Live From 151st Open Championship: NBC Sports Visits Little Eye Island; Mega Studio' Is a Hit The island location offers two different looks from a single spot By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Sunday, July 23, 2023 - 3:57 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 151st Open Championship is entering its final round, and, for the team at NBC Sports, one production highlight won't have anything to do with the on-course coverage but, instead, is the live opening hit for the final round, featuring NBC Sports golf host Mike Tirico on Little Eye Island, an island off the coast of West Kirby providing a dramatic view of Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
According to NBC Sports VP, Golf Operations, Allison McAllister, the idea came up during the spring survey when producer Tommy Roy and some club members were talking about options for doing something special for the opening of the final round.
They came up with this great idea to go out on Little Eye, McAllister explains. The club member was so excited about the plan, he called the Rangers that day for approval and looked at the tidal charts. And now they are making it happen.
NBC Sports golf team (from left) Ed Boyer, Marc Caputo, Tavi Wright, Bridget Cugle, Sam Ruby, and Allison McAllister at 151st Open Championship
The island is unique in that, most of the time (approximately seven hours out of every 12), the low tide allows access on foot. Located about a mile offshore, it has no buildings and no power but does offer a great view across the golden sands of the Dee Estuary.
Marc Caputo, director, remote technical operations and engineering, NBC Sports, says that, on Sunday, a Ranger will drive a camera operator, Tirico, an A2, and an RF utility out to the island for the hit.
We are using RF facilities provided by EMG, he explains. And part of the coverage plan is to use two ACS robotic cameras, one on the 17th green and one above the NBC studio, to help with the coverage from the island.
Of course, once the opening shot with Tirico is completed, all eyes will be on the action on the course, one that last hosted the Open Championship in 2014.
The 17th hole has been completely redesigned since the last Open, becoming a spectacular, challenging par 3, says Caputo. It is the feature hole of the course and even has a whole feed dedicated to it. One thing that hasn't changed in the past nine years is the location of the practice range, which is off-property and over the train tracks.
Explains NBC Sports, Director, Golf Operations, Bridget Cugle, All our reporters and camera crew need to shuttle over in vehicles to the range, which is unlike most of the courses on the rotation.
There are more than 160 cameras on the course and available to the NBC golf production team, including 13 unilateral cameras (three of which are on-course RF) for championship coverage. NBC Sports Technical Manager Sam Ruby notes that Live From has four Telemetric robotics on set: a downrange camera, an ACS bunker cam in a practice bunker, and a rover cam.
A first for NBC Sports this year is that the main broadcast booth and Tirico's booth are sharing the same location.
It's a mega studio located between the 13 green and the walk off from 14 tee, says McAllister. We will have all our announcers in there together, except our on-course walking announcers.
Besides maximizing resources, it gives the production team two different looks from one location, and reaction from all involved as been positive as it makes everything more convenient.
Along with the unilateral cameras, the production team, which numbers around 150, has some additional support from ARL for virtual graphics, its own Pinpoints providing wind animations, and a LiveU capturing scenic shots throughout the area (including, with a little luck, live shots from the Cavern Club).
The main tournament production comes from here, adds Caputo. The early golf that airs on Peacock and USA is produced out of Stamford[, CT,] and relies on the world feed. We're also producing Live From out of Stamford and are providing a production team for the two Featured Groups. Also, our Par Three Channel is using the UHD HDR feed.
The 151st Open Championship, like all golf majors, required working closely with the R&A, ETP, and EMG throughout the year, McAllister says. Beyond those external partnerships, we have great collaboration with tournament, studio, and news teams sharing resources to make sure the 151st Open Championship is covered from all angles.
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...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech
Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...
20/08/2026
Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club
Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...
20/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...
20/08/2026
Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026
Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R)
By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...
20/08/2026
How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays a student about to mix be...
20/08/2026
Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
Live From 151st Open Championship: NBC Sports Visits Little Eye Island; Mega Studio' Is a Hit The island location offers two different looks from a single spot By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
