
Chad Robertson Talks College Sports [Mixing] posted: 12/12/2019
Q: What's your current role and what does it involve?
A: I'm a freelance audio engineer and mixer, mainly working as an A1 on college sports for ESPN, though I've worked for many of the networks as well as other clients over my career. The majority of what I do is football, basketball, baseball and studio productions. I've also done the occasional high-profile non-sports event, including important political broadcasts. For instance, one highlight was my role as Head of Broadcast Audio for the 2013 George W. Bush Presidential Center Dedication Ceremony; with every living US President in attendance, it was a memorable event. I also do some work as location production sound mixing.
Q: How did you get into broadcast sound?
A: It all started at my church, when I was 14 years old. I was interested in the AV side and the head of the church AV (who was also a remote truck A2 at the time) added me to the volunteer crew. As it turned out, I had a knack for broadcast production. So, I got involved in everything from cameras to sound. I steered myself towards sound as I found it to be the most interesting.
After that, I secured some corporate work outside of the church. In college, I worked as an A2 on various events. After college, I started to get hired more and eventually moved into A1 roles. The A1 side really took off when ESPNU came online in 2005. The truck A1 role accounts for about 85-percent of my income now. ESPN has been a great client over the years, providing many opportunities to learn and grow.
Q: What was one of your most prominent experiences with Calrec?
The first time I worked on a Calrec Apollo was during the 2012 NATO Summit. In typical Calrec fashion, the console quickly revealed its flexibility and usefulness and showcased that they had significant resources and processing power. We had a multitude of paths coming in and out for a minimum of four languages, simultaneously. The flexibility of the platform, such as splitting the console, cloning faders and assigning VCAs, along with other features, made the project very easy to manage.
Q: How has the general approach to sports broadcast changed over your time at the console?
A: The amount of programming for college sports has grown tremendously. The delivery platforms have multiplied, too, with mobile phones and other digital devices added to the more traditional cable services. But, as delivery increases, the number of on-location production people continues to decrease. There's still always an audio person, but you won't always have the production or graphics teams.
On the production side, we're consistently being asked to manage more in less time. We're doing a lot more in terms of routing multiple audio paths, in addition to adapting the way intercoms are used between the remote location and the production control rooms. Every event and location is different, so every production must be set up and torn down. Luckily, I am typically on a Calrec, so I'm not concerned about set up time at the console. Calrec consoles are never part of my traffic-jam that's not where my time gets eaten up. There are many parts of the production that must be set up in addition to the console, including transmission and intercoms. Most of the time, Calrec is actually the solution to a problem. I know it's going to do what it's meant to do; it's going to work.
Chad Robertson Talks Sports Mixing
Q: And channel count has got bigger too, hasn't it?
A: Definitely; it's not unusual to be handling hundreds of paths at once now. For instance, in July, I was on a Calrec Artemis and we had three shows on three different networks ESPN, ESPN2 and SECN. All three shows were passing through that one board, simultaneously.
The mix of sources is constantly changing, too. We'll get multiple formats of signals coming in: analog, AES, MADI, Dante, etc. and those all vary in width. Some are mono or stereo, while others are surround sound or newer formats, such as Dolby Atmos. I know that Calrec can handle all of those.
Calrec's previous digital line, the Alpha series, was great, and those consoles (Alpha, Sigma, Omega, etc.) are still working solid on many events. When the Apollo and the Artemis first came out, I remember staring in wonder at the massive amount of power and flexibility especially the number of channels and paths they could handle. I was skeptical that we'd ever need that kind of power, but here we are. Honestly, now, when I'm not on a console with that sort of power and flexibility, I feel like my hands are tied together.
Q: How do you approach a standard' sports broadcast?
A: I'm normally on a different truck every day, so there's no default set-up on the console for me. Some trucks have a generic default, but I prefer to start from a completely blank desk. So, when it's my first time sitting down to a console that I haven't previously been on, erasing its surface is my first step.
Thankfully, Calrec consoles are very easy and efficient to set up; it's very straightforward and fast to rebuild it to my liking. As the project grows, it is easy to add or reallocate resources and rearrange the surface as needed which is a huge advantage since every project is different and unique.
Q: How much automation to use?
A: I use the built-in auto mixers for announcers, which is a really useful form of production automation, but live sports shows are all unscripted. Nobody knows if there's going to be an interception or an injury or touchdown, so I don't use the automation in the traditional sense. I might go to a commercial break in 30 seconds or in 10 minutes, depending on the play of the game so, besides using a few tallies to open auto-faders, live spor
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
15/04/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BBC World Service has selected its IP ...
15/04/2026
LiveU has announced an expansion of its collaboration with Sony Corporation, add...
15/04/2026
Ateme has announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to support live Apple Immersive ...
15/04/2026
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced a multi-year partnership renewal with DAZN DACH, covering Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, and...
15/04/2026
Canon U.S.A. (NAB Booth C3825) today took the lid off of the CINE-SERVO 40-1200m...
15/04/2026
Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America and NEP Group will demonstrate a...
15/04/2026
For the fourth year running, independent analysts found businesses across all industries and verticals pay roughly the same amount in fees as they spend on stor...
15/04/2026
The Soccer Tournament (TST) has announced a media rights deal with NBC Sports to...
15/04/2026
JB&A will host the Pre-NAB 2026 Technology Event on April 17-18 at Flamingo Las Vegas, ahead of NAB Show. The event features hands-on demonstrations and technic...
15/04/2026
The Sennheiser Group will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth 4931, Central Hall), with demonstrations from Sennheiser, Neumann, and Merging across three areas: Rel...
15/04/2026
NAB Show 2026 will take place April 18-22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, wi...
15/04/2026
AI-Media has announced the LEXI Text Encoder and LEXI Voice Encoder at NAB Show 2026, the company's first new encoder hardware release in more than a decade...
15/04/2026
Italian camera support manufacturer Cartoni will introduce several new products at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C6540, Central Hall), including the Master 30 OB fluid h...
15/04/2026
Lawo and swXtch.io have announced a memorandum of understanding at NAB Show 2026, under which Lawo will explore incorporating swXtch.io's groundSwXtch softw...
15/04/2026
CacheFly will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W3129, April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center), showcasing three new additions to its content delivery platform:...
15/04/2026
Synamedia has announced GO Shorts, a new module within its Synamedia Go OTT platform that uses AI to convert an operator's existing content library into a s...
15/04/2026
The NAB Show kicks off on Saturday, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams a...
15/04/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced an agreement to acquire Comprimato, a live video encoding and processing software company. The deal will unite the two companies...
15/04/2026
Prime Video Sports' NBA Playoffs coverage, which includes the entire SoFi NB...
15/04/2026
Just announced, the SDE standard provides a unified method and file format to ensure consistent and reliably comparable noise predictions
Sports and entertainm...
15/04/2026
From immersive storytelling to laugh-out-loud comedies, podcasts are booming in ...
15/04/2026
Books have always moved with us, whether tucked in our bags or humming in our he...
15/04/2026
For many artists, independent venues are where music careers begin and fan communities take shape. Independent venue operators work hard every day to keep local...
15/04/2026
From gripping thrillers to poignant memoirs, the 21st century has had no shortage of unforgettable books. To celebrate the standout storytelling of our modern e...
15/04/2026
Vintage broadcast experts release second plug-in
Telsie T is the second plug-in to be released by SonicWorld, a German audio company who specialise in servi...
15/04/2026
Includes eight free UAD plug-ins
Universal Audio's latest bundle brings together a selection of their renowned plug-ins and virtual instruments, and is ...
15/04/2026
Maximum uptime for broadcasters: Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S BroadcastShield at...
15/04/2026
Image courtesy of MD Helicopters...
15/04/2026
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, L3Harris VP Mark Farley, and state and local l...
15/04/2026
U.S. Space Forces Ground-Based Optical Sensor System upgrade at the Maui Space S...
15/04/2026
NBCU-Versant notches 13.1% of TV viewing in February, its best since August 2024...
15/04/2026
New data reveals older Kiwis are financially resilient, loyal to local products,...
15/04/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, announces the market launch of the ACCE...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Evergent introduces its Agentic Revenue Orchestration Platform, transforming how subscription businesses across direct-to-consumer streaming, pay-TV, telecommun...
15/04/2026
Harmonic's XOS Media Processor Delivers Exceptional Video Quality to More than Half of U.S. Public Media Viewership
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announce...
15/04/2026
LONGMONT, COLORADO, APRIL 15, 2026 DPA Microphones N Series Digital Wireless System users in North America can now take full advantage of the system's exc...
15/04/2026
Cobalt Iron, a leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise data protection, today announced the launch of Compass Tape Gateway (CTG), a transformative enhancemen...
15/04/2026
Disguise to Showcase Cutting-Edge Experience Tech for Sports, Broadcast and More...
15/04/2026
Arooj Aftab Makes the Music She Wants to Hear The singular artist explores the juxtaposition of grief and joy, dark and light, in her distinctive sound.
Apri...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Interra Systems, a provider of end-to-end quality assurance solutions for the digital media industry, is proud to announce its central role in the digital trans...