MLB Network's Secaucus Facility Transforms Into Production Hub for Live Game Coverage on JioStar in India, BBC in UK

The broadcaster's capability as an internal production house continues with studio programming for U.S. viewers

The MLB Postseason comes with an attraction that can be felt around the globe. This is spurred in part by viewership of fans in India and the UK, thanks to world-feed-style productions by MLB Network. After a regular season of constant coverage and a handful of games in the Wild Card Round, the broadcaster will execute more international broadcasts during the Division Series on MLB Bases Covered Live on the BBC via a traditional control room and the MLB Postseason on JioStar via a cloud-based production through BitFire.

During the last half of the season, says Michael Herbert, VP, studio operations, MLB Network, we've produced different productions of the same game on both networks every Sunday, but now that we're in the postseason, the workflow has become a little different. From production and studio operations to our full engineering team, these productions are a true collaboration across the company.

Bridging the Broadcast: Secaucus-Based Team Accepts the Challenge

The team based at MLB Network's headquarters in Secaucus, NJ, was more than up to the task of producing the postseason broadcasts. Spearheaded by MLB Network VP, Live Events and Production, Chris Pfeiffer, the final two months of the regular season set the foundation for what is now being implemented in the playoffs to link these international viewers with the National Pastime. In the regular season, the cloud-based production known as MLB Bases Covered Live was the basis of both shows, with JioStar receiving a dirty feed with graphics of the production being used on the BBC.

Now it kind of switches, says Pfeiffer. [JioStar] will be taking a feed and implementing their own graphics and content. We'll also be using the same group of talent that we used last year from the Wild Card to the World Series.

MLB Network's Secaucus, NJ-based team: (from left) Jeff Stote, Steve Mellace, Mike Magaletta, Jason Naccarella, Dawnlynn Kulenich, Patrick Armstrong, Jacob Wilkins, Sam Gutkin, Jacob Catalano, and Mike SianoThis crop of talent includes two separate teams for the international broadcasters. On JioStar, play-by-play announcer Jacob Wilkins - a versatile voice who previously worked for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies and other outlets - is calling games remotely from New Jersey with additional commentary by analysts Manish Batavia and Aayush Sharma in India. For the BBC, play-by-play announcer Melanie Newman and analysts Xavier Scruggs and Felix White (a prominent voice in the UK professional-baseball community) are calling games from Secaucus. Back-to-back postseasons of remote productions has created a well-oiled machine both behind and in front of the camera, and the two talent teams have established a good rapport to create an impressive broadcast.

They've developed a really good chemistry, adds Pfeiffer. It has been fun to watch.

In the Cloud: BitFire's Cloud Infrastructure Enables the Endeavor

The nuts and bolts of the productions will leverage BitFire's cloud-based infrastructure, which MLB Network has relied on for not only this style of shows but other events throughout the year. From offsite video feeds during the MLB Draft to overseas broadcasts during the World Baseball Classic, a full cloud-driven control room in Secaucus is allowing the team to pull off the productions.

Logistically, most days comprise multiple productions running simultaneously, which calls for numerous crews taking different shifts during long hours of baseball action. Customization and flexibility were paramount to making these crews feel comfortable in a virtual environment.

The software-defined production environment of the cloud is perfect for this type of show, explains Steve Mellace, lead technical director, MLB Network, who is building the production templates for both shows. It's all about scaling what we're already doing to a wider audience, reusing that same content, and adding customization for wherever we're sending it to. It's mostly about training the next operator in the same way as the current operator and cloning that setup into the next production.

We do have to be more organized, he continues, since we're working in a virtual cloud environment. We have to be aware of what our expectations are and be ready to go before we go on-air.

Organization is necessary in all facets of the show. For example, replay needs fluctuate from regular-season games to the beginning of the postseason to the biggest games of the year in the World Series. This has pushed Mellace and his team to construct virtual-production libraries that allow repeatability but also provide time to build on top of pre-existing workflows depending on a show's demands. For the postseason alone, the 2026 edition of the playoffs isn't the first time MLB Network has handled such productions. Many of the first iterations experienced bumps in the road since it was still very early in the process, but, since then, the team has gained its footing and is hitting its stride.

We've been working on this for about three years now, notes Dawnlynn Kulenich, manager, studio technical operations, MLB Network,who keeps an eye on the cloud production during live broadcasts. What we're most excited about this year is that we're no longer at proof-of-concept to see if the cloud productions work. We want to expand the capabilities and tailor [the show] to specific audiences and languages around the world to make the game more accessible for fans.

Kulenich is supported by Manager, Studio Technical Operations, Tony Giner. On the commentary side, especially for the broadcasts on JioStar, linking Wilkins to his counterparts in India is a challenge. Latency is the prime challenge

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/10/02/mlb-networks-secaucus-facility-...
	See more stories from svg

More from Sports Video Group