
Lomachenko vs. Lopez Sets Up as One of ESPN's Biggest Boxing Productions of the Year In the latest of a series of Top Rank events in Vegas, ESPN continues to excel with bubbled crew By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, October 16, 2020 - 2:18 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Since the start of the coronavirus-driven shutdown of live sports in March, boxing has been one of the live events that has helped ESPN get back on the air.
In fact, it was a Top Rank Boxing event in June that was the first on-site live production of a sporting event for the ESPN operations team post-COVID.
Now, following a series of successful fight nights over the summer in a COVID-safe bubble environment at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, ESPN is gearing up for a card on Saturday night that ESPN Senior Remote Operations Producer Lynne West calls the biggest fight we've had in the bubble so far and one of our bigger fights this year.
ESPN will broadcast the World Lightweight Championship from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday evening.
A card highlighted by the World Lightweight Championship between WBA, WBO, and The Ring lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko and IBF lightweight champion, Te fimo L pez (10 p.m. ET, ESPN) will get the big show treatment from ESPN this weekend.
The complement of production tools is impressive as ESPN has filled the MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom with more than 20 cameras, including two super slow-mos, two ringside handheld cameras (that have been moved off of their traditional position on the apron to standalone camera platforms to ensure safe social distancing), a roving RF handheld, a cabled roving handheld, an RF Steadicam, a jib, and numerous POVs throughout both the ballroom and the casino as a whole.
West noted that there's a heavy presence of RF in the facility as ESPN is choosing to use wireless technology to allow for easier and more comfortable execution of social distancing measures. For example, there's an expanded studio desk for pre- and post-fight programming to air from and announcers at that desk utilize wireless headsets so they don't feel tethered to a specific place and can remain safely apart from each other.
Also, on the audio front, ESPN will be placing microphones on each fighter's trainers throughout the fight card. Safety precautions have required the crew to overload on those tools, bringing in nearly 15 lavalier units. Those devices are placed in a UV locker to sanitize them after each use and are placed in a sealed plastic bag prior to distribution to anyone in a fighter's camp that might be wearing them during the broadcast.
In regards to the venue, the on-site ESPN crew which has included key contributions from VP of Production Mike McQuade and Remote Ops producers Meg Messmer and Mike Krivens has been making the most of a small space in this series of Top Rank events that have been hosted at the MGM Grand. Naturally, with no fans in attendance, the hotel's 17,000-seat arena is not being utilized as it would be in normal circumstances. Instead, ESPN and Top Rank have jacked up your standard hotel ballroom and turned into a high-energy fight fan's haven. Ten massive LED screens surrounding the ring to build a prize fight-like atmosphere for the fighters and spice up the space on screen for viewers at home.
This is such a large undertaking and it has been a huge success, says West. Everyone here is proud of what they're doing and Top Rank has been a phenomenal partner to us. It's been a positive experience in a very awkward time. So, if you have to do it, this is absolutely the best way to do it. We're all very proud of it.
ESPN's on-site operations team has also remained vigilant in regards to its safety precautions on site. There are three production trucks in the compound at the MGM Grand (NEP Broadcasting's NCP 10 A, B, and C units) largely to ensure that enough socially distancing can be safely made among the crew. That includes the front bench where director Aladdin Freeman, producer Jim Zirolli, and AD Michael Mascaro will call the shots during the live broadcast.
Back when the Top Rank series was at its peak and ESPN was producing two fight nights a week in June and July, a crew was set up in a bubble environment for more than seven weeks according to Manager, Remote Operations Kim Bloomstone. Since then, events have become more sporadic, but the commitment to following a COVID-safe bubble has been effective.
We haven't been loosening up on our protocols and we're proud of that because truthfully, I think that people feel safe, says Bloomstone. The crew feels safe. We talked about this again this week, we were talking about bringing the camera platforms a little bit closer to the ring. We've kind of eased back off on that again. We're going to keep them back where they are right now just to keep people safe and keep them back far enough away from anybody in the ring.
Bloomstone also praised West's dedication to her crew, shining a light on the extra mile she's gone to make the bubble an enjoyable experience for all involved behind the scenes.
We've been lucky to have her on this package this whole time, Bloomstone says, noting that West puts together activities for the bubbled crews ranging from pizza nights to football watch parties and cornhole tournaments in order to keep morale up. No one's asked her to do it, she does that all above and beyond on her own. I can't say enough about her commitment to this sport and our efforts out there. She's the glue that holds the crew together. We're very appreciative and I hope that the crew realizes how much she does for them.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
08/02/2026
A look inside the tech, tools, and the team that make the Super Bowl into true e...
08/02/2026
Studio programming is leveraging multiple sets at Levi's Stadium in Santa Cl...
08/02/2026
The annual production is a partnership between the NFL and the host venue
NFL f...
08/02/2026
A software-defined IP backbone and centralized signal control hub redefine champ...
08/02/2026
Networks continue to raise the bar when it comes to producing an eye-catching pr...
08/02/2026
NEP's TFC Fabric empowers NBC to treat a 22-Unit production as one seamless ...
08/02/2026
Game coverage will feature nearly 100 cameras, a deep well of replay channels, a...
08/02/2026
The Alum Behind the Sound of the Super Bowl Joshua Sutherland BM '19 was recently interviewed by the Boston Globe about his role as music supervisor for t...
08/02/2026
08 Feb 2026
VEON and JazzWorld Launch Invest in Pakistan, NOW! Inviting Inter...
07/02/2026
X Games will host a live event taking place Thursday, March 12 at Cosm Los Angeles, marking the first-ever draft in X Games history and the official launch poin...
07/02/2026
Onsite experts and shop inside the stadium are providing quick solutions
Before any live event production, there is a high probability that unpredictable issue...
07/02/2026
Three Sony HDC-F5500s will capture this look on the broadcaster's concourse ...
07/02/2026
Inclusion in control-room revamp proves pivotal to supporting this tentpole even...
07/02/2026
The digital giant also produced episodes of The Edge with Micah Parsons' be...
07/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/02/2026
Appear, which specializes in live production technology, announces the appointme...
06/02/2026
Baller League US announces CBS Sports and its 24/7 soccer streaming channel CBS Sports Golazo Network will air the league's programming in the United States...
06/02/2026
Gravity Media, which concentrates in production, content, media services, and fa...
06/02/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), together with the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), and the European Broad...
06/02/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, announces that 1001, an OTT service in Iraq, has chosen the Bitmovin Player to improve its video streaming pe...
06/02/2026
Combate Global and content creator Shane Fazen announce a licensing agreement to distribute the Hispanic-focused franchise's first three live MMA events in ...
06/02/2026
Cisco is powering the invisible backbone of Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium as the technology giant delivers secure, high-capacity connectivity for over 70,...
06/02/2026
Over the past decade, the NFL and Amazon Web Services have changed how football analytics are analyzed and presented through Next Gen Stats. There's real-ti...
06/02/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
06/02/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
06/02/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
06/02/2026
How the podcast-turned-studio-show Boston Has Entered The Chat became an anchor ...
06/02/2026
ORF, the public service broadcaster for Austria, is in Italy for Milano Cortina 2026, ready to bring the country's most popular winter sports direct to view...
06/02/2026
Milano Cortina 2026 is now underway and Austrian public service broadcaster, ORF...
06/02/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has lifted the curtain on its studios in Italy that...
06/02/2026
Milano Cortina marks the first time since London 2012 that NRK has had the full ...
06/02/2026
Winter sports are wildly popular in Norway, with cross-country skiing and biathl...
06/02/2026
Norwegian broadcaster NRK has the free-to-air rights to the Olympics back for th...
06/02/2026
The production of the mega-esports event also leverages facilities at EA headqua...
06/02/2026
Here's a preview of NBC's massive game and pregame production operation as Super Bowl Sunday approaches....
06/02/2026
Music fans know the feeling: A song stops you in your tracks, and you immediately want to know more. What inspired it, and what's the meaning behind it? We ...
06/02/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/02/2026
Calrec Wins Best of Show at ISE 2026 for Orchestrating Distributed IP Production
Calrec is delighted to announce that its IP Ecosystem Powered by True Control...
06/02/2026
Despite most never having strapped on skis or skates, Aussies are keen for some ...
06/02/2026
MNC Software, a global leader in network management and operational support systems tailored to the broadcast and media industry, today announced the launch of ...
06/02/2026
The annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest arrived at Tbilisi's Gymnastic Hall in Olympic City, presenting an international stage for young talent with rich,...
06/02/2026
NAB Show 2026 | April 19 22 | Booth # N2471
At this year s NAB Show, Sonnet will showcase new Thunderbolt 5 products, including desktop and rackmount PCIe card...
06/02/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), together with the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), and the European Broad...