
After the Fire: PBR Production Team Shines Following Loss of B Unit to Blaze Multipronged effort to rebuild operations saves last week's event in Greensboro, NC By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Thursday, September 26, 2024 - 8:53 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Early last Wednesday morning, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) production team experienced everyone's nightmare when its production truck B unit caught fire in Nashville while traveling from Anaheim, CA, to Greensboro, NC, for the next PBR event. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and, just as incredibly, the PBR team was able to pivot quickly with the help of staff and partners to get the 10th PBR Camping World Series this season on-air Friday night live from Greensboro Coliseum.
PBR improvised an audio submix area this past weekend following the loss of its B unit to a fire.
PBR Director, Remote Production, Jim Palermo says his phone rang around 1:30 a.m. with the news that the truck, while still being driven down the highway, caught fire (a cause has still not been determined). That call kicked off a furious effort of travel, ship-in equipment, and more to ensure not merely that the TV production could happen but that the actual PBR event could happen.
We're one of the few sports that I know of where we own the sport, we own the production, and we own the equipment, he says. We don't have resources to pull another TV truck, so we rely on both our trucks to do the TV show as well as the event.
The B unit plays a big role in the show, housing the equipment and workplaces for PBR's entire timing and scoring operation, television-audio submix, and pre/post-show graphics workstations. It also serves as the central hub for communications, IT network distribution, and many other critical functions. The B unit also hauls all the cables and fiber-optic equipment that connects all cameras, microphones, and other gear in the venue to the compound as well as connecting all the trucks.
My immediate thought, knowing the crew that we have, was that we'll get it done, says Palermo. But the question was how?
Palermo, PBR Director, Live Event Presentation, Luke Kaufman, and Josh DeGrado of the PBR road-crew-operations team texted out a plan before jumping on planes to Nashville, where they could assess the damage and whether anything was usable.
After losing the B unit to a fire, the PBR production team worked in a hallway for last week's event in Greensboro, NC.
Luckily, says Palermo, a computer for our SkyStart system didn't have any smoke damage, but everything TV-related was pretty much not usable or, by the time it got to Greensboro, failed or had issues.
With an understanding of what was needed equipment-wise, Palermo and the team contacted rental houses to see who could provide what (Ross Video helped by renting PBR cabling and a new Ross Xpression). Audio was the biggest challenge, but a local audio-rental house stepped in with everything from beltpacks to RF gear, IFB, and microphones.
Hats off to PRG, Bexel, Ross Video, and IMG for stepping up and helping us, adds Palermo. It was a team effort.
With equipment on the way, the next challenge was figuring out where the team that called the B unit home would work. The TV-audio team of Mark Harrier, Jared King, and Rusty Steving arrived early in Greensboro and built a makeshift audio room in the hallway of the venue, using a mismatched assortment of rental equipment. And PBR's graphics operators had to rebuild the entire pre/post show from scratch on a new machine.
Meanwhile, the IT team of Matt Hancock, Ryan Aker, and Thomas Forbes were hard at work getting the organization's data network and timing/scoring systems back online. They also ensured that the AI-powered SkyStart system, which uses visual images to ensure that each out in a sport based on eight-second bull rides and sometimes scoring down to a hundredth of a second, was up and running and timed to precision.
Key partners helped in a big way. The Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour team, for example, shipped in proprietary scoring and timing gear. Also lending a hand were the sport's risk and insurance partners at Endeavor. Software developers created an entirely new scoring system on the fly.
It was a nonstop effort by the team to get this done, says Palermo. Of all the shows we've ever done, this is the one where I am most proud of the crew. Many of them have been with us for up to 12 years, and their loyalty and work ethic and knowledge came through.
With two more shows left in the season, the next step is figuring out a new B unit, and Palermo says a truck used for a preshow stage will be home to some of the equipment.
PBR Chief Production Officer Dan Hickman applauds the extraordinary efforts of PBR sponsors, broadcast partners, production team, and the riders themselves for the flawless delivery of the scheduled events to the arena and television audiences. And viewers were none the wiser: last Sunday's show on CBS averaged more than 1.7 million people and peaked at 2.1 million.
This may have happened off the dirt, he says, but I believe it's one of the greatest moments in PBR history.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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 ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
26/03/2026
Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...
26/03/2026
SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...
26/03/2026
LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100).
The C-Ban...
26/03/2026
The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...
26/03/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...
26/03/2026
Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...
26/03/2026
FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...
26/03/2026
CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...
26/03/2026
Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...
26/03/2026
Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...
26/03/2026
DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...
26/03/2026
Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...
26/03/2026
Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...
26/03/2026
Spotify's partnership with NAVER, Korea's leading digital platform, is built around one simple goal: making it easier for listeners in Korea to discover...
26/03/2026
Exclusive to ComposerCloud for first month
Sample library and virtual instrument gurus EastWest have announced the upcoming release of a new virtual drum i...
26/03/2026
Friday 27 March
Friday 27 March will mark Dynamic Range Day 2026, the annual day of online activity that was started in 2010 by mastering engineer Ian Sheph...
26/03/2026
Includes four separate instruments
Max Richter's SRM Sounds venture have just announced their fifth release, ASMR Choir. Captured at the main live room ...
26/03/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked with administering the Sixth Presi...
26/03/2026
By Matt Klein
Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...
26/03/2026
Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
New graphical configuration tool and...
26/03/2026
Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...
26/03/2026
2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 25, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio used on 27 of this year's no...
26/03/2026
Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Sho...
26/03/2026
Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbrea...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
HBO Max included for Sky and NOW customers from 26 March...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
Sky Sets Iconic Costumes Dancing Together Like Never Before' in Brand CampaignTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy o...
26/03/2026
Wuppertal March 26, 2026
CS live Builds Future-Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet and hi Control SystemRiedel Communications today announced that Czech-based ...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Hor...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
The Truthers, Starring Jose Coronado and St phanie Magnin, Pre...
26/03/2026
Enhancements to Harmonic's Sports Streaming Solution Introduce Server-Side Multiview, Contextual Metadata-Driven Advertising, Dynamic In-Stream Ads and Robu...
26/03/2026
Open the report
Our 2025 report brings together results from 79 business magazine titles across 22 market sectors, published by 49 media owners. Over the year,...
26/03/2026
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
26/03/2026
RT Commercial today announced Fiat as sponsor of The Louise Duffy Show on RT Radio 1, Weekdays 3pm 4pm.
The Louise Duffy Show is the home of daytime music...
26/03/2026
That gaming backlog won't clear itself - GeForce NOW is here to help. Stream the latest titles straight from the cloud across a variety of devices.
This we...
26/03/2026
Wayne, N.J., March 26, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the latest product li...