FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First Production

FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First Production Pico Lot's upgraded PCR 502 is powered by Ross, Calrec gear By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Thursday, July 10, 2025 - 8:30 am

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In today's fast-scrolling world of digital consumption, vertical video isn't a trend; it's the new baseline. FOX Sports is leaning hard into that reality with the relaunch of PCR 502, a production-control room at its Pico Lot facility in Los Angeles. Following months of planning and installation, the updated room debuted during CONCACAF Gold Cup Soccer coverage, delivering vertical-first video experiences designed specifically for social-media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter.

FOX Sports opened PCR 502, a newly upgraded production-control room at its Pico Lot facility in Los Angeles, for the start of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. (Photo: FOX Sports)

This has been a work in progress for a few years, says John Marcus, director, technical operations, FOX Sports. We've identified that a large portion of FOX Sports Digital's views are vertical videos. But trying to bring that into the live sphere - and do it right - has been untapped ground in the industry.

Designed for Dual Outputs One of the most ambitious aspects of PCR 502 is its ability to support simultaneous production workflows for both horizontal (16:9) and vertical (9:16) content from the same control room, with a unified crew and no sacrifice to either format.

PCR 502 is designed to produce simultaneous cuts of the same live show: one in a standard format, the other in a vertical format for viewing on smartphones.

We're trying to optimize using switcher mix effects to do both at the same time, says Marcus. It's a clean switch on both feeds. It's about one production with two outputs. That's the future.

The dual-output approach powers vertical-video activations before and during matches: warm-up shots, the first few minutes of a game, and teasers - all designed to lead fans to the main linear or streaming broadcasts.

We'll go live about 30 minutes before [kickoff] on vertical platforms and then show the first five minutes of actual gameplay, notes Marcus. Then, we cut to graphics and teasers that direct viewers to FOX, FS1, or the FOX Sports App to continue watching.

Small Footprint, Big Punch At just 10 x12 ft., PCR 502 isn't large, but it's packed with modern production firepower.

Its gear list features a Ross Carbonite Ultra 60 production switcher with TouchDrive 3S control surface, and a Calrec Type R IP-based audio mixer integrated with the facility's AoIP system. Tagboard graphics driven by vMix PCs are rendered and routed via NDI and ST 2110 into the rest of the Pico Lot, which is based on an Evertz routing infrastructure and Riedel Communications intercoms.

Previously, the room was fragmented, with producers, ADs, and directors facing separate walls and with racks tucked into corners. Now it's a streamlined, purpose-built environment that unites digital productions with the broader capabilities of the main FOX Sports broadcast infrastructure.

This room used to not tie into the big router at the FOX lot, says Marcus. Now it does. It has been a work in progress to get to that level of coordination with engineering.

Editorial Flexibility With Long-Term Value Built with flexibility in mind, PCR 502 is already integrated with FOX Sports' digital studios in New York City and Charlotte, NC, where Sony FR7 PTZ robotic cameras (operated via SKAARHOJ controllers) feed directly into the control room. It currently serves as the main hub for digital programming, such as Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour and Bare Bets with Chris Fallica.

The space is also forward-looking, with an eye toward high-volume-productions like the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

We're keeping all options on the table, Marcus notes. This room could be a vertical-control room, an instant-replay room, or just an extra room to handle overflow productions.

That versatility is crucial in a world where the lines between linear and digital, live and VOD, landscape and portrait are rapidly blurring.

A Shift in Mindset Relaunching PCR 502 wasn't just a technical upgrade; it was a philosophical one. The team had to rethink the control-room-design process itself to accommodate vertical-first content. Instead of asking, How do we add vertical,' Marcus explains, we're now thinking, How do we build with vertical in mind?' That's a big shift.

FOX Sports Digital has found a significant amount of its video views on social media come from platforms where users are viewing the content in a 9 16 orientation.

Staffing efficiency was a key factor. In typical digital shows, the director may also run graphics, control video playback, mix audio, and switch the show - a heavy lift in any space, let alone one this compact. The team worked meticulously to optimize monitor placement, multiviewers, and signal flow to keep workloads manageable.

The director is doing almost everything, says Marcus. We needed to make sure the setup made sense without adding a bunch of extra people.

Credit Where It's Due The success of the PCR 502 rebuild is testament to tight collaboration across multiple departments and vendors. FOX Sports Digital SVP Michael Bucklin was a key driver behind the push toward vertical integration. On the technical side, FOX Sports Senior Director, Digital Production Operations, Ricardo Perez-Selsky and VP, Systems Engineering, Daryl Moore helped shape the room's design and infrastructure and helped ensure that it married well with the rest of the massive FOX facility.

Also playing key roles on the FOX Sports team were Manager of Technical Operations Chris Cheshire; A

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/07/10/fox-sports-reboots-small-contro...
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