immersive Fan Experience for UFL Championship

(Editor's note: The 2025 UFL Championship Game between the D.C. Defenders and Michigan Panthers kicks off Saturday, June 14, at 8 p.m. Eastern. The game wil...

13/06/2025

Soulyft Audio release Chime

New iPad/iPhone synth App announced Following on from last year's release of Gradient Synth - which reached #6 on the App Store's Paid Music charts ...

13/06/2025

HBO Max Plans July Launches in 12 New Markets

LONDON Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that HBO Max will launch direct-to-consumer in multiple new countries this July as the streamer becomes available in...

13/06/2025

Verbit Launches Speaker Identification for Live ASR Broadcast Captions

AI voice transcription and captioning platform Verbit has added a new feature to its Captivate ASR solution the ability to identify specific features in automat...

13/06/2025

FCC's Anna Gomez Meets with TV Networks, Studio Execs and Unions

WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission member Anna Gomez has wrapped up two weeks in California visiting broadcasters, television studio executives, enter...

13/06/2025

House Passes Rescission Package That Would Claw Back CPB Funding

WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives voted mostly along party lines to approve a rescission package that would cancel $9.4 billion in previously approve...

13/06/2025

AJA Debuts DRM2-Plus Mini-Converter Frame at InfoComm 202...

At InfoComm 2025, AJA Video Systems announced DRM2-Plus, an intuitive, high-capacity 3RU frame that can neatly house up to 24 AJA Mini-Converters. Tailored to s...

13/06/2025

National CineMedia Selects Operatives Suite of AI-Based C...

Cinema advertising leader to leverage AOS and suite of AI-enabled solutions to optimize forecasting, yield management, and streamlined ad sales and operations a...

13/06/2025

Manfrotto Unveils Unique New Tripod System for Mirrorless...

Manfrotto has launched the ONE Hybrid Tripod, a new support system designed specifically for professional content creators working with mirrorless cameras acros...

13/06/2025

Synamedia unveils security enhancements to its Media Edge...

Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that its Media Edge Gateway (MEG), an ATSC 3.0 software-based IRD, now supports Device Security requ...

13/06/2025

LiveU Strengthens Presence in DACH Region with Strategic...

LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video contribution, production and distribution solutions, is deepening its commitment to the German-speaking market with th...

13/06/2025

Chaos Adds AI Tools Faster Animation Renders and More Sty...

Chaos, the leader in architectural visualisation software, today announces Chaos Corona 13, giving archviz designers new ways to add eye-catching style and flai...

13/06/2025

PALI's Nena Music Video Shot with Blackmagic Design

PALI's Nena Music Video Shot with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton June 12, 2025 0 Comments Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K and DaVinci Resolve Studio b...

13/06/2025

OddBeast Powers Up iRobot's Newest Roombas with Suite of CGI Launch Assets

OddBeast Powers Up iRobot's Newest Roombas with Suite of CGI Launch Assets Brie Clayton June 12, 2025 0 Comments The motion design and production ...

13/06/2025

On Chick Coreas Birthday, a Newly Uncovered Archival Release

On Chick Coreas Birthday, a Newly Uncovered Archival Release The Visitors, composed by Corea and performed by vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Kirill Gers...

13/06/2025

RT Seeks Expressions of Interest for on-air presenting roles on RT Radio 1 and RT News & Current Affairs Output

In fulfilment of a recommendation by the Government's Expert Advisory Commit...

13/06/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Backblaze's Gleb Budman Talks Products, Partnerships, and the Growth in Cloud Storage

SVG Sit-Down: Backblaze's Gleb Budman Talks Products, Partnerships, and the ...

13/06/2025

SVG Sit-Down: DAZN's Walker Jacobs Calls Streaming the FIFA Club World Cup The Most Ambitious Thing We've Ever Done in the U.S.'

SVG Sit-Down: DAZN's Walker Jacobs Calls Streaming the FIFA Club World Cup ...

13/06/2025

New Sponsor Spotlight: Vecima Networks' Paul Strickland on How Improving QoE for Sports Fans Can Deliver Real ROI

New Sponsor Spotlight: Vecima Networks' Paul Strickland on How Improving QoE...

13/06/2025

Pitch Perspective: Where's Next for Specialty Cameras in Soccer?

Pitch Perspective: Where's Next for Specialty Cameras in Soccer? Leaders from Sky Austria and ACS discuss the possibilities of camera placement pitchside B...

13/06/2025

Premiership Rugby Final 2025: Vintage Clash Between Bath and Leicester Gets Full TNT Sports Treatment with AR, RefCam 3.0 and Player Mic

Premiership Rugby Final 2025: Vintage clash between Bath and Leicester gets full...

13/06/2025

Premiership Rugby Final 2025: TNT Sports Gears Up for Bath vs Leicester Battle with Huge Uptick in Season Audience Views

Premiership Rugby Final 2025: TNT Sports gears up for Bath vs Leicester battle w...

13/06/2025

NCAA Men's College World Series: ESPN Adds Two-Point SupraCam, Invests in Nearly 100 Mics to Enhance Audio

NCAA Men's College World Series: ESPN Adds Two-Point SupraCam, Invests in Ne...

13/06/2025

New FSWX signal and spectrum analyzer with novel architecture overcomes limits of todays analysis methods

New FSWX signal and spectrum analyzer with novel architecture overcomes limits o...

13/06/2025

2025-05-28

Apple today announced the addition of iPad to Self Service Repair, providing iPad owners with access to repair manuals, genuine Apple parts, Apple Diagnostics t...

13/06/2025

2025-06-09

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today previewed iOS 26, a major update that brings a beautiful new design, intelligent experiences, and improvements to the apps use...

13/06/2025

2025-06-10

At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple unveiled Apple Games, an all-new destination designed to help players jump back into the games they...

13/06/2025

NVIDIA and Deutsche Telekom Partner to Advance Germany's Sovereign AI

Industrial AI isn't slowing down. Germany is ready. Following London Tech Week and GTC Paris at VivaTech, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang's Europea...

12/06/2025

Spotify's Heart & Soul Initiative Brings Mental Health Support to Artists and Creators Worldwide

In 2018, Spotify launched Heart & Soul, a mental health initiative developed to ...

12/06/2025

50 Years Strong: SBS and NITV Supercharge NAIDOC Week 2025 in a joint 50th celebration

50 Years Strong: SBS and NITV Supercharge NAIDOC Week 2025 in a joint 50th celeb...