As MLS Kicks Off Its 23rd Season, the League Remains a Breeding Ground For At-Home Production Innovation ESPN, Fox Sports, Univision will all utilize at-home model By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital Friday, March 2, 2018 - 3:00 pm
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Entering its 23rd season, Major League Soccer stock is up as the league welcomes in another glitzy new franchise in Los Angeles and strides in off a 2017 campaign that delivered a 4% increase in broadcast television ratings at a time where many sports leagues in the U.S. are happy simply treading water.
In 2018, MLS's national broadcast partners ESPN, Fox Sports, and Univision will look to continue to innovate production as the beautiful game grows its root domestically. Most notably, MLS matches have become a hotbed for progress in at-home production: the idea of forgoing a full-fledged mobile production truck on-air and instead sending sending camera and audio feeds directly back to a centralized control room, thus minimizing the need for equipment and personnel at the stadium.
At three broadcasters have at home models in place and will use them aggressively this season. According to sources as each of the networks, ESPN will produce more than half, Fox will produce about 60%, and Univision will produce all of its matches using a form of this approach.
Here's a look at how all three U.S. domestic rightsholders plan to approach the 2018 MLS campaign:
Univision Deportes
Perhaps the most aggressively innovative of all of MLS's U.S. broadcast partners is its Spanish-language domestic partner, Univision. The network opens its season on Saturday evening when Houston Dynamo host Atlanta United (3:30 p.m. ET).
Univision has been a pioneer in the at-home production model in its work with MLS and this year, again, will produce 100% of its match coverage using this method. With a small mobile unit on site (provided by NEP), the network is able to shoot back camera and audio feeds to its sparkling new facilities in Miami when the final show is produced and distributed.
Of its average 12 cameras that it deploys on a MLS match, the highlight may be its Antelope Pico camera, a robotic that provides unique views in high-resolution and super slow motion.
New this season to Univision's coverage will be a fresh graphics package and further use of the network's teleport concept for in studio shows. The technology allows for players, coaches, and other personalities to essentially be teleported into the studio in the form of a hologram and interact with the host. The network plans to use the tech during their first match on Saturday during their pre-match show La Barra MLS.
We believe our production standards are among the highest in the industry for MLS games, says Miguel Angel Garcia, SVP, Live Event for Univision Deportes. We are proud of the technology and innovation in terms of coverage that we're able to deliver fans. It's easy to do when we work with a progressive league like MLS that is always willing to take risks and innovate with us.
ESPN
Having been with the league since the very beginning back in 1996, ESPN gets a sexy opening to its MLS schedule as Western Conference Champion Seattle Sounders FC play host to the new LAFC in its first professional soccer match (Sunday, 5 p.m. ET).
The worldwide leader plans on having a minimum of 14 cameras (seven manned and seven unmanned) on each of its game of the week matches. ESPN has also been aggressive over the years in bringing in specialty cameras like jibs, Steadicams, super slow-mos, and its unique Goal Post Cams that give their match productions a special look and feel.
In its at-home productions, ESPN will have key positions like the producer, director, technical director, graphics, and tape operators back at a control room in Bristol cutting and calling the show. Each game is dedicated four Evertz Dreamcathers and each camera at the venue is given a unique fiber path from the stadium to Bristol. To help minimize transmission time and create fewer inputs for tape operators back home, a small van is deployed outside the stadium with POV and robotic cameras are switched before delivery.
The workflow naturally saves money on travel and equipment rental but it also helps the network leverage its best soccer production and operations talent which they feel is in short supply in the United States.
In soccer, the number of highly skilled camera, tape, audio and video people, who are consistently available, and understand how to cover the sport is an extremely small number, says ESPN MLS producer Chris Alexopoulos. It is a priority for us to maintain that crew - so ESPN travels at least 10 technicians to every show, whether it is a [ at-home ] broadcast or not.
Most of these people have worked on soccer as a majority of their work, for over a decade. It manifests itself in subtle ways, but the viewer benefits - by getting a definitive angle on a controversial play, having the right framing on a goal which allows the color commentator to better explain why that play happened, or by being able to pinpoint and hear what one player is yelling on the field.. There are many small moments like those which we're able to capture, due to their work.
ESPN has on-air talent at all of its MLS matches and for those matches that do receive a traditional on-site production complement, the network uses F&F Productions to provide its mobile units.
Fox Sports
FS1 also gets a pretty attractive start to its season with a few marquee franchises on the opening weekend schedule. A doubleheader features Sporting Kansas City vs. New York City FC and LA Galaxy vs. Portland Timbers beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.
MLS broadcasts on Fox Sports and FS1 average around 10 cameras with the network noting that it would more aggressively deploying its MOVI S
