Live From MLB All-Star: FOX Sports Director Matt Gangl and Producer Pete Macheska Break Down Their Production Strategy at the Front Bench

Live From MLB All-Star: FOX Sports Director Matt Gangl and Producer Pete Macheska Break Down Their Production Strategy at the Front Bench In-game player interviews, UmpCams, drones, and FlyCam play big role in production By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 - 3:47 pm

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FOX Sports' annual MLB All-Star Game broadcast has become a showcase not only for baseball's biggest stars but for cutting-edge production innovation. This year's telecast will once again push the boundaries of in-game access, technology, and storytelling. At the front bench, veteran director Matt Gangl and producer Pete Macheska are leading the charge, overseeing a packed live broadcast that blends dynamic visuals with fun content that aims to bring out players' personalities.

SVG sat down with Gangl and Macheska in Atlanta to pull back the curtain on their production strategy - from in-game interviews with miked players to the use of UmpCam and MindFly bodycams on umpires, drones in the air, and a sweeping new FlyCam system that spans the ballpark and beyond. They also reflect on how the All-Star Game's looser format gives them creative freedom not possible in regular-season broadcasts and how they try to fit in as many production elements as they can despite the ultra-quick pace of modern All-Star Games.

Producer Pete Macheska (left) and director Matt Gangl on hand inside the truck in Atlanta

What is the process for selecting which players participate in the in-game two-way interviews?Macheska: Obviously, you want to highlight the biggest stars, but they don't necessarily stay in the game as long as they used, so you try to prioritize certain players and get them in while you can. It also depends on how cooperative the players are, which I totally understand because they are pulled in a lot of directions here - from red carpet to the pregame show to all their other obligations. We just do our best and know that we're not necessarily going to get everyone we want.

We're also trying to do a lot more communication between two players [on the field] rather talking to them constantly from the booth. We'd rather put you inside the game. We hope to have [Tigers pitcher] Tarik Skubal and [Mariners catcher] Cal Raleigh wearing mics in the bottom of the first and getting some good conversation between the two of them.

We're also hoping to get Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw if he comes in and have Lead Analyst John Smoltz do some back and forth with him: I'm going to throw a slider here because I think he's looking for the fastball or I'm going to go low and inside of the plate here. Hopefully, we'll have some fun with it, and John can say, I want to see you throw a fastball here. The other problem we have to deal with now is the pitch clock, so there just isn't a lot of time to get all that in.

You have to remember, though, that they're still playing a real game. It's a fine line, and we have to be respectful of that. We have a lot of ideas, and they don't always pan out, but we try to go in with an open mind.

Matt, what are some of the unique camera angles you're excited about using in tonight's broadcast?

Gangl: Between the home-plate umpire with [an UmpCam system] on his mask and the three infield umpires wearing MindFly chest cams, it's going to give us some unique angles. Hopefully, we get some close plays at bases so we can see that on-field perspective of a guy sliding in and we can see if he's safe or out. Also, if you have a [runner on] first and chatting with [the first basemen], you have a chance to see that umpire's perspective from on the field. It just gives us another unique opportunity to bring fans closer to the action.

And the UmpCam at home plate is the best way we can show just how dominant this pitching can be. Obviously, we've got the top pitchers in the league, and I don't think fans at home have a great enough appreciation for how hard it is for these hitters to hit the ridiculous stuff these pitchers have.

And how have the aerial camera additions - the drones and FlyCam - changed the way you approach the broadcast?

Gangl: Obviously, the drone provides a unique opportunity to get some dynamic movement both in and out of the ballpark. It gives you some amazing views, and, when you add the ability to do AR graphics on top of that, it adds a whole new twist. It has opened up a lot of possibilities for us.

We're trying a new setup with the FlyCam this year [in partnership] with Major League baseball, where it's up very high. It goes up into the top canopy behind home plate and all the way across the end of The Battery above the Comcast building. It's a very long run that covers both the interior and exterior. We're going to try to have that camera follow home runs where it flies along with the ball as it's heading out of right field, so you can see that arc and trajectory. And we'll put an [MLB Statcast] tracer graphic on it and have an explosion [animation] saying 450 ft. or whatever the distance is when it lands. We're also working with MLB and hoping to do some pitch tracing on the UmpCam as well to give you a greater appreciation for how much movement some of those pitches have.

Pete, how does an All-Star broadcast differ from a typical game or from tentpole events like Field of Dreams, Rickwood Field, or next month's Speedway Classic in Bristol, TN?

Macheska: First of all, an All-Star Game is an exhibition, so people are a lot looser. We are asking for things that we would never ask for in a real game: things like having a pitcher and a catcher or a pitcher and batter talk to each other. Those Field of Dreams, Rickwood, and Bristol games count, so we're not going to go as

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/07/15/live-from-mlb-all-star-fox-spor...
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