Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Live From THE PLAYERS Championship: NBC Sports Expand TrackMan; JitaCam Enhances Coverage

09/03/2023

Live From THE PLAYERS Championship: NBC Sports Expand TrackMan; JitaCam Enhances Coverage A production team of 285 is onsite wielding an arsenal of 65 cameras By Ken Kerschbaumer

Thursday, March 9, 2023 - 8:31 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

It's day one of the 2023 PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, and the NBC Sports golf-production team is once again ready to cover all the action with a team of 285 for on-course coverage (working with 65 cameras), a team of 60 for Live From coverage, and some new production tweaks. Helping in the efforts is that good weather has made setup smooth and has everyone in a good place.

From left: NBC Sports execs Bridget Cugle, Allison McAllister, and Mark Caputo and Production Managers Megan Moltenbrey and Lauren Rose Maochi at the PLAYERS Championship

Everything has been great, says Allison McAllister, VP, golf operations, NBC Sports. We're lucky that we have a great team in place and a great partnership with the PGA TOUR, along with other vendors to make the PLAYERS a successful event.

The tournament tees off this morning, but the NBC team has been producing content since Monday when Golf Central Live From the PLAYERS began its coverage at 7-9 p.m. By the end of Sunday, the team will have delivered more than 40 hours of coverage.

According to Marc Caputo, director, remote technical operations, NBC Sports, Live From coverage is essentially the same as last year's, an 11-camera complement comprising a Flycam and four Telemetric cameras controlled from Stamford, CT. The Newbert flypack is once again on hand for transmission support between the course and Stamford. One change is that the Rules Official has moved into NEP Supershooter 17 unit, giving the production team space for a rain room. NEP ND1 and ND7 are at the center of NBC's coverage, with NEP XL1, Fiber 2, and ESU in supporting roles.

By the end of Sunday night, Golf Channel's Live From The PLAYERS will have delivered more than 40 hours of content to viewers.

We did add a second roving camera this year so we could do two different reporter standups simultaneously, Caputo adds. Robovision has provided the cameras at the practice range, both down range and back range, as well as the short-game area. They've been a good partner.

The FlyCam can get shots of he 16th fairway and green, the 17th tee shot and green, and players walking from 16 to 17.

Also this year, TrackMan is the PGA TOUR's official shot-tracing partner, giving the Live From team the ability to deliver tracing shots on the practice range.

As usual the par-3 Hole 17 island green - arguably the most pressure-packed par 3 in golf - will feature plenty of bells and whistles. A Flycam will run 225 yards from the stands behind the 17th green across the lake to the 16th green, and a BunkerCam from Fletcher will once again be inside the Hole 17th bunker.

One change on 17, notes Caputo, is that we will use a Robovision RoboHead for the super-slo-mo camera on Bird Island, rather than having a cameraperson there, for two reasons: EHS and for a cleaner look. The same operator will control it but will use a pan-bar hard-camera system to control a Sony HDC-4300 camera instead of using a joystick.

A JitaCam has been installed at the 18th hole to provide shot tracing of tee shots on the final hole.

Also getting a production lift is the 18th hole, whose tee shot can leave golfers either in the lake if they hit too far left or in the rough and under trees if they hit too far right. A 25-ft.-high JitaCam overlooking the 18th tee has been added to make it easier for talent and viewers to get a sense of where the shot is headed.

We're mounting the JitaCam right to the existing camera tower that has been a good initiative with the PGA TOUR, adds Caputo.

Another iconic hole - the par-5, 558-yard 11th hole - will be host to the Player Walk and Talks, when a player dons Airpods to chat with NBC's on-air talent. The 11th hole is home to some of the more interesting shot-making decisions on tour, so the conversations promise deeper insight.

Aerial coverage at the PLAYERS features both a live drone (provided by Sky Reality) and a fixed-wing airplane (Winged Vision). To give fans a closer look at the players, the broadcaster will deploy a shallow-depth-of-field camera on a Steadicam, improving the quality of shots captured as the players walk around the course.

Bridget Cugle, senior manager, remote operations, NBC Sports, has been at the center of efforts with the PGA TOUR (which has taken on many of the below-the-line responsibilities) in the compound, ensuring that everything goes smoothly. So far, all systems are in great shape. Our partnership with the PGA Tour this week has been wonderful, she says.

For Ken Goss, EVP, remote and studio operations, NBC Sports Group, it's great to be back at the PLAYERS with the PGA TOUR: We continue to expand our coverage technically. We are looking forward to a successful week with [PGA TOUR Entertainment VP/Executive Producer] Greg Hopfe and his technical and operational teams here.
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2023/03/09/live-from-the-players-champions...
See more stories from svg

More from Sports Video Group

11/07/2025

Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks Adjusts Broadcast Booths for Rangers, Devils

Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...

11/07/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Clients' Needs With Scalable Cloud-Based Storage

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...

11/07/2025

2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transition to the Cloud

2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...

11/07/2025

A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP

A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff Friday, July 1...

11/07/2025

CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimbledon

CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...

11/07/2025

Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-Serrano 3 Card at MSG

Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...

10/07/2025

5G for All? What the DFL's Use of Easy5G, RefCam Could Mean for Events in the Future

5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...

10/07/2025

Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-15

Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...

10/07/2025

Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New Era

Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...

10/07/2025

Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions In-House

Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...

10/07/2025

FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First Production

FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...

10/07/2025

SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint Venture Targeting Local-Sports-Media Market

SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...

09/07/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment, ViewLift Unveil Broadcast/Streaming Joint Venture as Regional Sports Market Transforms

Monumental Sports & Entertainment, ViewLift Unveil Broadcast/Streaming Joint Ven...

09/07/2025

SVG Europe Audio - State of Wireless Mics Forum: If We Lose the Spectrum, It's Going Back to the Boring Stuff

SVG Europe Audio State of Wireless Mics Forum: If we lose the spectrum, it...

09/07/2025

Tech Focus: Athlete Audio - Venues Provide Sound Just for the Players

Tech Focus: Athlete Audio - Venues Provide Sound Just for the Players From locker room to field of play, personalized systems help rev up the athletes By Dan D...

08/07/2025

Groundbreaking Gamecocks: Inside University of South Carolina's Four-Control Room Production Palace

Groundbreaking Gamecocks: Inside University of South Carolina's Four-Control...

08/07/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment's Samantha Brady on the Power of the RSN's Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Service Monumental+

Monumental Sports & Entertainment's Samantha Brady on the Power of the RSN&#...

08/07/2025

Live From 2025 FIFA Club World Cup: FIFA, HBS Focus on Tournament Wrap, With an Eye to 2026 Men's World Cup

Live From 2025 FIFA Club World Cup: FIFA, HBS Focus on Tournament Wrap, With an ...

08/07/2025

SVG Rewind: NESN Goes Behind the Scenes of 1975 Red Sox Retro Broadcast

SVG Rewind: NESN Goes Behind the Scenes of 1975 Red Sox Retro Broadcast NESN is following up the retrocast with a week-long celebration of the Green Monster By...

07/07/2025

1-2 Punch: The Cloud, Generative AI, and the Future of Sports-Content Distribution

1-2 Punch: The Cloud, Generative AI, and the Future of Sports-Content Distributi...

07/07/2025

Formula E: Host Broadcaster Aurora on Launching New AR Graphics at the Jakarta E-Prix

Tests and decisions: Formula E host broadcaster Aurora on launching new AR graph...

07/07/2025

Formula E: Using New AR Graphics for Storytelling at the Formula E Penultimate, Final E-Prix of the Season

Building tension: Using new AR graphics for storytelling at the Formula E penult...

07/07/2025

SVG Rewind: Four NFL Clubs Bring Us on Set of Respective Media Day Shoots

SVG Rewind: Four NFL Clubs Bring Us on Set of Respective Media Day Shoots An in-depth conversation with 49ers Laura Johnson, Ravens Jay O'Brien, Las Vegas R...

07/07/2025

Cosm To Build Fifth Shared Reality Venue in Cleveland as Part of Bedrock's Rock Block' Development

Cosm To Build Fifth Shared Reality Venue in Cleveland as Part of Bedrock's ...

02/07/2025

World RX of Sweden: Aurora's Matt Beal on Taking Up the Broadcast Reins Alongside the FIA

Progressive realism: Aurora on taking up the broadcast reins for World RX alongs...

02/07/2025

World RX of Sweden: Getting the Production Together With NEP Finland, Cloudbass Graphics

Great speed: New host broadcaster Aurora on getting the World RX 2025 season pro...

02/07/2025

World RX of Sweden: Host Broadcaster Aurora Looks Ahead to This Weekend's Second Race of the Season in Hljes

Seat of its pants: Aurora boxes clever and looks ahead for the FIA as new host b...

02/07/2025

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: EBU, BBC Sport, Sunset+Vine Talk Coverage Plans, Distribution and Maintaining Momentum

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: EBU, BBC Sport and Sunset Vine talk coverage plans, ...

02/07/2025

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Women's Super League Launches New Content Series to Support Teams, Players Over Summer of Football

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Women's Super League launches new content series...

02/07/2025

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Ignite Puts Fans, Players Front and Center With Title Sequence for ITV

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Ignite puts fans and players front and centre with t...

02/07/2025

Storytelling in the Live Game Broadcast: ESPN Director Jimmy Platt Breaks Down the Craft

Storytelling in the Live Game Broadcast: ESPN Director Jimmy Platt Breaks Down t...

02/07/2025

CONCACAF's Miguel Angel Garcia on the Gold Cup's Enhanced 2025 Production Plan

CONCACAF's Miguel Angel Garcia on the Gold Cup's Enhanced 2025 Productio...

01/07/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Expansion in the U.S.

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Exp...

01/07/2025

The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus Video Production

The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus...

01/07/2025

Cherry On the Cake: Inside the Technical Production of the Tour de France 2025 with EMG / Gravity Media

Cherry on the cake: Inside the technical production of the Tour de France 2025 w...

01/07/2025

NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins Fans

NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, ...

01/07/2025

TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge

TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge Production approach emphasizes creative freedom, bold storytelling, casual-fan-friendly tone B...

27/06/2025

How Smarter Video Compression is Creating a Sustainable Future

How smarter compression is creating a sustainable future By Michael Burns Monday, June 23, 2025 - 14:13 Print This Story Live sport is especially vulnerab...

27/06/2025

RTL Group To Acquire Sky Deutschland

RTL Group To Acquire Sky Deutschland By George Bevir, Editorial Director, SVG Europe Friday, June 27, 2025 - 8:00 am Print This Story | Subscribe Story ...

27/06/2025

Frictionless, At Scale: The Current State of Live Video Streaming Techology

Frictionless, At Scale: The Current State of Live Video Streaming Techology Leaders from Bitmovin, Comcast Technology Solutions, Harmonic, IMAX, and Phenix brea...

27/06/2025

Marquee Sports Network's Nick Steger on Meeting the Moment of the Contending Chicago Cubs

Marquee Sports Network's Nick Steger on Meeting the Moment of the Contending...

27/06/2025

NHL Draft 2025: The League Is Primed for First Decentralized Draft in Non-Pandemic Era

NHL Draft 2025: The League Is Primed for First Decentralized Draft in Non-Pandem...

26/06/2025

10th-Annual SVG Regional Sports Production Summit Presents Useful Roadmap for the Future of the RSN, Local Media Business

10th-Annual SVG Regional Sports Production Summit Presents Useful Roadmap for th...

26/06/2025

The Big Cloud Debate: Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid

The Big Cloud Debate: Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid Tech leaders from CineSys, Diversified, and Net Insight breaks down all flavors of cloud By Jason Dachman, ...

26/06/2025

Program Productions' Jess Kowatch on Training the Next and Current Generation of Sports TV Technicians

Program Productions' Jess Kowatch on Training the Next and Current Gener...

25/06/2025

SVG College Summit 2025: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG College Summit 2025: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY Tackling the latest in college sports video: NIL, live production, virtual productio...

25/06/2025

ESPN Is Set To Bring AR Graphics to Wimbledon, Revamps Bunker and Studio 18 VO Booths

ESPN Is Set To Bring AR Graphics to Wimbledon, Revamps Bunker and Studio 18 VO B...

24/06/2025

2025 NBA Draft: ABC/ESPN Prepares for Two-Day Draft at Barclays Center

2025 NBA Draft: ABC/ESPN Prepares for Two-Day Draft at Barclays Center Partners Game Creek Video, CP Communications, NEP Specialty Capture will be on hand By M...