FOX NFL SUNDAY Heads to Naval Base San Diego; Helmetcam, Drone Set to Cover Gronk Taking a Leap into Pacific By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Friday, November 8, 2024 - 5:07 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Fox Sports always goes out of its way to shine a spotlight on the U.S. military on the NFL Sunday ahead of Veterans Day and this year is no exception as FOX NFL SUNDAY is calling the Naval Base San Diego home beginning at 11 am EST. And after a week of preparation a team of 125 production professionals are set to do some fun and unique programming that has never been seen before.
This is my favorite show to work on and I always try to make it everyone else's favorite show as well, says Greg Pfeifer, Fox Sports, director, remote engineering. This year we have a couple of cool things like dropping Gronk [Rob Gronkowski] out of an MH-60 Seahawk helicopter and into the water about a half mile from the pier where our set is located. He'll be doing a simulation of how they disable a mine with a small charge.
The Fox NFL pregame show will broadcast live from Naval Base San Diego on Sunday morning beginning at 11 am EST.
Capturing that requires several cameras (including a hard camera with a 122x lens shooting from the pier). Other means of capturing his jump include a heavy-lift drone from Beverly Hills Aerials, a fixed wing plane flying at a higher altitude, and a helmetcam worn by Gronk.
We will also have two boats and one of the boats has a handheld camera operator and then the other boat has a frogman who will have an underwater camera, says Pfeifer. And then we have an ENG camera in the helicopter with Gronk and a helmetcam on Gronk, so we basically have six cameras for that shoot.
Beverly Hills Aerials provided a drone with a 42-pound payload for this weekend's Fox Sports Veterans Day tribute.
As for audio, military helicopters aren't known for their quiet ride so the production team has placed plenty of microphones in the chopper to capture Gronk getting ready and for his jump.
And AVS, who has been a great partner on this, came up with a waterproof system so he can wear the helmet camera, a microphone, and an IFB that will all be able to keep working after he jumps in the water, adds Pfeifer.
Other production highlights include a 75-foot Techno crane as well wireless cameras and hard cameras on the stage.
We also will have some cool POV cameras to show Gronk climbing up the side of the pier and those should be pretty awesome, adds Pfeifer.
Piers can sometimes be tricky to work on given that they can often have limited space and power. But the pier Sunday is a maintenance pier with plenty of power so Fox will rely on a mix of shore power that will feed a UPS. There are also two backup generators that can run the whole production, including the Game Creek Video Yogi truck which is at the center of the production.
Yogi came here straight from the World Series, says Pfeifer. We dropped steel on Sunday for the set and then the trucks were parked Monday morning. We were off and running from there.
Military facilities always have their own challenges to deal with as security is always an issue and this year the challenge was making sure the drone was cleared for use.
It took quite a bit of time to get that approved and there are a lot of anti-aircraft and ant-drone systems, he adds.
Currently in its 31st season, the show's cast features Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson, Jay Glazer and Gronk.
This is the time of year our entire network collectively looks forward to honoring and saluting our troops here at home and stationed across the world, says Eric Shanks, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Producer, FOX Sports. We can't wait to spotlight Naval Base San Diego as FOX NFL SUNDAY prepares to pay tribute to all those men and women who bravely sacrifice and defend the core values of our country.
Other programming highlights will include a visit to the world-Famous I-Bar, the Navy's iconic and exclusive bar, which was featured in the movie Top Gun: Maverick. The entire cast will train with Navy SEALs as part of their experience at the Naval Base
Today, we celebrate our nation's veterans for their service and stewardship of the next generation of warfighters, says Vice Admiral Brendan McLane, commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. We honor our heroes and their families during the FOX Sports Veterans Day Show at Naval Base San Diego with a long, proud tradition as home to the U.S. Navy.
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
June brought stabilization to the television market. Poles spent an average of 3 hours and 36 minutes a day in front of their TV screens exactly the same as i...
16/07/2026
Glensound returns to IBC with a major new addition to its intelligent loudspeaker range, the Greater Divine Supernal studio monitor, alongside recent developmen...
16/07/2026
33 leading exhibitors are taking part in the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions and linked locations across IBC2026 (Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September)...
16/07/2026
Hitomi Broadcast will introduce Spectra, a new HDR colour verification solution measured in picture, not using VPID, at IBC2026 (Hall 10, Stand A40). Expanding ...
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...
16/07/2026
Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Fourth Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2026 F...
16/07/2026
More interfaces now compatible with Focusrite Control 2 Your Focusrite interface might now be compatible with a public beta support of Focusrite Control 2. If...
16/07/2026
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is coming to GeForce NOW at launch, with the playable...
16/07/2026
Together the semi-finals had a combined reach of 1.98 million unique individuals...
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...
FOX NFL SUNDAY Heads to Naval Base San Diego; Helmetcam, Drone Set to Cover Gronk Taking a Leap into Pacific By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
