Live From World Baseball Classic: Fox Sports Gets Down and Dirty With Onfield Studio Set at loanDepot Park Broadcaster adds three cameras to two-camera world feed production By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Tuesday, March 21, 2023 - 9:36 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
As the main outlet of the World Baseball Classic in the United States, Fox Sports will bring a wrinkle of their coverage typically reserved for the MLB Postseason and the World Series to the global stage. Adding to their tech arsenal for the game production, the broadcaster is setting the table for Tuesday night's championship between the U.S. and Japan with a mobile studio desk on the dirt of loanDepot Park in Miami.
We used this setup for the World Series in Houston, and it's a lot easier to do since it requires less labor, says Francisco Contreras, director, field operations, Fox Sports. If we were to do a real desk, we would have to build a structure and added another 50 people to our crew.
First Foray: COVID-Era Productions Provide Roadmap for First Year of Coverage Prior to the announcement that Fox Sports would become the broadcaster for viewers in the United States, the broadcaster used this time to get ready for the upcoming regular season. After Fox Sports secured these media rights, Contreras and his operations team got to work right away to devise a production plan that was appropriate for the tournament.
Back in November when we had our first call, we weren't sure right away what our plans were going to be, he says. Having MLB Network take care of everything for us has been a huge help, and us being here for the 2017 MLB All-Star Game made it easier with logistics and getting our studio set.
Game Creek Video's B4 mobile unit is handling the production of the studio show.
Without previous knowledge of how these games were produced, Fox Sports tapped any available experience and lessons to prepare themselves. With MLB Network's world-feed model in full effect, the crew harkened back to what they learned during the COVID-19-impacted season three years ago. That included supplementing MLB Network's infrastructure with cameras and workflows of their own and pairing their onsite presence of 90 employees with a 30-staffer crew at their headquarters in Los Angeles. These Home Run Productions are led by VP, Field Operations and Engineering, Brad Cheney; Director, Remote Operations, Phil Abrahams; and Technical Producer TJ Scanlon.
Since we started doing the world feed mode [back in 2020], we knew this was going to be a bit easier to do, continues Contreras. We only have two cameras per game - a high first and a high third - but for the championship game, we're adding a low first, a low third, and an additional handheld.
These technologies are meshing well with the energetic and high-intensity atmosphere that fans are bringing. From Contreras' point of view, it's a more than decent way to kick off their main game production of this jewel event.
Fox Sports' studio set is located in foul territory down the first base line at loanDepot Park in Miami.
With this being our first one, it's pretty electric, he admits. I was sitting in the crowd for the Venezuela-U.S. game, and you don't really see that type of crowd in the MLB postseason. It's been unique and pretty amazing.
Home in Foul Territory: Studio Crew Constructs Mobile Set Near First Base Mexico's Randy Arozarena poses with David Ortiz during pregame of the semifinal between Mexico and Japan.
On the studio production side, the remote studio operations team is going mobile for the WBC title game. Unlike Fox Sports' infrastructure for studio programming at last year's MLB at Field of Dreams game, the network is opting for a more lightweight solution to their onsite studio kit. The three-camera set is being produced onsite via Game Creek Video's B4 truck in the compound. To pull off this endeavor, the crew is working inside a small area of foul territory next to first base and the parameters of a hectic pregame schedule. For example, the team only has a short window of five minutes to clean up their footprint during the last commercial break before first pitch.
We're working within a very tight schedule with both teams' fielding and batting practices, says Rob Mikulicka, director, remote studio operations, Fox Sports. We're finding ways to fit segments in and work alongside the crews at MLB, the Miami Marlins, and the World Baseball Classic.
Pre-Season Practice: Fox Sports Gets Early Reps for Regular Season, Jewel Event Productions Fox Sports' effort to bring their studio show on the road has immediate benefits: it's heightening the importance of their coverage of the WBC, but also offering valuable experience for future productions in 2023. Not only will this be prevalent for the broadcaster's coverage of July's MLB All-Star Game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, but this strategy will come in handy for the two-game MLB London Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs on June 24-25 at London Stadium.
We're planning for this to be the same desk that we use in London, adds Mikulicka. This has been great to do in Miami, so we'll continue to work on our timing for events happening this summer.
Coverage of the 2023 World Baseball Classic Championship between the United States and Japan begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Most recent headlines
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
Back to All News
Legoshi and Haru's Story Reaches Its Finale: BEASTARS Fin...
Live From World Baseball Classic: Fox Sports Gets Down and Dirty With Onfield Studio Set at loanDepot Park Broadcaster adds three cameras to two-camera world feed production By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor 
