Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the Big Game (and Studio) Production with Mike Davies of Fox Sports By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Thursday, February 6, 2025 - 3:21 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
When it comes to producing a Super Bowl in recent years, the reality is that the efforts are increasingly not just about the game on Sunday (and the pre-game) but how the event has become a true cultural touchstone complete with dozens of hours of coverage and plenty of innovations, both technical but, more and more, creative. And this weekend's Fox Sports production of Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans is a perfect example.
Every year, one network is the steward of this seminal event. says Mike Davies, Fox Sports, EVP, technical and field operations. It is our mantra to elevate this game to the state of the art, making sure that every angle is covered and every moment on the field is available for replay after the fact in crisp, clean motion.
Despite the fact that each of these games has literally hundreds of cameras, our mantra is to very much keep things as similar to the regular season as possible so our lead producer Richie Zyontz, our lead director Rich Russo, as well as our full team are comfortable and in a familiar environment.
Mike Davies of Fox Sports says the production efforts have been months in the making for Super Bowl LIX.
For example, by the time Zyontz and Russo settle into their chairs on Sunday afternoon Fox Sports will have already delivered 67 hours of programming all week across Fox, FS1, and Fox Deportes as well as other initiatives planned for this weekend. And while there is always plenty of focus on the numbers like 149 cameras for the game and pre-game, 48 microphones, 53 miles of fiber and, of course, things like 2,783 Po boys set to be served up for lunch to the Fox Sports crew on Super Bowl Sunday, numbers don't tell the true story of a Super Bowl which is always a multiple month (or years) long project that involves plenty of planning designed not only to capture the game but also the story of the teams, players, and the host city from all angles.
We've been planning this daily for 14 months, says Davies. With New Orleans-hosting its first intracity' Super Bowl in years-playing a central role, our President of Production & Operations and Executive Producer, Brad Zager, challenged us to find the city's most iconic location. That had to be the French Quarter, and more specifically, Bourbon Street at St. Peter-arguably its cultural heart, surrounded by legendary spots like Maison Bourbon.
Having the French Quarter just a stone's throw from the stadium is a game-changer, shaping our entire approach to the Super Bowl beyond the Xs and Os. For example, we'll be using drone coverage to seamlessly connect the different areas of interest.
The end-product of the efforts involved not only Fox Sports but also state and local government officials, the New Orleans Police Department, and local civic leaders and business owners in the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. And that product will be on full display when the Fox Sports Super Bowl Sunday Pre-game Show takes to a parade float (a tribute to Mardi Gras) in the intersection of Bourbon and Mason Streets on Sunday morning.
When we first mentioned the idea of setting up on Bourbon Street, the reaction was, You're going to do what?' says Davies. But after some thought, they came back and said, Let's make this a reality'-after all, this city knows how to throw a party.
For this Super Bowl, Fox Sports fully embraced the local scene. The Solomon Group was instrumental in planning and production, and I can't say enough about Gary Solomon and his incredible team for making it all happen. Chris Young was a key piece of the puzzle, leveraging his relationships to help us communicate effectively with business owners.
We also owe a huge debt of gratitude to the New Orleans Host Committee, whose connections and support opened doors across the city.
That focus on Bourbon Street was of course put to the test a little more than a month ago when 14 people were killed and 57 injured when a terrorist drove down Bourbon Street on the morning of January 1.
The attack on January 1 put everything into perspective, forcing us to view it through both the lens of loss and resilience, says Davies. Operationally, this event could not have continued without the support of the Governor's office, City Officials, and the invaluable assistance of the New Orleans and State Police, along with so many others. One of the greatest privileges of this show has been working with such incredible people-people I will always consider friends.
Game Time
With respect to the game itself, Davies thinks the game is going to be defined by instant replay and how good a job Fox Sports does getting the right looks.
Our ethos is a little different than other networks in that we don't really seek technology that might get used once or twice or that the audience really isn't going to see a lot, he says. We like to get the technology in the hands of the producers and directors so they can have multiple chances to work with it and see how it can be integrated.
Example one this year? The high SkyCam which features a Sony HDC-P50A 4K HFR box camera. Davies says because the camera has a 4K sensor it can fly a lot higher than previous second SkyCam but also do a lot more than just be a SkyCam.
One of the great things about 4K replay is that it can be used for many different things, especially on a SkyCam, he says. It can be used as a high all-22 where you can get both guards in the image and it's also a really great telestration device for [analyst] Tom Brady and others to show how a play is unfolding. And it can also ope
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...
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the Big Game (and Studio) Production with Mike Davies of Fox Sports By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
