MLS 2021 Preview: Fox Sports, Univision's TUDN To Deliver Matches Remotely, Deploy Miked-Up Coaches and AR Graphics; ESPN Increases Coverage on ESPN ESPN's MLS coverage will include 32 Spanish-language broadcasts By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Friday, April 16, 2021 - 12:09 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
After an abrupt halt to the MLS's 25th season, an Orlando-based bubble hosting the MLS Is Back Tournament, and resumption of play that ended in the coronation of the Columbus Crew as champions, Major League Soccer will return to the spotlight this weekend. The three main broadcasters - Fox Sports, Univision, and ESPN - will rely on remote production, technologies like miked-up coaches and AR graphics, and assistance from league and team officials to provide a safe working environment for small onsite crews.
All-In on Remote: Workflows in L.A., Miami Power MLS Productions Fox Sports and Univision will each have its own set of remote-production workflows for the season's first couple of weeks. Because the COVID-19 pandemic is still discouraging long-distance travel of a large group of people, only a small crew will be onsite for each broadcaster. For Fox Sports' Home Run Production, control rooms located at the Pico facility in Los Angeles will be the main hub of MLS efforts.
Fox Sports will use control rooms in its Los Angeles facility for Home Run Production of MLS matches.
First and foremost, says Zac Kenworthy, lead producer, Fox Soccer, Fox Sports, we're still in the mode of protecting our production staff and finding ways within our confines to push the envelope. There are very stringent COVID-19 protocols that affect the number of people we can have down by the field.
This seems to be the safest, most logical way to begin the new schedule. With continued vaccination efforts signaling the gradual end to the pandemic, the broadcaster's strategy can be adapted depending on the national number of COVID-19 cases. According to Kenworthy, if the trajectory remains positive, a large-scale onsite operation could commence for high-profile matches.
We're pushing towards the backend of the year during that final push in August, September, and October and into the playoffs, he adds. We're going to pick and choose our moments.
Univision's TUDN, the Spanish-language destination for MLS supporters in the U.S., will follow the same production model. Continuing down the remote-workflow path the broadcaster blazed six years ago, crews of 14-15 individuals will be centralized in its Miami facility to handle the season's 25 matches across multiple platforms. The crews -TDs, directors, EVS replay operators, audio technicians - will be situated not only in traditional control rooms but also in conference rooms that the network transformed into working spaces at the beginning of the pandemic.
We are going to implement the same concept of remote productions, says Miguel Angel Garcia, SVP, live events, TUDN. This works for us and also helps us a lot with identifying our team of freelancers that are going to be on location.
Unique Techniques: Real-Time Interviews, AR Promise Different Fan Experience A new season on the pitch means the return of breathtaking technologies. Augmented reality, for example, has taken the soccer world by storm in recent years. Univision has been devoted to bringing a new-age graphics package to life on all of its soccer properties, both in Liga MX in Mexico and throughout its coverage of MLS. AR, especially the broadcaster's teleportation concept, will continue to be a staple of studio programming that airs before, during, and after each contest.
Univision's Miami facility will be at the center of its remote productions for the MLS season.
[AR graphics will] be a part of our look and feel within the studio, says Garcia, and we'll continue to use teleportation a lot more. We're getting better by adding two or three cameras, [which will] be used throughout the full broadcast.
Matches on TUDN will leverage a total of 12 cameras, headlined by a Pico robotic camera with super-slow-motion capability behind the net. The combination of double-digit cameras and AR implementation is a sign of Univision's commitment to the game and to giving fans a high-quality product.
A lot of broadcasters are scaling back, says Garcia, but our plan is going to be very solid. We definitely want to maintain our consistency.
Fox Sports will roll with seven manned camera positions at each game, including an aerial camera system for the first match at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. This complement will capture the action on the pitch and also help implement an innovation that provided extra insight into tactics during the MLS Is Back Tournament: real-time interviews with miked-up coaches. For interviews normally reserved for stoppages in play, head coaches will don headsets during the course of the game to provide additional context on the team's mentality and major moments of the match. Fox will position the equipment on the other side of the pitch to present a clear shot of the participating coach.
I think [these interviews] bring a level of unpredictability and excitement to the fan at home, says Kenworthy. It'll give us a really cool look with the players in front of the coaches while we're talking to them.
Another deployment that has caught the attention of sports fans has been the Megalodon, the live mirrorless camera system that has been used on the network's NFL, MLB, NASCAR, and college-basketball properties. Coverage of Liga MX is the most recent use of the technology. Without sideline access because of COVID protocols, the Megalodon will not be featured at the beginning of the MLS season, but, if conditions improve, it'll be one
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
08/10/2026
Modern venues have come a long way since the tinny, echoing audio of the mid 20t...
08/10/2026
ESPN's first Super Bowl production will stream in English and Spanish on Disney+, while the ESPN App carries the full slate of game, ManningCast, studio, an...
08/10/2026
From high-school videoboards to War Eagle Productions, the Opelika native is learning how to lead shows and capture big moments
The future of live sports produ...
08/10/2026
The Television Academy and Prime Video have announced a six-year agreement making Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards beginning with the 20...
08/10/2026
Techex will exhibit at NAB Show New York 2026 (Booth 623, Javits Center, October...
08/10/2026
X Games has announced the appointment of Steve Rogers as Chief Operating Officer. Rogers previously served as COO of World Supercross and spent nearly a decade ...
08/10/2026
Fonn Group has appointed Trevor Spielmann as Sales Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spielmann joins from EVS, where he held sales and business de...
08/10/2026
The flagship program will originate from major PG events with a four-camera production, live distribution across PGTV, social platforms
Perfect Game is bringin...
08/10/2026
Innovation rarely happens in a vacuum. More often, it happens at the point of collision: when worlds that have run on separate tracks begin to converge. That is...
08/10/2026
For decades, the production and broadcast services business has run on a familia...
08/10/2026
Uplynk, Zixi, BroadView Software, and Grass Valley have published The IP Converg...
08/10/2026
The NFL has announced the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league's analytics competition, now in its ninth year and again powered by AWS. Registration is o...
08/10/2026
Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with T l diffusion d'Alg rie (TDA), Algeria's national broadcasting network operator, for continued distribution of...
08/10/2026
Disney will livestream Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, alongside the game's broadcast on ESPN and ABC. All Disney subscribers in the United States wi...
08/10/2026
RHStv and Red House Streaming have announced an expansion of their partnership w...
08/10/2026
Gray Media has announced a distribution agreement with TEGNA and DAZN to simulca...
08/10/2026
SVG readers can save 10% on registration and receive a complimentary Solutions H...
08/10/2026
PROTON Camera Innovations GmbH has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology a...
08/10/2026
Industry leaders discuss real-world cloud workflows for live game production, pl...
08/10/2026
The next-gen audio technology joins Dolby Vision as part of Apple TV's immersive F1 experience...
08/10/2026
David France, Jesse Short Bull, Mato Wayuhi, N. Bird Runningwater, Jodi Archambau, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Amber Morning Star Byars, Holly Macarro, Nick Tils...
08/10/2026
Dynamic panning plug-ins get an upgrade
Sound Particles have just announced major updates for two of their popular dynamic panning plug-ins. Energy Panner 2...
08/10/2026
New expandable instrument boasts full DMNO engine
UDO Audio have just announced the upcoming release of a new, expandable synth that packs the power of the ...
08/10/2026
Two new subwoofers added to monitoring line-up
ADAM Audio's monitoring range has just been expanded with two new DSP-equipped subwoofers, the Sub8 PRO a...
08/10/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
08/10/2026
Calrec gives broadcasters freedom of choice at NAB Show New York We're looking forward to meeting up with you all at NAB New York on 21st-22nd October.
Cal...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will showcase its next generation of media orchestration services at NAB S...
08/10/2026
Clear-Com played a critical role in the production communications infrastructure for Rock in Rio 2026, one of the world's largest and most recognized music...
08/10/2026
Sohonet Launches ClearView Rush: A Leap Forward in Studio Review, Built for Crea...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Ikegami announces a major expansion to its range of broadcast-quality live production cameras. Scheduled for introduction on Ikegami booth 708 at NAB New York, ...
08/10/2026
Calrec will be located at Booth 444.
Freedom to choose
The media landscape is evolving quickly, and the broadcasters best placed for what comes next will be...
08/10/2026
LiveU has announced that CRD Audiovisuel relied on LiveUs LU900Q intelligent production unit, with built-in native LiveU IQ (LIQ ) connectivity, to deliver live...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Marshall Electronics, a globally recognized provider of high-performance video solutions for broadcast, streaming, AV and professional production, will exhibit ...
08/10/2026
14-hour package also includes A Remarkable Place to Die season 2 as well as libr...
MLS 2021 Preview: Fox Sports, Univision's TUDN To Deliver Matches Remotely, Deploy Miked-Up Coaches and AR Graphics; ESPN Increases Coverage on ESPN ESPN's MLS coverage will include 32 Spanish-language broadcasts By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
