Universal Open Rocket League Brings NBC Sports Mothership, RSNs Together for Esports Extravaganza For the Grand Finals, Studio 4 in Stamford is converted to an esports arena By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, August 31, 2018 - 8:00 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
NBC Sports Group continued its push into the esports realm this month with the second season of Universal Open Rocket League, its joint-venture tournament with FACEIT. Last weekend's Grand Finals at NBC Sports Group's International Broadcast Center in Stamford, CT, was the culmination of a month-long, company-wide effort that utilized resources from both the NBC Sports mothership and NBC Sports Regional Networks across the country for regional productions leading up to the Grand Finals.
The Universal Open Rocket League is a terrific example of the power of the NBC Sports Group working as one team, says Jon Slobotkin, SVP, content and live programming, NBC Sports Regional Networks. NBC Sports regional networks, long a model of executing successful productions in a sufficient manner, bring the same level of effort and dedication to the UORL as they do MLB, NBA, and NHL productions during the year. The NBC regional group is a tightly knit team that constantly communicates on many company initiatives. They fit seamlessly within the NBC Sports Group as there are regular production synergies throughout the year between the [RSNs] and the national group.
Twitch live-streamed nearly 100 hours of the Universal Open Rocket League tournament, and the new Universal Open YouTube Channel on YouTube Gaming served as home to VOD content. In addition, NBCSN and the regional networks aired several Road to the Universal Open highlight shows throughout the Regional Finals, the 60-minute Grand Finals preview, and post-event highlights programs.
The Road to the Grand Finals: RSNs Take the Lead
After open qualifying rounds across North America and Europe throughout the summer, Regional Finals took place onsite at four RSN studios around the U.S.: NBC Sports Washington (East Regional, July 28), SNY (Northeast Regional, July 29), NBC Sports Chicago (Central Regional, Aug. 5), and NBC Sports Bay Area (West Regional, Aug. 11).
These productions were produced locally but managed centrally to achieve consistency of look and format. Coordinating Producers Kevin Anderson, Mark Jordan, J.R. Aguila, and Rich Wolff oversaw the process for each show in conjunction with dedicated teams at each RSN.
For the regional productions, the headquarters in Stamford provides guidance with show format, creative elements, editorial direction, research, and a coordinated sales effort, says Slobotkin. The regionals take these directives and bring the shows to life. This is a massive production lift in the middle of summer, where many of our RSNs are concentrating on MLB coverage and NFL-training-camp coverage. The RSNs dedicate full personnel and resources to transform their studios and facilities into a space that can host the event and provide hospitality to the players and their families.
After launching an in-house-designed graphics package for last year's tournament, NBC continued to build out the look in Season 2 with animations and transitional elements inspired by different art pieces from Rocket League and the overall gaming space.
The production for all of the highlights shows on NBC's linear networks was overseen by NBC Sports Chicago producer Paul Aspan. He selected game segments in real time, wrote talent wraparounds during the live event, and recorded them shortly after the event concluded - primarily featuring the event's host, Rachel Seltzer Quirico. Once the wraps were recorded, Aspan and an editor retreated to an edit suite to complete the A roll of the show. The complete edit was usually finished in a day or two. The shows airing on RSNs were edited at the participating RSN; the Grand Finals preview and review shows were edited in Stamford.
The Peacock Transforms Stamford for Grand Finals
Prior to last weekend's Grand Finals, the NBC Sports team transformed Studio 4 at the Stamford IBC (the same studio that housed broadcast booths during the past two Olympics) into a full-fledged esports arena. The studio was outfitted with 14 cameras, six robos (four of which were used for individual player iso's), a Steadicam, and a jib. NBC Sports Group's Tom Popple, VP, studio and facilities operations, and Matt Celli, director, production technology, innovation and data, led the design of this transformation.
NBC Sports Group leveraged both its International Broadcast Center in Stamford and facilities at four RSNs for the Universal Open Rocket League productions.
Production-wise, the greatest challenge was converting the blank canvas that is Studio 4 into an environment that reflects the game, says Slobotkin. Tom and Matt had a creative vision and executed the plan brilliantly through original set design and lighting. The game's primary colors of blue and orange creatively accented the setting. Editorially, the challenge was to tell the stories that bring the game, players, and the strategy to life without interrupting the display and flow of the game itself. Producer David Gibson and Coordinating Producer Kevin Anderson lead the team, deploying all of our resources and personnel to accomplish this.
NBC also brought in a 1080p mobile unit, NEP Atlas, to provide the highest video quality possible (1080p is a must for most esports competitions).
In addition, the largest conference room in Stamford was transformed into the players' practice area and family lounge, an area that was integrated into the live coverage. NBC also used Studio 7 for a player interview and promotional shoot on the day prior to the event (Thursday, Aug. 23).
After hosting the inaugural Grand Finals at Esports Arena i
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
19/04/2024
Thank You for visiting us at NAB 2024!
Thank you for joining us at the ToolsOnAir booth during NAB Show 2024!
We were delighted to showcase our latest inno...
19/04/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 18: (L-R) John Early and Theda Hammel attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Stress Positions premiere at Library Center Theatre on ...
19/04/2024
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
19/04/2024
Pictured: Midnight Family
By Stephanie Ornelas
A great way to get to know a city as culturally unique and rich as Mexico City is to listen to the stories tol...
19/04/2024
St. Louis, MO - April 18, 2024 - Studio Network Solutions (SNS) announced today that MOD won three prestigious industry awards at NAB Show 2024 held this week i...
19/04/2024
Spotify's mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the ...
19/04/2024
It's a beautiful day to be a Swiftie. Today, Taylor Swift dropped her 11th s...
19/04/2024
MELBOURNE, Fla., April 19, 2024 - The Board of Directors of L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.16 per common share, payab...
19/04/2024
PARIS Intel has announced that its plans for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 will include using artificial intelligence technology powered by Intel ...
19/04/2024
LAS VEGAS Technologists working on all aspects of the 8K media production chain offered an optimistic update at the 2024 NAB Show on the state of 8K in video pr...
19/04/2024
OpenDrives New Software-Defined Platform Atlas Wins 2024 NAB Show Product of the...
19/04/2024
Grass Valley Showcases Next-Generation T3 Series 4K/HD Digital Recording and Pla...
19/04/2024
NiTRo's M-CUBE Studio Levels Up Esports Productions with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton April 19, 2024
0 Comments
Esports' rapid rise to popularity can...
19/04/2024
Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 19
Brie Clayton April 19, 2024
0 Comments
Major update adds new DaVinci Neural Engine AI tools, new color ...
19/04/2024
Sony Pictures Entertainment is reportedly in talks with Apollo Global Management to make a bid to acquire Paramount which itself is currently discussing a merge...
19/04/2024
Simon Wilkinson, head of VFX at 1185 films, talks about the technology behind the newly-released horror
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: April 19, 2024
Simo...
19/04/2024
The global electronics company is said to be considering joining forces with investment firm Apollo Management to bid for Paramount Global
By Jenny Priestley
...
19/04/2024
The report broke the economic footprint of EBU member sports broadcasting into three main areas
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: April 19, 2024
The report b...
19/04/2024
CBS Stations has launched CBS News California Investigates , with Julie Watts named regional CBS California correspondent. She will uncover and raise awarenes...
19/04/2024
MediaCo Holding, which owns radio stations WQHT (Hot 97) and WBLS in New York, said it acquired Estrella Media's Spanish-language video, audio and digital c...
19/04/2024
Netflix has ordered season five of fantasy drama The Witcher, which will be the final season. Production has recently begun on season four, and the two remainin...
19/04/2024
DirecTV Stream said it added eight more The CW affiliates to its lineup on Thursday....
19/04/2024
CBS has renewed Elsbeth for the 2024-2025 season. The drama, with Carrie Preston in the lead role, debuted February 29....
19/04/2024
With the Bears picking first, NBCUniversal Local's properties in Chicago plan extensive coverage of the NFL draft next week....
19/04/2024
PHILADELPHIA As government subsidies for broadband services come to an end, Comcast has launched NOW, a new product portfolio of lower-cost Internet, mobile and...
19/04/2024
DirecTV Stream has added more local CW stations for its streaming customers in Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Hartford-New Haven Conn., Phoenix, San ...
19/04/2024
NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES MediaCo Holding Inc. has announced that it has acquired all of Estrella Media's network, content, digital, and commercial operations....
19/04/2024
SAN JOSE, Calif. Adobe has announced that the all-new Adobe Express mobile app is available to all users, bringing features powered by Adobe Firefly generative ...
19/04/2024
LOS GATOS, Calif. Netflix reported another blockbuster quarter by adding 9.33 million new subscribers in Q1, 2024 as global paid memberships hit 269.6 million, ...
19/04/2024
The Current State of the Industry and the Future Impact of AI
Hillary Lewis April 18, 2024
0 Comments
The Entertainment Industry: How did we get here ...
19/04/2024
After Effects Tutorial Text Blur Reveal
Andy Ford April 18, 2024
0 Comments
Here's a way to do a quick blur reveal for your text layer. Start by...
19/04/2024
Hollyland Mars M1 Enhanced Wireless Transmitter / Receiver
Colin Smith April 18, 2024
0 Comments
This tutorial shows the new wireless transmitter rece...
19/04/2024
Resolve Fusion: Writing Expressions with Lua
Simon Ubsdell April 18, 2024
0 Comments
The answer to the very frequently-asked question: what is the pro...
19/04/2024
B+C and Next TV have announced the winners of Best of Show Awards for the 2024 NAB Show. The awards were judged by a panel of industry experts at the convention...
19/04/2024
Cate Blanchett narrates the Netflix series Our Living World, which premieres April 17. The four-part series looks at the extraordinary creatures around the glob...
19/04/2024
Apple TV Plus has a spinoff of For All Mankind in the works. It is called Star City and details the cosmonauts, engineers and intelligence officers working behi...
19/04/2024
Jacquie Walker, longtime anchor at WIVB Buffalo, will step down from the anchor desk. She has spent over 40 years at WIVB and her last day as an anchor is May 2...
19/04/2024
Bob Hearts Abishola will premiere in broadcast syndication this fall on such station groups as Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair, Hearst Television, Tegna, E.W. Scr...
19/04/2024
Live With Kelly and Mark remains TV's top entertainment talk show as Kelly Ripa and her co-host and husband Mark Consuelo celebrate their one-year anniversa...
19/04/2024
Sean McLaughlin has been named VP of news for Graham Media Group. He had been senior VP of local news at E.W. Scripps. He will will be responsible for developi...
19/04/2024
Netflix has shared the first trailer from One Hundred Years of Solitude, a series based on the esteemed novel by Gabriel Garc a M rquez. The streamer is on boar...
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 in Review: West Hall - SportsTech Buzz From AWS, Appear, Ateme, The Swi...
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 Draws 61,000+ Attendees With More Than Half Attending the Show for the ...
19/04/2024
Rohde & Schwarz and VIAVI support European OTIC in Berlin for O-RAN conformance ...
19/04/2024
Wuppertal April 19, 2024
Riedel launches Bolero Connect for seamless integration with PunQtum A pioneer in the field of digital intercom, Riedel has recently ...
Universal Open Rocket League Brings NBC Sports Mothership, RSNs Together for Esports Extravaganza For the Grand Finals, Studio 4 in Stamford is converted to an esports arena By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
