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
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
General-purpose robots and autonomous machines are moving from research labs to ...
15/07/2026
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...
15/07/2026
Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...
15/07/2026
Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...
15/07/2026
Home to leading manufacturers, robotics pioneers, infrastructure builders and iconic gaming companies, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI ...
14/07/2026
South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...
14/07/2026
Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...
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 
