NBC Sports Boston Preps for the Future With State-of-the-Art NBCU Boston Media Center The new SMPTE ST 2110 IP-based production facility houses four networks By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, February 14, 2020 - 2:49 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Last month, NBC Universal opened the doors to the state-of-the-art NBCU Boston Media Center, the new home of NBC Sports Boston, NBC10 Boston, Telemundo Boston, and NECN (New England Cable News). With a SMPTE ST 2110 IP infrastructure and sprawling studio space, the multimillion-dollar, 160,000-sq.-ft. facility immediately put NBC Sports Boston among the elite regional sports networks when it comes to production quality.
NBC Sports Boston's new studio inside the NBCU Media Center is home to its Celtics pre/postgame programming.
As we look at the way the world is changing, we wanted to make sure we had a facility that we could grow into in the future so we would be prepared to change with it, says Chris Wayland, GM, NBC Sports Boston, and Station Manager/SVP, NBC10 Boston, Telemundo Boston, and NECN. Also, our audience expects us to provide a deeper level of detail and context so that they have a better understanding of the game. This new facility and the technology behind it allow us to take the viewer deeper into the intricacies of the game in a way that we simply weren't able to do in the old space.
The move from an aging production facility in Burlington, MA, to the sparkling new Media Center in Needham, MA, represents a major upgrade for the NBCU Boston networks. NBC Sports Boston, in particular, benefited from the move, gaining a picturesque new 50- x 100-ft. studio capable of fitting the entire parquet floor of TD Garden.
The NBCU Boston Media Center finished construction last year and opened on Jan. 15.
The stature of the set has been a game-changer from a production standpoint for our producers, directors, and talent, says Kevin Miller, VP, content creation and strategy, NBC Sports Boston. They view it as, they owe it to the space to ramp up their game. And I have already noticed a major uptick in our production value -on both [linear TV] and digital platforms - since we've moved in here.
Inside the Media Center: Six Control Rooms for Six Studios
NBCU began work on the project in 2016 and settled on an existing structure in Needham, which was stripped down to the concrete and steel to create an almost greenfield start for the new facility.
From that moment on, it was a path of discovery in terms of reaching out to all of the staff involved in the four businesses to ask some key questions, says Keith Barbaria, VP, technology, NBC Sports Boston, NBC10 Boston, Telemundo Boston, and NECN. Then, we took that information and merged it with some best practices to create a functional requirement document that listed out everything this building needed - from amenities and conveniences to the technology and the on-air goals.
One of six control rooms at the NBCU Boston Media Center
The Media Center features six production studios and six control rooms as well as a dedicated podcast studio for digital/social content. The facility is designed so that any control room can serve any studio at any given moment (although, for operations purposes, each of the four networks has been assigned its own control room and studio).
If we ever need to swap a studio and a control room for coverage reasons, big events, even maintenance, we can hop around control rooms as needed, Barbaria explains. The building also has 60 different places where we can plug in equipment and cameras, so that we can use the entire building as a studio. As a result, we spent more time and resources on interior design because we wanted to show off this whole place and give the content teams the ability to present outside the confines of the studio.
All-in on 2110: A Look at the IP-Based Future in Needham
One of the key design requirements for the NBCU technology team was to build the facility with an IP backbone to ensure that it is prepared for the future. With the SMPTE ST 2110 Professional Media Over Managed IP Networks suite of standards ratified during the project's development, Barbaria and company embarked on a mission to make as much of the facility ST 2110-compliant as possible.
The NBCU Boston Media Center is built on SMPTE ST 2110 IP infrastructure.
We're pushing the margins of what's possible today with the SMPTE 2110 standard, he says, but the real reason [we went IP] is less about now and more for the future. We've built this building to [be able to] scale and adapt with the industry without major additional investments. It may be a little pain upfront going 2110 - a lot of vendors aren't quite ready so we've still got a lot of conversion in the building right now - but it made sense for the future.
NBCU worked with systems integrator Diversified to create a facility built around an Evertz EXE2 IP router that could serve today's needs while preparing for tomorrow's.
We want to be ready for whatever is coming, says Barbaria. While we're a 1080i facility today, we did think about 4K and HDR, and, as soon as that kind of content is wanted by the consumer and transmission is more readily available, we'll be ready to adapt to those for sure.
Early Edition is one of three daily programs produced by NBC Sports Boston in Needham.
Other key equipment in the facility includes Video Acuity switchers, Ross Overdrive production automation and Cambot robotic pedestals (with SmartShell remote control), Evertz evMV multiviewers (ST 2110-native), a mix of ChyronHego and Ross Xpression graphics, RTS ODIN intercom matrix, Haivision IPTV for in-house monitoring, Evertz Vue VCS and Tektronix Prism scope (ST 2110-native) for QC, and Cisco Catalyst network backbone.
Insid
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
NBC Sports Boston Preps for the Future With State-of-the-Art NBCU Boston Media Center The new SMPTE ST 2110 IP-based production facility houses four networks By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
