Live from 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup: Fox Sports' Kevin Callahan Discusses The Evolution of the Jewel Event Fly Pack By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Sunday, August 6, 2023 - 4:41 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup has entered the Quarterfinals stage and for everyone involved it signals the end of a long run of long days, a quick day off to reflect and reset, and now focus on the end of the tournament. Kevin Callahan, Fox Sports, VP, Field Operations and Engineering, says things have been going well for Fox Sports, which has match control rooms on site for a Women's World Cup for the first time since 2015 in Vancouver. The team is also continuing to build, along with FIFA and HBS, on new workflows deployed in Qatar.
When we were in Qatar what everybody was doing was a science experiment and I think now that science experiment is over, says Callahan. We've gone from bleeding edge to cutting edge. We're still doing things most people aren't doing and we've taken the next steps and adding features rather than just adding to the bug list.
The Fox Sports IBC team has been dialed in on match coverage and much more.
The Fox Sports production team at the IBC plays a key role in nearly every aspect of the effort, as the two match control rooms are where everything comes together: the FIFA and HBS match production, graphics, commentary, and much more.
All of the matches go there, regardless of where the announcers are, says Callahan. Whether they are on site or calling off tube it comes here for Fox Box integration and final integration with the studio programming going to and from halftime and the end of the game.
The IBC also is home to the core engineering team and the media management team and the remote operations center where all the feeds, both inbound and outbound, are managed.
Monitoring all incoming FIFA World Cup feeds is a big part of life at the IBC for Fox Sports and other rights holders.
We're recording all of the feeds coming from FIFA and HBS, whether it be a watch-party feed, an additional content feed or ISO feed, says Callahan. We want to be able to get all of the content that they are producing and show it to viewers at home.
Jewel Event System: Third Time's the Charm
The Women's World Cup is the third event where the Fox Sports Jewel Event system is in use. First used at the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup and then at Super Bowl LVII, the system leverages IP and SMPTE ST 2110 technology in 20 racks of equipment from TAG Video Systems and EVS which are pre-cabled and configured before folding down in half for shipping via air from the U.S. There are two in use in Sydney, one at the IBC at Sydney Olympic Park and one at the technical operations center for the studio shows at Campbell's Cove.
This is really our third deployment of the Jewel Event system, and we've been able to fine tune things based off of the learning experiences we have had, says Callahan. We're able to use it to how we expected to use it, with all of the features that we had hoped for when we were designing the system.
The improvements did not require new gear but rather new updates from EVS, TAG Systems, Arista, and Calrec. And that involved a lot of testing as well testing as the goal is to minimize risks as much as possible.
When you have the words Jewel Event' in the name of the system you, generally speaking, are going to be risk averse, so we needed things to be tested and resilient, he adds.
New features include the ability to do a lot of additional monitoring, including seeing what sources are going where and making sure all the redundancies are in place for an IP-based system.
We also now have 2022-7 redundancy so there is more resiliency between Sydney and Los Angeles, he explains. And now that we have had it set up for 30 days in a row, we're able to really take advantage of that.
The benefits of the Jewel event system begin with setting up at the IBC as Callahan says the team was able to cut a week in set up.
By the time we get to the Euros next year we will be able to cut another week, says Callahan. We just need to do a lot of leg work ahead of time in terms of programming in order to make that a reality.
Another improvement to the Jewel event system is that the digital team, which also has its own set on Campbell Cove, is now tied into it.
We knew that they were going to be part of us, and we don't have to bolt them on or think about them as an afterthought as they're designed into the Jewel system, says Callahan. The digital team can access all the same feeds so that shows like World Cup Now, which is a personality-driven show, has access to all the same content.
Also helping in connecting everyone is the use of Arista switching gear as Arista is provider of the core networking environment.
The Arista 7508 switch router is our core 2110 switch, and we are also using one of their newest items, the 710P compact series switches, says Callahan. It's a nice fanless switch that we're able to deploy in various rooms as a true edge switch. It's deployed just about everywhere, in our match control rooms, on each of the stages, at researcher positions, and in the Vault in Pico. The 710p supports PTP which is a key for an IP broadcast environment
Callahan says that leveraging tools for advanced monitoring has been a big help as it obviates the days of walking into the IBC and learning that the power supply has been out, or the international circuits are down.
We have a lot of advanced alerting and monitoring between Telstra and our media broadcast team so that when something's out we can react quickly, he says. Knock on wood we haven't had any on-air implications.
At The Venues
The Fox Sports p
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
01/06/2024
Busy this week catching up from the Memorial Day holiday? Our TV Tech weekly wrap-up of all our coverage of new products, services and deployments will get you ...
01/06/2024
Young Sherlock, with Guy Ritchie directing and executive producing, is a go at Prime Video. Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays Sherlock. Prime Video calls it the origin...
01/06/2024
The Los Angeles Sparks-Indiana Fever game on Friday featuring the top two WNBA draft picks, Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink, was the most watched WNBA game on I...
01/06/2024
Lionsgate, which increased its majority stake in 3 Arts Entertainment in January, said it named Brian Weinstein co-CEO of 3 Arts....
01/06/2024
Netflix is launching four video games based on unscripted series this year. They...
01/06/2024
ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates switched from their regular programming to carry live coverage of the verdicts in the porn star hush-money trial of former Pres...
31/05/2024
A U.S. Marine fires an FIM-92 Stinger missile during a training exercise in Yuma...
31/05/2024
NEW YORK The global body that sets technical standards for digital advertising h...
31/05/2024
In a new analysis of what services might make up a good bundle and what services might benefit the most from bundling, Antenna has released new data that highli...
31/05/2024
Global SVOD revenues will increase by $116.6 billion by 2031, a growth rate of 13.3% per year over the next eight years, according to a new report from MIDiA Re...
31/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The FCC Media Bureau has announced that effective August 1, 2024 the Commission's TVStudy software will incorporate the most recent U.S. Ce...
31/05/2024
NBCUniversal has announced that its FAST channel TNBC will be rebranding to NBC Comedy Vault on June 1 and that the free streaming service will officially launc...
31/05/2024
PARIS Ateme has announced that the Indonesian public broadcaster TVRI is making the transition to 4K UHD OTT streaming using Ateme technologies....
31/05/2024
The proposal had received support from James Cameron, Andy Serkis, Paul Greengrass, Richard Curtis, and Jeremy Irons
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 31, 2...
31/05/2024
According to multiple reports, the new bid from Skydance offers a better deal to Paramounts Class B shareholders, who were said to be unhappy with the companys ...
31/05/2024
The awards recognise women and companies who are stand-out performers, innovators and leaders in the broadcast media technology industry
By Matthew Corrigan
...
31/05/2024
NEW YORK The global body that sets technical standards for digital advertising has expanded the reach of its measurement software development kit to include Sam...
31/05/2024
The rise of digital platforms is fundamentally changing the broadcast newsroom and its investment in technology according to Jon Roberts, director of technology...
31/05/2024
In a new analysis of what services might make up a good bundle and what services might benefit the most from bundling, Antenna has released new data that highli...
31/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Fifty state broadcasters associations, including the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, have sent a letter to Congressio...
31/05/2024
EVS has announced the appointment of Richard Katz as senior vice president of operations for the North and Latin American (NALA) region. This appointment is par...
31/05/2024
CommScope has announced that it was selected by Casa Systems, Inc. as the highest to acquire Casa's cable business assets and that the two companies have en...
31/05/2024
Robert De Niro won't be receiving the Service to America Leadership Award from the NAB Leadership Foundation after all....
31/05/2024
Viant Technology said it formed an integration with Google Cloud's BigQuery data clean rooms...
31/05/2024
The CW said it will broadcast the 2024 Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop Last year, The CW aired the game when it was called Bar...
31/05/2024
Allen Media Group said it made a deal with Amazon's Fire TV Channel that will make content from several of Allen's outlet available via Fire TV and Echo...
31/05/2024
Robert De Niro, announced as the winner of the NAB's Leadership Foundation's Service to America Leadership Award on May 28, will not get the award. The ...
31/05/2024
Comcast Technology Solutions was selected by AccuWeather to create, manage and distribute linear and over-the-top video channels....
31/05/2024
Connected TV is becoming a bigger deal for consumers and advertisers, according to a new report from TVision....
31/05/2024
By Craig Anderton
Let's get right to what this sounds like. It's not quite feedback or tape reverse, it's well, listen to what it does in this blue...
31/05/2024
31 May 2024
VEON discloses April YTD trading update at its AGM Amsterdam, 31 May 2024 07:00 CEST -
VEON April YTD 2024 Highlights
Total revenue of USD 1,278 ...
31/05/2024
31 May 2024
VEON Announces Its New Board, Names Founder Augie Fabela as Chairman Amsterdam, 31 May 2024, 16.00 CET: VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam...
31/05/2024
May 31st, 2024
TRIBECA FESTIVAL AND OPEN AI ANNOUNCE SORA SHORTS'
Five Commissioned Short Films Created Using Sora Debut at 2024 Tribeca Festival
New ...
31/05/2024
In-Venue Technology Wrap-Up: How 4K, IP, and More are Changing the Game Pres Gam...
31/05/2024
UEFA Champions League Final 2024: The host broadcast facts and figures for Real ...
31/05/2024
UEFA Europa Conference League Final 2024: Bringing the broadcast to global TV sc...
31/05/2024
Willow Offers Free 2024 ICC T20 Cricket World Cup Preview via DirecTV, Verizon, ...
31/05/2024
Women's College World Series: ESPN Brings Live Drone, Two-Point Cabled, and ...
31/05/2024
SVG College Summit Brings Video-Production Industry Together in Atlanta in the M...
31/05/2024
UEFA Champions League Final 2024: CBS Sports' UCL Today Studio Show Is Pitch...
31/05/2024
Back to All News
Master of the House' Unveils a Scandalous Tale of Power and Greed on July 18
Entertainment
31 May 2024
GlobalThailand
Link copied to ...
31/05/2024
Back to All News
JEEtu Bhaiya is Back: Kota Factory' Season 3 Arrives on Netflix June 20
Entertainment
31 May 2024
GlobalIndia
Link copied to clipboar...
31/05/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
With around 9,000 employees, Ground Transportation Systems is a global leader in Rail Signaling and Train Control Systems, Telec...
31/05/2024
RT 2FM is the home of music this summer, entertaining listeners across the day and night, with the best music, chat and interviews providing the soundtrack to ...
31/05/2024
After the 2008 financial crisis and increased risk-management regulations that f...
31/05/2024
RT Supporting the Arts: What's On this June
Watch our promo: RT Supporting the Arts | What's on YouTube
This June, RT is delighted to support Lim...
30/05/2024
When to Upgrade Software or Firmware This post is from our blog and news archive. The information may be out of date. Please contact us for further information ...
Live from 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup: Fox Sports' Kevin Callahan Discusses The Evolution of the Jewel Event Fly Pack By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
