Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame 2019: Mary Ellen Carlyle, Transformative Leader of Dome Productions By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Friday, December 13, 2019 - 1:32 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
SVG is profiling this year's 10 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductees in the weeks leading up to the ceremony on Dec. 17 at the New York Hilton. For more information, CLICK HERE.
When your grandfather was a pioneer at CBC radio in Canada who tested microwave links through train tunnels and your father was an editor for the CBC, you already know that broadcasting is in your blood. The question for Mary Ellen Carlyle was whether blood would overcome her father's advice.
My dad said don't get into [broadcasting], she says. But, in my second year [of college], I decided to take TV and film and ended up with a master's in communications from the University of Windsor.
Carlyle's career started in 1985. She was a freelancer (she began at TSN by taking ESPN content from the U.S. and putting in blocks for Canadian commercials) and did everything from technician to master control and even TD. But it was when she got involved with scheduling that she found an affinity for remote operations.
I was doing things like booking phones and satellites, and that was it, she recalls.
In 1988, she found herself working for TSN at the 1988 Olympics ( I worked my ass off but learned so much ) -to this day a top career highlight. The next year, she became one of the original employees at Dome Productions and started on her road to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Launched as a sister company to TSN, Dome intended to use its two control rooms to edit episodics and, when the Toronto Blue Jays were playing, to have one room produce the Canadian feed and the other the American feed.
After a couple of years, says Carlyle, we realized that didn't work too well when the postproduction guys would put up a two-hour reel. We eventually moved postproduction into another building so we could do the live-event side.
In those early years, Dome Production produced the 81 Blue Jay home games, 10 CFL games, and a few other events. In 1992, it bought two mobile units from Challenger productions and has never looked back.
If you had told me back then that we would go from 81 to 2,500 events, which is where we are now, I would have been in shock, says Carlyle. Now we have 18 trucks, consider ourselves forward thinkers, and have a great reputation worldwide. I had the chance to go from analog to digital, SD to HD, and then HD to 4K. The leap from HD to 4K has been nothing compared with going from SD to HD, which took a whole leap forward for the workflow.
Carlyle says technology drives her forward, and she considers herself a doer, with both the good and bad that comes with that.
It's my biggest strength and weakness, she says. I will sometimes do something before I manage it. And I love to learn every day. If we hadn't changed at Dome and expanded beyond two control rooms, I would not have stayed. But senior management wanted to change and look for the next new thing.
Through everything there have been her husband, Brian, and children, Robbie (23) and Jamie (20).
My mom passed away when I was 8, and when I had children, I said I was going be there for them and they were either going to come with me or I was going to take time off, Carlyle says. So I have balanced work and family really well and made the time. I've been very fortunate.
Besides her family, she notes the team at Dome Productions. It is 100% a team effort, she says of her success. The key is having people that want to work at Dome.
Bell Media President Randy Lennox says that Carlyle has been a blazing a trail for the industry and women.
We're fortunate to get to work with her. We're thrilled for Mary Ellen on this well-deserved recognition, he adds. She and her team consistently deliver superior services, ingenuity, and leadership that we rely on for so many of our productions. As a Canadian, I couldn't be more proud to have her representing us in the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Stewart Johnston, president, media sales, marketing, TSN, describes Carlyle as one of the most passionate and empowering behind-the-scenes people in television. She has had the benefit of great teachers and herself has become a great teacher, passing on her love of live production and devotion to the details to those who are lucky enough to work with her.
Sportsnet President Bart Yabsley, who has worked with her for more than 20 years, calls her a pioneer of sports broadcasting.
Right from the beginning, he recalls, it was obvious that her knowledge, talent, and passion for the business would set her apart. In her role leading Dome Productions, she has guided us through evolving broadcast technologies and helped position Sportsnet as an industry leader.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
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...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame 2019: Mary Ellen Carlyle, Transformative Leader of Dome Productions By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
