Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Live From Super Bowl LIX: FOX Sports' Brad Zager on the Bourbon Street Effort and Covering All the Angles

07/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: FOX Sports' Brad Zager on the Bourbon Street Effort and Covering All the Angles We owe it to New Orleans to show that the attack isn't going to stop the spirit of Bourbon Street By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Friday, February 7, 2025 - 11:38 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

Since 2021, FOX Sports President, Production and Operations, Brad Zager has laid out the vision for the ambitious Fox Sports efforts for events big and small. He sat down with SVG at the FOX Sports Super Bowl media event yesterday to discuss how the planning for a pregame studio set on Bourbon Street came together, the impact of the terrorist attack five weeks ago, and, of course, making sure game coverage is all it can be.

FOX Sports' Brad Zager: New Orleans built the set for us. Our sets [for other events] are large and over the top, but here we just need to put ourselves in the middle of Bourbon Street.

Walk us through your vision for FOX Sports and Super Bowl LIX, particularly the vision of a pregame studio set on Bourbon Street.

This is a great Super Bowl town, so it's easy when you start planning to kind of copy-and-paste because there have been so many Super Bowls here. We came down here last February on our way to Daytona and walked around. To be honest with you, it felt at that point that everything has been done here, except trying to shut down Bourbon Street. I know that sounds crazy, but you don't get a chance to do the Super Bowl very often. We've been very lucky to do three of the last six or three of the last five calendar years, and we don't get another one for four years. If you're ever going to take big swings and put 100% into figuring out why you shouldn't do something, it's for the Super Bowl.

We left there saying, Hey, let's try to make this happen. It's a big swing, but there are enough fallback locations in New Orleans to go to if we need to. But the idea of people turning on their television on Sunday morning and seeing our guys with Bourbon Street behind them felt exactly how the Super Bowl in New Orleans should be. We're so blessed with the greatest operations team with [FOX Sports, EVP, Technical And Field Operations] Mike Davies and [VP, Remote Studio Operations] Rod Conti. They spent much time down here trying to make this happen. It's a testament to the operational team who figured this out.

Our philosophy has always been to follow the flow of the day. When you're in New Orleans, where do you want the viewer to start their day? It's the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. It may sound simple, but it was very difficult to pull off, and again, Mike and Rod deserve all the credit for making this happen. And now [FOX Super Bowl Sunday Pregame Producer] Bill Richards has this canvas to paint some unbelievable pictures for the viewer when they turn on the Super Bowl.

It also seems like a great example of something that would not have been done without fiber and IP technologies, because you can't put a production truck on Bourbon Street for a week.

Yes. The first thing we had to do was take a step back and say that New Orleans built the set for us. Our sets in Miami or Qatar are large and over the top, but here we just need to put ourselves in the middle of Bourbon Street.

The technical team has to figure out all the connectivity, how to make that happen, the lighting and all that stuff on Bourbon Street, like the scenic to make sure it's popping. I give them all the credit in the world, and it has been a fun evolution to watch from where we started to seeing it now.

The other thing is, most Super Bowl sets are set up and used the whole week, but we don't have that luxury. We can rehearse on Saturday and then tear it down and rebuild it Sunday morning when Bourbon Street closes. We can't sit here today and talk about being ready to go for Sunday because we literally won't know that until late Sunday morning. That is a different feeling going into a Super Bowl weekend.

Five weeks ago, we all saw the tragedy on Bourbon Street. What was that morning like for you, knowing its impact on your plans?

I knew what we were doing in New Orleans for the Super Bowl wasn't going to be what we had planned over the past year. We knew that you want to let the city get through the initial grief, but your head's immediately going to Alright, things have changed, New Orleans has changed.

We started to think immediately what that means. That following Monday, [FOX Sports CEO] Eric Shanks, Bill Richards, and I came down here, met with the governor, met with the state police, and walked the whole scene of where the terrorist attack took place. It was unreal to walk it with the state police officers, whose co-workers and people that they look at as family dealt with [the tragedy] five days earlier. It was still really, really raw; they're still processing everything. There were definitely people that, in that moment, felt like the right thing to do was to stay away from Bourbon Street. And then there were people who felt, Let's just let this breathe a little bit.

To be honest, I felt stronger about the fact that we have to show the country that Bourbon Street's okay, that we owe it to Bourbon Street and we owe it to New Orleans to show that that event isn't going to stop the spirit of Bourbon Street. That's what we're going to try to bring across on Sunday in the pregame, and I think you'll also see something at the start the game that'll show you the spirit of Bourbon Street. It's going to be special.

With respect to the game itself, Mike Davies mentioned how tech for this game is a season-long process rather than a new toy or technology that the team hasn't had a chance to put to use. Can you discuss that philo
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/02/07/live-from-super-bowl-lix-fox-sp...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 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 Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

15/04/2026

Haivision Launches Falkon X4 5G Transmitters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

JB&A Spotlights Exhibitors Ahead of Pre-NAB 2026 Technology Event

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Wave Central, EVS Announce SMPTE ST 2110 Interop Collaboration

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Top Reason for Subscribing to Pay TV Is Live News and TV, Survey Finds

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

NAB Leadership Foundation Honors Outstanding Broadcasters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Wisycom Expands MPR60 With New Multichannel IFB Mode

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires Premium Manufacturer ARRI

Strategic Alignment With the Riedel Group for Innovation and Growth Thomas Riedel, founder and owner of Riedel Communications and the Riedel Group, has acqui...

15/04/2026

Iyuno Deploys SDVI Rally Platform to Accelerate and Scale...

SDVI, the leading platform provider for cloud-native media supply chains, today announced that the company's Rally platform has been deployed by Iyuno Media...

15/04/2026

Frequency Leads the Industry in Live Local News on FAST

Frequency, the engine behind many of the worlds leading streaming television channels, has become the platform of choice for leading U.S. broadcasters bringing ...

15/04/2026

Harmonic Introduces Breakthrough AI Orchestration Service...

New Service Simplifies Integration of AI Applications with Exceptional Reliability and Security SAN JOSE, Calif. April 14, 2026 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) t...

15/04/2026

VIDI and Media Links Bring Scalable IP Transport to Germa...

During the 2025 off-season, VIDI completed a major upgrade of the broadcast infrastructure across all 36 stadiums in Germany's 1st and 2nd Bundesliga. The p...

15/04/2026

Clear-Com Introduces Transformational Arcadia and Eclipse...

Clear-Com announced significant updates to its award-winning Arcadia Central Station as well as enhancements to the Eclipse HX Digital Matrix System now runn...

15/04/2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB SHOW 2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB SHOW 2026 Brie Clayton April 15, 2026 0 Comments New system removes PTZ pan restric...

15/04/2026

LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB Show, Adding Direct File Workflow Integration

LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB Show, Adding Direct File...

15/04/2026

This 24-Hour Performance Art Piece Needs Your Participation

This 24-Hour Performance Art Piece Needs Your Participation Keefer Glenshaws latest project is about collaborating with the Berklee community and beyond. Apr...

14/04/2026

ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 Playout and Live News Workflows

ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 P...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Haivision Launches Falkon X4 5G Mobile Video Transmitter

Haivision has announced the Falkon X4, a 5G mobile video transmitter for live broadcast and remote production. The device will be showcased at NAB Show 2026. ...

14/04/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Stripe TVs Matthew Pavey on Making Live-Production Tech More Portable, Intuitive, and Accessible

Founded by veterans of the production-truck world, Stripe TV was born out of a d...

14/04/2026

Studio Berlin Adds LDX 135 and LDX 180 Camera Systems from Grass Valley

Grass Valley has expanded its partnership with Studio Berlin, supplying 12 LDX 135 UHD/HDR camera systems and 12 LDX 180 Super 35mm cinematic cameras, including...

14/04/2026

LTN Appoints Mark Romano and Edward Cox to Vice President Roles

LTN has announced two senior appointments ahead of NAB Show 2026: Mark Romano as Vice President, Multichannel Platforms, and Edward Cox as Vice President, Sales...

14/04/2026

Agor and Sennheiser to Deploy Largest Spectera System to Date at Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Sennheiser and Italian rental company Agor have begun preparations for their Eu...

14/04/2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet Announce Prediction Market Partnership Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet have announced a partnership to integrate ADI Predict...

14/04/2026

Deltatre Completes Digital Platform for Serie A as Part of Four-Season Partnership

Deltatre has announced the completion of a direct-to-fan website and app for Leg...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Daktronics to Exhibit with Grass Valley

Daktronics, will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in partnership with Grass Valley at Booth C2408, Las Vegas Convention Center, April 19-22. Daktronics will showcase a...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Backblaze to Host Partner Showcases

Backblaze will host a series of partner presentations at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1259, North Hall), open to all exhibition hall badge holders. Showcase partners i...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: BRAHMA AI to Exhibit Enterprise AI Content Platform

BRAHMA AI will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2415, West Hall), demonstrating its Enterprise AI Content Platform for media, entertainment, sports, and technol...

14/04/2026

Bridge Technologies VB440 Integrated into NEP Platform

Bridge Technologies has announced that its VB440 production probe has been integrated into NEP Platform, NEP Group's software orchestration system. The inte...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Clear-Com to Demonstrate Expanded Intercom Ecosystem

Clear-Com will introduce new products and demonstrate its communications ecosystem for broadcast and live production at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5807, April 19-22)...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: EZDRM to Introduce Revenue Security Prism Framework

EZDRM will use NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2260) to introduce the Revenue Security Prism, a framework for combining multiple security technologies to protect streamin...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telos Alliance Product Preview

Telos Alliance will introduce the following products at NAB Show 2026: TV and Media Telos Infinity MK2 Panels: A new generation of hardware control panels for...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Panasonic to Showcase IP and IT Production Solutions

Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C3509), demonstrating IP- and IT-based production solutions for sports, bro...

14/04/2026

Behind the Mic: WNBA Adds Sue Bird, Sophie Cunningham to Networks Commentary Teams; John Buccigross Signed to ESPN Extension

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design Announces Multiple New Products

Blackmagic Design will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N2502). CEO Grant Petty s product announcement livestream is available at youtube.com. The company announ...

14/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires ARRI, Adding Camera and Lighting Component to Riedel Group Portfolio

The deal establishes a close strategic alignment' between the iconic cinema...

14/04/2026

Taming the Untamed: Producing the 2026 Absa Cape EPIC Mountain-Bike Race

BIGSHOT Media, with support from Teradek, produced untamed African mountain-bike race' with daily coverage and highlights show The 2026 Absa Cape EPIC, an...

14/04/2026

SVG Announces Sports AI Innovation Lab to Advance the Use of AI in Live Production

The Sports Video Group (SVG) today announced the launch of the SVG AI Innovation...

14/04/2026

AIR Music Tech release Fabric Vintage Synths Vol.1

Captures a trio of renowned polysynths The latest software to join AIR Music Tech's extensive catalogue captures the sound of three sought-after polysyn...

14/04/2026

United Plugins introduce UnitedFreeBundle

Free offering includes 10 powerful plug-ins United Plugins have announced the launch of a new bundle that brings together 10 of their pro-audio plug-ins, an...

14/04/2026

Celemony update Tonalic

Julian Coryell joins virtual session player line-up Announced at NAMM 2026, Celemony's Tonalic kits DAW users out with real performances by world-class ...

14/04/2026

Supporting Safe Space Flights with WESCAM MX-Series Imaging Systems

WESCAM MX -Series EO/IR Systems Provide Critical Visibility During NASA Re-Entry Operations....

14/04/2026

L3Harris Demonstrates Autonomous Electronic Warfare Capability During US Army Experiment

DiSCO reduces uncertainty during the fog of war in modern threat environments an...

14/04/2026

GOES-19 One Year Later: Protecting Communities Through Advanced Technology

GOES-19 imagery captured by L3Harris-built Advanced Baseline Imager technology helps forecasters issue life-saving weather warnings. Credit: NOAA/NASA...

14/04/2026

Reimagining Earth Measurement for the AI Era: L3Harris and Xoople Develop a New Spacebourne Capability

For decades, understanding the physical world from space has required a trade-of...

14/04/2026

Nielsen Appoints Roberto Ruiz to Lead Measurement Science

Ruiz has helped fuel growth for both client-side and media companies, including, most recently, TelevisaUnivision. He will spearhead transformation, innovatio...