On the Gridiron: Indianapolis Colts Handle Remote Radio Broadcasts of Away Games From Lucas Oil Stadium
30/09/2020
Wednesday, September 30, 2020 - 11:38 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Many professional sports have opted for a return to play inside a sanitized bubble. Not the NFL. Without skipping a beat, the league is soldiering on with regular-season games in all 30 stadiums across the country. Similar to our At the Ballpark series, On the Gridiron examines the new routines, habits, and production philosophies of in-venue personnel on any given Thursday, Sunday, or Monday.
In consecutive home games, the Indianapolis Colts rattled off convincing wins against the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets. A limited number of fans are enjoying amenities that they're accustomed to on game day, but, when games aren't played at Lucas Oil Stadium, the in-venue staff assists with remote radio broadcasts for away contests.
MORE ON THE GRIDIRON INTERVIEWS
Baltimore Ravens Adjust In-Game Operations To Feed More Content to Digital, Social Platforms
After Busy Offseason, Denver Broncos Welcome Limited Fans Back to Empower Field at Mile High in Week 3
San Francisco 49ers Production Team Shifts Gears To Engage the Players
Jacksonville Jaguars Reflect on In-Stadium Fans During Week 1, Connecting With Duval' Community
Without Raucous Crowds, New Orleans Saints Adapt to a Quiet Mercedes-Benz Superdome
While the football team is on the road, the Colts remotely produce radio broadcasts with the help of the NFL, broadcast networks, and The Switch.
Our radio crew can't travel this year, so I think a lot of other teams in the league are following this model as well, says Mike Stevens, operations manager, video engineering, Indianapolis Colts. It has been an interesting experience to say the least - especially for our talent, who have embraced the fact that they're sitting in a control room hundreds of miles [from the action] but are still able to see what they need to see to efficiently call the game.
Through the Speaker: Radio Broadcasts Continue Remotely Even when the building isn't packed with fans, the in-house production team is hard at work while the football team is on the road. In a season that has presented a hefty number of logistical challenges, production teams are confined to their respective stadiums to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak. When the Colts began their 2020 campaign in Jacksonville, FL, Stevens and his team leveraged a handful of partners to produce accurate and precise radio calls.
We had our entire radio broadcast of play-by-play Matt Taylor, color commentator Rick Venturi, and sideline reporter Larra Overton inside the control room in Indianapolis, Stevens says. The NFL was very open to letting us take feeds from CBS, Fox, ESPN, or NBC and feeding it back to us via The Switch. We've also been working with local engineers at the stadiums to get the all-22 feed.
At the forefront of this effort, Colts Senior Broadcast Engineer Chris Buckley; NFL VP, Broadcast Planning, Mike North; and NFL Senior Director, Broadcasting, Blake Jones are creating a relationship with home stations of other teams as well. Those stations are sending feeds of crowd sounds and referee microphones to Emmis Communications, the Colts' media partner responsible for getting these radio broadcast to fans.
Indianapolis Colts' Matt Taylor (foreground) and company call the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars from Lucas Oil Stadium.
Other leagues have adopted this production model in their return to the television screen. In Major League Baseball, television and radio teams assigned to the visiting team were prohibited from entering booths in the home venue and had to rely on game footage captured by local RSNs. NBA franchises did the same for local radio teams during the resumption of play in the Wide World of Sports bubble in Orlando.
For reference and guidance, Stevens recalled his time working with the Indiana Pacers during their run in the playoffs. The Pacers were getting a program feed from either Turner or ESPN, along with a few other feeds and were calling the games from their home arena. Every NBA team was doing it with the RSNs, so I had experienced [remote broadcasts] before discussing this with our radio department. I've used some of that knowledge to get our radio team prepared and also to ask the league for certain things that we knew we needed to do a game efficiently.
Full Steam Ahead: Limited Audience Still Gets a Videoboard Show As more and more fans are allowed in the building and local government enters the next phase of reopening, a Colts football game is becoming a destination. Even though attendance is not at the venue's full capacity, the production team is still moving forward with its normal videoboard show.
We're taking the same approach, whether we have 65,000 fans or five fans in the stands, says Stevens. For fans who have taken the initiative to come to the game, we're giving them the experience that they expect at a home game.
While selected fans are lucky enough to get through the turnstiles at Lucas Oil Stadium, fans at home are still able to access content being shown during the game.
We've integrated our in-house production system into our pregame [live] stream, says Stevens. While the guys are out there stretching and warming up, we'll go live on Facebook, our mobile app, and website with Overton and [Media Specialist] Jeffrey Gorman. They'll give you an idea of what to expect for the game, but it also brings [together] our fans who can't come to the stadium and gives an experience that they would have if they were there.
Audio Change: League Adjusts
LINK: | https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/09/30/on-the-gridiron-indianapolis-co... |
See more stories from svg |
Most recent headlines
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
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 URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
28/03/2024
The 4K cameras giving audiences an astronaut's view of Earth
TVBEurope meets Charles Black, founder and CEO of Sen, which has sent a payload of 4K cameras to the ISS to livestream images of Earth to audiences around the w...
28/03/2024
2024 Big Night In Raises $145k to Support Triangle Arts Councils
Capitol Broadcasting and WRAL-TV once again proudly supported our local arts community with the broadcast of Big Night in for the Arts Thursday, March 7, 2024. ...
28/03/2024
JIC, MRC Announce Accord On Roles In Judging Measurement Companies
With more companies offering different approaches to measuring television viewing and campaign effectiveness, two of the groups that evaluate potential media bu...
28/03/2024
Hulu Added to Disney Plus App for Bundle Subscribers
The Walt Disney Co. said that it launched Hulu on Disney Plus, which makes Hulu programming available via the Disney Plus app....
28/03/2024
GroupM To Double Ad Spending On Women's Sports Programming
Giant media buyer GroupM said it plans to double its media spending on women's sports....
28/03/2024
Scripps Renews State Farm As Sponsor of Friday Night WNBA on Ion
Scripps Sports said that State Farm has signed a new multi-year agreement to continue as the title sponsor of Ion's Friday night WNBA telecasts....
28/03/2024
Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington Sign On for Imperfect Women' on Apple TV Plus
Elisabeth Moss and Kerry Washington will star in, and executive produce, Imperfe...
28/03/2024
Telemundo Station Group Addresses Climate Change With Month-Long Initiative
Telemundo Station Group launches the month-long climate change initiative Our Planet Thursday, March 28. The multiplatform campaign ends on Earth Day, April 22,...
28/03/2024
Circle City Broadcasting Renews Nielsen Ratings Deal
Nielsen said that Circle City Broadcasting, owner of WISH-TV in Indianapolis, has renewed its local TV measurement deal....
28/03/2024
Lionsgate Extends Deal With Seth Rogen's Point Grey Pictures
Lionsgate Television said it extended its deal with Point Grey Pictures, the production company led by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver....
28/03/2024
Ariana DeBose Back as Tonys Host
Ariana DeBose returns as host of the Tony Awards Sunday, June 16, on CBS and Paramount Plus. It is her third consecutive time hosting, and it will be the 77th T...
28/03/2024
The Steve Wilkos Show' Renewed for Season 18
The Steve Wilkos Show has been renewed for its 18th season in national syndication, Tracie Wilson, executive VP, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios & E! News, sai...
28/03/2024
Sinclair Selects Embrace as Its Media Orchestration Engine
PARIS Embrace, a developer of advanced automation and orchestration software solutions, has announced that Sinclair Broadcast Group has selected Embrace's P...
28/03/2024
Nielsen and Circle City Broadcasting Renew Local TV Measurement Deal
NEW YORK Nielsen has a multi-year renewal with Circle City Broadcasting, Indianas only locally owned and operated broadcast and digital news media network, for ...
28/03/2024
JVC to Demo Its First Ever 40x Zoom PTZ Camera Series at 2024 NAB Show
LAS VEGAS JVC Professional Video has announced that it will debut its new KY-PZ540 Series PTZ Cameras with 40x zoom at 2024 NAB Show (Booth C4720)....
28/03/2024
Brightcove Launches Cloud Playout 2.0
BOSTON Brightcove has announced the launch of Cloud Playout 2.0, a platform that the company said will offer customers new ways to create linear channels, monet...
28/03/2024
NBC Sports Chicago to Air First-Ever Animated Real-Time Local Sports Telecast
The Chicago Blackhawks and NBC Sports Chicago have announced a collaboration with the NHL to bring fans the first-ever local animated real-time sports telecast....
28/03/2024
The Best News Coverage is Real, Live, Balanced, Professional
The Best News Coverage is Real, Live, Balanced, Professional Andy Marken March 28, 2024 0 Comments Hero image source News of the World, Perfect Wo...
28/03/2024
Generations: The Legacy - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]
Generations: The Legacy - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The S...
28/03/2024
Prison Journalism: Witness the Cycle from the Streets
Prison Journalism: Witness the Cycle from the StreetsWesley Leong was incarcerated at the age of 15 in 1996 at Pollsmoor Prison. He is currently part of Restore...
28/03/2024
Prison Journalism: Inmate pre-release and release processes
Prison Journalism: Inmate pre-release and release processesDean Mashimbwe, a Zimbabwean migrant residing in Cape Town, was incarcerated at Pollsmoor Correctiona...
28/03/2024
Streaming today: When You Finish Saving The World' on Netflix - 28 March 2024
Streaming today: When You Finish Saving The World' on Netflix - 28 March 20...
28/03/2024
Prison Journalism: The Story of Paulus
Prison Journalism: The Story of PaulusDavid van Nek was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Prison from 2013 until 2015 and participated in the restorative justice progra...
28/03/2024
Prison Journalism: Inside and Outside
Prison Journalism: Inside and OutsideFawaaz Adendorff was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Correctional Centre and participated in a Restorative Justice programme whil...
28/03/2024
Tonight on Muvhango: Imani escapes Khumo's hellhole
Tonight on Muvhango: Imani escapes Khumo's hellholeDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Muvhango on SABC 2 on DS...
28/03/2024
Tonight on Generations: Kea can sense her brother is hiding something
Tonight on Generations: Kea can sense her brother is hiding somethingDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Generation...
28/03/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Magolide and Tiny compete against each other
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Magolide and Tiny compete against each otherDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Smoke...
28/03/2024
Tonight on Champions: Washington's struggle takes an unexpected turn
Tonight on Champions: Washington's struggle takes an unexpected turnDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Champio...
28/03/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Tibi's meltdown softens a teacher
Tonight on Scandal: Tibi's meltdown softens a teacherDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Scandal! on e.tv on DS...
28/03/2024
Tonight on Gqeberha: Lulama tells Thulani that she's pregnant with his child
Tonight on Gqeberha: Lulama tells Thulani that she's pregnant with his childDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie...
28/03/2024
Tonight on My Brother's Keeper: Ndumiso has the wrong end of the stick
Tonight on My Brother's Keeper: Ndumiso has the wrong end of the stickDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie My Br...
28/03/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Lehasa doubles down on his ill-treatment of Pretty
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Lehasa doubles down on his ill-treatment of PrettyDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem ...
28/03/2024
Thales speeds up its development of AI for defence
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales, Europe's leading high-tech company in the civil and defence fields, has announced the creation of cortAIx, which bri...
28/03/2024
Get Cozy With Palia' on GeForce NOW
Ease into spring with the warm, cozy vibes of Palia, coming to the cloud this GFN Thursday. It's part of six new titles joining the GeForce NOW library of ...
28/03/2024
Smoke and Mirrors: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]
Smoke and Mirrors: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South Af...
28/03/2024
Muvhango: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]
Muvhango: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South African web...
28/03/2024
Gqeberha: The Empire - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]
Gqeberha: The Empire - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The Sout...
28/03/2024
Skeem Saam: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]
Skeem Saam: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African ...
28/03/2024
House of Zwide: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]
House of Zwide: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episode of South African soapie House of Zwide on The South Africa...
28/03/2024
My Brother's Keeper: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]
My Brother's Keeper: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The So...
28/03/2024
Uzalo: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [video]
Uzalo: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [video]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South African websit...
28/03/2024
Scandal!: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]
Scandal!: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South African web...
28/03/2024
Umkhokha: The Curse - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]
Umkhokha: The Curse - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South...
27/03/2024
UKTV sets up second series of Dream Car Fixers for Yesterday and UKTV Play
Wednesday 27 March 2024 - UKTV has commissioned a second series of Dream Car Fixers (6x60) for leading factual channel Yesterday and free streaming service UKTV...
27/03/2024
Inside the Archives: It's Lights, Curtains, Action When Sundance Films Become Stage Productions
By Jen Scott It's time to unwrap those noisy candies and put your phone on ...
27/03/2024
Paving the Way' for Spotify's NextGen Scholarship Recipients
Spotify is committed to amplifying the voices of underrepresented groups, and that starts with empowering the creators who will shape our industry's future....
27/03/2024
Sencore and Showfer Announce Collaboration at NAB 2024, With a Brand-New Content Management and Distribution Solution
Las Vegas, NV, April 14-17, Booth W2401 Sencore, a leading provider of profess...
27/03/2024
Living Black, the longest-running Indigenous current affairs television program in Australia, returns for its 21st year with new guests
Living Black, the longest-running Indigenous current affairs television program ...