College Football 2022 Preview: ESPN Upgrades PylonCams on ABC Saturday Primetime, Welcomes New Production Truck Into Rotation
01/09/2022
Thursday, September 1, 2022 - 3:40 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
It may be a holiday weekend for most Americans, but Labor Day Weekend at ESPN? It's time to get down to work.
Week 1 of the college football season begins tonight, and the broadcaster is poised to produce and deliver more than 60 games over the next five days across its various linear channels and streaming platforms.
And the slate is packed with juicy matchups. Saturday showcases No. 11 Oregon vs. No. 3 Georgia (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC), No. 23 Cincinnati at No. 19 Arkansas (3:30 p.m., ESPN), and No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 2 Ohio State (7:30 p.m., ABC). The weekend even stretches all the way to Monday evening for a tilt between No. 4 Clemson and Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (8 p.m., ESPN).
All in all, the schedule features nine of the Top 10 teams in the preseason AP poll and 20 of the Top 25.
This is the best Week 1 that I can remember since I've been on the [ESPN] college-football team, says Tommy Mitchell, senior operations manager, ESPN. We always have a good game, but this series of Week 1 games is the best, top to bottom. The challenge is that we're used to an ABC primetime show and the ESPN primetime show being the big circus and getting all the toys. There are so many good games this weekend that crews are not used to getting all the extras that we are giving them because the games warrant it.
Toys for the Top College football is an operational and logistical feat all its own, but, at the top of the programming schedule, ESPN crews are bringing some new wrinkles and resources to the most elite games. The weekly ABC Saturday Primetime game - which is returning its top production team of producer Bill Bonnell and director Derek Mobley - has upgraded its collection of PylonCams with new Dream Chip cameras to further boost image quality.
The ESPN Saturday-night primetime game also returns with a similar look. Director Scott Johnson and producer Josh Hoffman lead the squad from Game Creek Spirit.
The new NEP Supershooter 6 is the major facilities upgrade for G Crew (as it's called internally), the show that typically features Joe Tessitore at play-by-play. Rolled out in May, the IP-based truck worked both the Women's College World Series and Men's College World Series for ESPN in June. It's the first football deployment for the 1080p-ready and 4K-capable unit, which houses a Grass Valley Kayenne X-Frame switcher, a Calrec Apollo audio console, a collection of Sony HDC-3500 cameras, two 5500 cameras, a Lawo IP router, multiviewer, and EVS XT VIA servers.
In terms of additional toys on marquee linear games, SkyCam is deployed at every ABC and ESPN Saturday primetime game. According to Mitchell, a shallow-depth-of-field camera rig will be added to selected shows throughout the season. This Saturday, there will be one at the Notre Dame-Ohio State game.
As was the practice last year, all SEC home games will receive a PylonCam package. That includes any neutral-site games where the SEC school is the home team. For example, Sunday night's Florida State-LSU matchup (7:30 p.m., ABC) takes place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, but, since LSU is the home team, that show will get the PylonCam complement.
Return of Native 4K This year, ESPN is again committed to producing one native-4K game per week. The series started last weekend in Week 0 with the dedicated crew producing the Howard-Alabama State matchup. The series is currently the only package of football games (pro or college) to be produced in full native 4K; they don't feature high dynamic range (HDR). The 4K games are produced out of Lyon 14 mobile unit.
We love doing [those 4K games], says Mitchell. It gives us the opportunity to try some things. It's tough to do. There's new technology coming in the 4K realm. When you are doing things natively, it makes our switcher a quarter of the size. But the new boards that are coming out will be able to accommodate that so we'll be able to do more. We're limited at the top level [on the number of] sources we can put into the switcher because it's 4K. So we've used that show to find out what we can do currently, what the limitations are, and [how to push] the boundaries: let's see what we can break and still fix on the backend. That show has been a lot of fun.
Loaded Digital Tier Then there's the long tail and the vast digital inventory of the college football season. ESPN+ will live-stream more than 500 games this season. They will be produced via workflows ranging from all-out onsite truck productions to hybrid REMI models, to packagers, to games produced by schools from their own control rooms. In fact, some games will be produced by athletic department-run crews from campus control rooms built to support the ACC Network and SEC Network. Also, some Big 12 and American Athletic Conference schools have the resources capable of supporting football production for ESPN+ and ESPN3.
According to Mitchell, school-produced games have been high-quality, and the model helps the broadcaster handle the heavy operational load it faces each weekend of the season.
It was never the intention to have college football produced that way, he notes, especially as quickly as we ended up having to do it. COVID drove that. From where we were in the process three or four years ago to where we are today with full-fledged big-time college football games [produced by the schools] on linear networks, that's incredible. The quality has increased exponentially over the years. [The schools]
LINK: | https://www.sportsvideo.org/2022/09/01/college-football-2022-preview-e... |
See more stories from svg |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
20/04/2024
PBS Kids Adds American Sign Language to Streaming Content
As part of a push to improve the accessibility of its content, PBS Kids has announced that it has integrated American Sign Language (ASL) interpretations into m...
20/04/2024
Survey: Concerns About Deep Fakes Spike As Election Approaches
SAN JOSE, Calif. Online security solution provider McAfee has released new research exploring the impact artificial intelligence (AI) and the rise of deepfakes ...
20/04/2024
FCC Sets April 25 Vote on Net Neutrality Rules
The Federal Communications Commission has announced the agenda for an Open Meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2024 that will include votes on Net Neutrality Rules a...
20/04/2024
Virtual Reality Becomes the New Production Reality
Virtual reality and its close relatives, such as extended reality, have been completely accepted into the workflow of high-end productions. Stepping into an LED...
20/04/2024
Video Games Round Out the Entertainment Package
Video Games Round Out the Entertainment Package Andy Marken April 19, 2024 0 Comments By this, I take it you think everybody is who they say they are...
20/04/2024
With Bears on the Clock, NBCU Local Chicago Plans Extensive NFL Draft Coverage
With the Bears picking first, NBCUniversal Local's properties in Chicago plan extensive coverage of the NFL draft next week....
20/04/2024
Fox Sports Hires Veteran Ad Sales Executives
Fox Sports said it hired two veteran advertising sales executives, with Jen Durda and Kathy Lydon both named VP....
20/04/2024
Daytime Emmys Announce Some Nominations Early
Daytime fans got a sneak peek at nominations for the 51st annual Daytime Emmys, with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) announcing the...
20/04/2024
DAZN Weighs in With Content Ahead of Haney-Garcia Fight
DAZN is launching its Run It Up, its first multi-sports original vodcast, or video podcast, and a set of micro-podcasts ahead of the Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia fig...
20/04/2024
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav Got 27% Raise to $49.7 Million in 2023
David Zaslav, CEO of troubled Warner Bros. Discovery, got a 27% increase in total compensation for 2023....
20/04/2024
April 19, 2024
New copper-catalyzed C-H activation strategy from Scripps Research Two-mode reactions inspired by human detox enzymes offer powerful new tools for drug discover...
19/04/2024
Thank You for visiting us at NAB 2024!
Thank You for visiting us at NAB 2024! Thank you for joining us at the ToolsOnAir booth during NAB Show 2024! We were delighted to showcase our latest inno...
19/04/2024
Stress Positions Mines Health Anxieties for Comedy
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 18: (L-R) John Early and Theda Hammel attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Stress Positions premiere at Library Center Theatre on ...
19/04/2024
Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, the Filmmakers Behind Sugarcane
By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
19/04/2024
Mexico City Watchlist: 7 Documentaries About Working in CDMX
Pictured: Midnight Family By Stephanie Ornelas A great way to get to know a city as culturally unique and rich as Mexico City is to listen to the stories tol...
19/04/2024
SNS Dominates NAB Show 2024 With Triple Win For MOD
St. Louis, MO - April 18, 2024 - Studio Network Solutions (SNS) announced today that MOD won three prestigious industry awards at NAB Show 2024 held this week i...
19/04/2024
How Spotify Approaches Safety With Sarah Hoyle, Global Head of Trust and Safety
Spotify's mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the ...
19/04/2024
Spotify and Taylor Swift Create a One-of-a-Kind Library To Celebrate THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT'
It's a beautiful day to be a Swiftie. Today, Taylor Swift dropped her 11th s...
19/04/2024
L3Harris Announces Quarterly Dividend
MELBOURNE, Fla., April 19, 2024 - The Board of Directors of L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.16 per common share, payab...
19/04/2024
Intel Lays Out 8K Production, AI Tech Plans for Paris Olympics
PARIS Intel has announced that its plans for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 will include using artificial intelligence technology powered by Intel ...
19/04/2024
Tech Advances Boost Adoption of 8K Production
LAS VEGAS Technologists working on all aspects of the 8K media production chain offered an optimistic update at the 2024 NAB Show on the state of 8K in video pr...
19/04/2024
OpenDrives New Software-Defined Platform Atlas Wins 2024 NAB Show Product of the Year Award
OpenDrives New Software-Defined Platform Atlas Wins 2024 NAB Show Product of the...
19/04/2024
Grass Valley Showcases Next-Generation T3 Series 4K/HD Digital Recording and Playback for Venues and Stadiums
Grass Valley Showcases Next-Generation T3 Series 4K/HD Digital Recording and Pla...
19/04/2024
NiTRo's M-CUBE Studio Levels Up Esports Productions with AJA Gear
NiTRo's M-CUBE Studio Levels Up Esports Productions with AJA Gear Brie Clayton April 19, 2024 0 Comments Esports' rapid rise to popularity can...
19/04/2024
Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 19
Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 19 Brie Clayton April 19, 2024 0 Comments Major update adds new DaVinci Neural Engine AI tools, new color ...
19/04/2024
Sony Considering Bid to Acquire Paramount
Sony Pictures Entertainment is reportedly in talks with Apollo Global Management to make a bid to acquire Paramount which itself is currently discussing a merge...
19/04/2024
How 1185 Films created the VFX on new horror, All You Need Is Death
Simon Wilkinson, head of VFX at 1185 films, talks about the technology behind the newly-released horror By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 19, 2024 Simo...
19/04/2024
Could Sony be preparing a bid for Channel 5's parent company?
The global electronics company is said to be considering joining forces with investment firm Apollo Management to bid for Paramount Global By Jenny Priestley ...
19/04/2024
EBU report highlights contribution of free-to-air sport broadcasting
The report broke the economic footprint of EBU member sports broadcasting into three main areas By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 19, 2024 The report b...
19/04/2024
CBS Stations Launches CBS News California Investigates' Segments
CBS Stations has launched CBS News California Investigates , with Julie Watts named regional CBS California correspondent. She will uncover and raise awarenes...
19/04/2024
MediaCo Acquires Estrella Media's Spanish-Language Network, Content Assets
MediaCo Holding, which owns radio stations WQHT (Hot 97) and WBLS in New York, said it acquired Estrella Media's Spanish-language video, audio and digital c...
19/04/2024
Season 5 of The Witcher' Will Be Final One
Netflix has ordered season five of fantasy drama The Witcher, which will be the final season. Production has recently begun on season four, and the two remainin...
19/04/2024
DirecTV Stream To Carry Eight More The CW Affiliates
DirecTV Stream said it added eight more The CW affiliates to its lineup on Thursday....
19/04/2024
CBS Orders More Elsbeth'
CBS has renewed Elsbeth for the 2024-2025 season. The drama, with Carrie Preston in the lead role, debuted February 29....
19/04/2024
With Bears on the Clock. NBCU Local Chicago Plans Extensive NFL Draft Coverage
With the Bears picking first, NBCUniversal Local's properties in Chicago plan extensive coverage of the NFL draft next week....
19/04/2024
Comcast Launches NOW
PHILADELPHIA As government subsidies for broadband services come to an end, Comcast has launched NOW, a new product portfolio of lower-cost Internet, mobile and...
19/04/2024
DirecTV Stream Adds CW Affiliates
DirecTV Stream has added more local CW stations for its streaming customers in Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Hartford-New Haven Conn., Phoenix, San ...
19/04/2024
MediaCo Acquires Estrella Media's Content and Digital Operations
NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES MediaCo Holding Inc. has announced that it has acquired all of Estrella Media's network, content, digital, and commercial operations....
19/04/2024
Adobe Launches New Adobe Express Mobile App with Firefly AI
SAN JOSE, Calif. Adobe has announced that the all-new Adobe Express mobile app is available to all users, bringing features powered by Adobe Firefly generative ...
19/04/2024
Netflix Adds 9.3M Subs in Q1
LOS GATOS, Calif. Netflix reported another blockbuster quarter by adding 9.33 million new subscribers in Q1, 2024 as global paid memberships hit 269.6 million, ...
19/04/2024
The Current State of the Industry and the Future Impact of AI
The Current State of the Industry and the Future Impact of AI Hillary Lewis April 18, 2024 0 Comments The Entertainment Industry: How did we get here ...
19/04/2024
After Effects Tutorial Text Blur Reveal
After Effects Tutorial Text Blur Reveal Andy Ford April 18, 2024 0 Comments Here's a way to do a quick blur reveal for your text layer. Start by...
19/04/2024
Hollyland Mars M1 Enhanced Wireless Transmitter / Receiver
Hollyland Mars M1 Enhanced Wireless Transmitter / Receiver Colin Smith April 18, 2024 0 Comments This tutorial shows the new wireless transmitter rece...
19/04/2024
Resolve Fusion: Writing Expressions with Lua
Resolve Fusion: Writing Expressions with Lua Simon Ubsdell April 18, 2024 0 Comments The answer to the very frequently-asked question: what is the pro...
19/04/2024
B+C,' Next TV' Announce Winners of Best of Show Awards at NAB Show
B+C and Next TV have announced the winners of Best of Show Awards for the 2024 NAB Show. The awards were judged by a panel of industry experts at the convention...
19/04/2024
Cate Blanchett Narrates Nature Series on Netflix
Cate Blanchett narrates the Netflix series Our Living World, which premieres April 17. The four-part series looks at the extraordinary creatures around the glob...
19/04/2024
For All Mankind' Spinoff Is in the Works at Apple TV Plus
Apple TV Plus has a spinoff of For All Mankind in the works. It is called Star City and details the cosmonauts, engineers and intelligence officers working behi...