USFL Kickoff: Fox Sports and NBC Sports Producers on Creating a Totally Different Kind of Football Broadcast' Fox Sports Chuck McDonald and NBC Sports Matt Marvin talk USFL production By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, April 15, 2022 - 4:21 pm
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This weekend marks a new era in the broadcasting history of pro football, as the USFL kicks off in Birmingham, AL. Over the next 10 weeks, Fox Sports, which is the league's majority owner, and fellow broadcaster NBC Sports, will present 43 games. At the front bench, both networks' producer/director teams will be looking to think outside the box and create a broadcast that is distinct from traditional NFL coverage.
Fox Sports producer Chuck McDonald
To create this fresh take on football, Fox and NBC have pulled out all the stops when it comes to production tools and technology. Among the highlights: high-speed drones, HelmetCams on four players, dual Skycams (one behind the offense, the other behind the defense), RF wireless 3X-super-slow cameras on the field, 16 player microphones per team, full access to the coach and ref comms systems, an automated first-down-measuring system with accompanying animations (think Hawk-Eye for tennis), and, possibly, even a glowing football in key situations (remember FoxTrax on NHL games in the 90's?). Plus, the 10-week regular season looks to be the biggest Home Run Production effort Fox has ever undertaken.
NBC Sports producer Matt Marvin
CLICK HERE for SVG's full story on USFL production ops.
In separate interviews, SVG sat down with Fox Sports producer Chuck McDonald and NBC Sports producer Matt Marvin to discuss how they plan to differentiate USFL broadcasts from NFL coverage, how they expect to integrate all these new toys into the show, and what it means to them to help build a new pro-football property from the ground up.
How are you looking to use the second Skycam differently from the way it has been used on NFL and college football broadcasts? McDonald: We were always hoping that we would get a chance to play with the second Skycam more on college football, but we never were able to. When it has been done before in the NFL, the two Skycams are usually tethered together, which limits mobility for that second Skycam. But we were able to take that off and let it roam free. Plus, this league lets us go behind the defense, which is really valuable. We now have the ability to see things from angles that have not been seen before, which is very exciting. We'll use that for a lot of X's and O's breakdown from [analyst] Joel Klatt.
Marvin: I know two Skycams become more common for NFL and some of the big college games, but we'll be using that second Skycam very differently. We will show you a perspective from behind the defense, which I have not seen done. It's something that the league has allowed us to do, and we can't wait to show [viewers].
And how do you plan to use the drone for game coverage? McDonald: The drone is going to be very cool because of the way it moves and it's so dynamic. I can't wait to see it in replay sequences because I think you're going to see a view that you haven't seen before in football. It's very small and totally safe, so we are able to have a lot of freedom with it. I can't wait to see some of those angles of it hovering right near the players.
Marvin: We will be trying to use drones in coverage, and the drone they've developed is very safe, very small, and very fast. It looks absolutely tremendous, and we're excited about that. Obviously, weather and things of that nature that are out of our control will be a factor from week to week, but it will be a big part of our coverage.
And how about HelmetCam? McDonald: To be honest, the pictures were so much better than I expected with the HelmetCam technology. You have a little more leeway with something like a RefCam, where they can wear a belt pack, but, with HelmetCam, it has to consider the weight and integrity of the helmet. I was really surprised at how clear the video was and how well it meshed with our other pictures - even though they had to deal with the [constraints of the helmet]. We are going to have times when plays fall into our lap: a punt block or interception returned for a touchdown. If we have that player wearing [a HelmetCam], it's going to be something that people genuinely haven't seen before.
How will the new automated first-down-measuring system be integrated into the broadcast? McDonald: It started when [Fox Sports CEO/Executive Producer and USFL Chairman] Eric Shanks asked our technical people, Why do we still use chains in today's world? And guys like Fox Sports SVP, Field Operations,] Mike Davies and [Fox Sports VP, Field Operations and Engineering,] Brad Cheney figured out how do we could do this and make it accurate so it's not a gimmick, so it's real. But it took months of work to get there. It will be very seamless and similar to what you see in tennis when Rafa thinks the ball is out and he points up for them to check. For us, when a ref needs a measurement and it would normally be a time they would run out the chains, he'll make the announcement and give the signal. We'll cue the animation, and they'll see it in the Jumbotron in the stadium, and you'll see it on TV - just like in tennis. I've seen a lot of false information out there that are doing it with the chip in the ball, but it's actually optical tracking, which is more accurate. Once the ball is set, they optically track where it is, and they know exactly whether it's a first down or not.
How is your team approaching the audio side of things with so many players miked on the field? Marvin: I think audio is going be the star of the show. We ha
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USFL Kickoff: Fox Sports and NBC Sports Producers on Creating a Totally Different Kind of Football Broadcast' Fox Sports Chuck McDonald and NBC Sports Matt Marvin talk USFL production By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
