NBC Sports Goes Cinematic on Super Bowl LX Pregame Show With Canon's New 11-55mm Cine Servo Lens

Three Sony HDC-F5500s will capture this look on the broadcaster's concourse studio set

In recent years, networks are constantly tinkering with their camera complement to supply the much-desired cinematic and shallow depth-of-field shots that sports fans have come to love. At the Super Bowl, undoubtedly one of the biggest platforms in the business, exclusive rightsholders aim to finetune these activations on a nationally televised scale. NBC Sports is relying on the help of Canon, and the company's new 11-55mm cine servo lens, to provide this specific look on the broadcaster's pregame show at an event that is getting bigger and bigger by the year.

Canon has been an amazing partner for us, says Matt Hogencamp, technical manager, NBC Sports. When production came to me requesting a shallow depth-of-field look in cinema cameras for all of our studios, I knew exactly who to reach out to make this happen.

A New Look: Levi's Stadium Studio Set Adopts 11-55mm Cine Servo Lens

Located up the coast from the home of Hollywood, live programming at Super Bowl LX is definitely infusing flare and pizazz dedicated to productions on the silver screen. In the case of the pregame show hosted on the concourse level of Levi's Stadium, NBC Sports is deploying three Sony HDC-F5500s with these cine servo lenses on the main set.

When you want to have a nice wraparound angle, this is the widest lens available, says Eilers. It really helps add drama to the shot.

Many of the tendencies seen on the game have translated to live studio coverage. From Canon's point of view, they're more than willing to help broadcasters find the right balance between traditional and cinematic looks with a wide variety of gear.

A closer look at the 11-55mm cine servo lens on a Sony HDC-F5500. There's some that want to do entire games with it and there's some that really don't want to do much with it at all, says Paul McAniff, senior technical specialist, Canon. NBC Sports wants a two-third standard look for the game, but on the studio show, there's such a compliment that the cine servo lens gives to that coverage.

For the needs of NBC Sports, this attention detail has made Sunday Night Football stand out from the rest of the pack. Now in Santa Clara, CA, the last game of the year will be the culmination of a year's worth of productions.

They have gone above and beyond in supporting us onsite as well as the preparation process to make this all possible, adds Hogencamp. The combination of Canon lenses and Sony cameras on set will make for an outstanding pregame broadcast.

In High Demand: Canon Delivers Lens After NFC Divisional Round, NBA Basketball in Chicago

The cine servo lens has had a few stops on the road to Super Bowl LX. Due to its widespread success, other sports productions have leveraged its services. For instance, this piece of technology was used during the NFC Divisional Round featuring Los Angeles Rams vs. Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday, Jan. 18. Afterward, Chicago Sports Network leveraged the lens during the Chicago Bulls' victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at the United Center on Tuesday, Jan. 20. At the same time, another one of these lenses was on exhibit at a trade show last week in nearby Mountain View, CA.

[These cine servo lenses] have been to a couple of places, says McAniff. A lot goes into the coordination and shipping to get [this lens] where we need it to go.

NBC Sports' concourse studio set will leverage this cinematic look on the pregame show.In total, NBC Sports is using 47 Canon lenses on all of their studio activations throughout the San Francisco metro area. Specifically at Levi's Stadium, both the concourse and on-field studio sets will feature 11. Along with the three 11-55mm cine servo lenses, this bunch includes five 17-120mm, two 15-120mm, and one 25-250 mm. But at the top of the tech list, the highly coveted cine servo lens has already paid dividends before the big game on Sunday.

This camera and lens combination is giving us better images than we could have imagined, adds Hogencamp. It gives us the shallow depth that we've been looking for without the jarring visual difference of the video game' look that we have seen on other broadcasts.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/02/07/nbc-sports-goes-cinematic-on-su...
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