NFL Kickoff 2025: CBS Sports Has Big Production Plans for Blockbuster Matchups, Increases Camera Count Across All Games

NFL Kickoff 2025: CBS Sports Has Big Production Plans for Blockbuster Matchups, Increases Camera Count Across All GamesWith addition of F&Fs GTX20, CBS has a full IP fleet of trucks for NFL productionsBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.

Friday, September 5, 2025 - 3:47 pm

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With some of the most highly anticipated matchups of the season headlining its NFL schedule, CBS Sports is rearing to go as the 2025-26 season kicks off. And while, high-profile games like the Cowboys-Chiefs on Thanksgiving Day and Chiefs-Bills in Week 9 will have a stacked production complement this season, CBS has also increased its camera levels and rolled out IP-based mobile units across the board for all its weekly NFL productions.

As our biggest and most viewed asset, it's always one of our top priorities in the off-season to look at how can we build upon our NFL coverage for the next year, says Jason Cohen, VP of Remote Technical Operations. We take a step back with our production leaders and the individual crews that produce each game and ask, where can we get better and what new technology can we add to the equation?'

At the same time, we don't want to fall into the trap of trying to get cute by adding too many bells and whistles and gizmos and gadgets to the show, he continues. Thankfully, I think we've found that happy medium again going into this season.

Chief among the big additions this year are camera increases across all of CBS's NFL productions. Cohen says the A, B, and C Game will feature more 4K cameras capable of pan-and-zoom, as well as more cameras licensed for super-slo-mo. Drones also continue to play a bigger role in CBS's coverage - especially the A Game - with each passing year.

I give our partners at the NFL a lot of credit for all the hard work they've done in helping to transform the drone use from something that made people nervousness and was potentially risky into a somewhat standard enhancement that raises the level of the game and everyone can be comfortable with, says Cohen. It adds to that atmosphere to big events and we've identified really good flight areas at all stadiums. So I think you'll continue to see more of that.

Every NFL on CBS booth will have a new advanced version of the FingerWorks telestration technology that will allow analysts in the booth to illustrate key moments taking place on the field. CBS is working exclusively with Chyron to add data from the league's Next-Gen Stats into its advanced graphics platform to create new virtual elements for air.

After debuting EVS's Xtra Motion AI-enabled super-slo-mo replays on its A and B games last year, the C Game crew will also have access to this technology this season.

Cohen also says those highly anticipated games that are expected set to generate big ratings - including Cowboys-Chiefs on Thanksgiving Chiefs-Bills (Week 9), Ravens-Chiefs (Week 4), Bengals-Packers (Week 6), and Bills-Steelers (Week 13) - will likely get increased equipment levels as well.

Obviously we'll look to build upon those, says Cohen. But our A and B games are already massive shows with goal line pylons, line to gains, Skycams, multiple 4K cameras. Plus the A game will have drones, fixed wings, and near and far side carts. So all of those things are things you will see on a weekly basis and then we will see where we can strategically add more for some of those high-profile games.

NEP's Supershooter CBS is back to serve CBS's A Game production each week, while F&F Productions' GTX20 joins the party for the B game. Previously used on CBS's top college football production, GTX20 will shift to the NFL as F&F rolls out the new GTX21 unit for CBS's Big Ten game of the week. CBS will also utilize Game Creek Video's Columbia and Celtic mobile units, as well as NEP's Supershooter 5.

With GTX20, we have a full ST 2110 IP fleet now for all of our NFL productions, says Craig Stevens. All our shows will also be captured in 1080p this year. The year of the Super Bowl [in 2023], we moved our A Game show to 1080P HDR and that will continue as well. Transmission will stay as 1080i, but now we're moving everything into that HDR capture format to produce a better image and give us a path to move to HDR across the board if and when the time comes.

In addition, CBS Sports will bring its NFL Today pregame show on the road multiple times this year, beginning this week at Lambeau Field for the Green Bay Packers' season opener against the Detroit Lions. Traditionally, The NFL Today rarely traveled outside the CBS Broadcast Center, but the practice became more commonplace last year with stops in Buffalo and Detroit and is expected to continue this season for high-profile matchups. F&F's GTX 17 travels on-site for these studio productions, which are run as a REMI operation with the production crew back in the control room in NYC.

We did a couple of college studio shows in the field last year so then when we decided to roll out NFL Today, we just jumped in with two feet, says Stevens. We did the show in Buffalo and then Detroit and we had no issues whatsoever. And our production team finds themselves lot more comfortable [working remotely from] New York [where they are] in their normal environment on a Sunday. To try to simulate that on the road was going to be a lot more difficult. So we're happy that we have been able let them stay back home and just put the essential people on site.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/09/05/nfl-kickoff-2025-cbs-sports-has...
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