MLB Opening Day 2021: ESPN Deploys REMI in Bristol for Weekday Games, Small Onsite Crew for SNB Productions continue to rely on an enhanced' world feed By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, April 1, 2021 - 1:34 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
After a year fraught with unknowns and disappointments, nature is helping as it makes its turn to spring. With the return of Major League Baseball, ESPN will nationally televise a staggering 11 games during the first week of the season, with both REMI productions out of Bristol, CT, and shows with additional enhancements for primetime contests on Sunday Night Baseball.
We will probably have 20% of our games out of Charlotte, [NC], says Phil Orlins, senior coordinating producer, ESPN, but we will still use a production workflow that is primarily centralized in Bristol. This is a place where we probably needed to be eventually. Due to the past year, we arrived there quickly and will stay there.
Inside REMI: Sunday Night Baseball Involves Multiple Control Rooms, Remote Talent Even with the advent of a COVID-19 vaccine, ESPN continues to take necessary precautions to keep all employees safe. Similar to last year's infrastructure, two separate locations under the network's umbrella - Bristol and Charlotte - will serve as hubs for selected productions. On Opening Day, the network will use three separate control rooms for three televised games (Blue Jays-Yankees at 1 p.m. ET, Dodgers-Rockies at 4 p.m., and Astros-Athletics at 10 p.m.).
Talent will continue to work from Bristol or their respective homes for ESPN's MLB coverage.
In terms of equipment, these exclusive games will be shot with 10 or 11 cameras, including half in super-slow-motion, with additional robotics throughout the venue. The super-slo-mo deployments will add another element that is paramount in coverage of professional baseball: precise and accurate replays.
We'll control and trigger [slow-motion replay] remotely from Bristol to play it back in most games, says Orlins. We will get back a camera that will give us around 1,000 frames per second in all of our Sunday Night Baseball games.
Talent will continue to call games from the comfort of a studio in Bristol or their respective homes. For the Sunday Night Baseball package, play-by-play commentator Matt Vasgersian and analyst Alex Rodriguez will be in Bristol, and reporter Buster Olney will be onsite in the ballpark. As for the weekday games, personalities Eduardo Perez, Doug Glanville, and Jessica Mendoza will call the game remotely while Marly Rivera reports from the stadium.
Weekday Slate: RSNs Supply Enhanced-World-Feed Model The regional sports networks have played a major role in producing a large part of ESPN's non-exclusive schedule, and they will once again be critical to these broadcasts. The enhanced-world-feed method, which entails the home broadcaster's sending a clean feed to the opposing team's broadcaster as well as to ESPN, will be deployed to discourage a heavy onsite presence. In 2020, all production staff and operational support were located offsite in a designated location, but, this year, the network is calling an audible by bringing a single-digit crew onsite.
Last year, we produced the non-exclusive games with zero people from ESPN onsite, Orlins notes. This year, we're bringing a small single truck and taking the RSN world feed through that truck back to Bristol.
To do this, the network will rely on a mix of RSN-based employees and a handful of local operators. The onsite truck, which has been deployed for a handful of sports events after the return of sports last summer, will be controlled by a group of six to eight staffers. In Bristol, a group of around 25 will put the pieces of the show together before it's shipped out to fans watching at home. In addition, ESPN will also have a handful of cameras installed in the venue for dedicated use during the broadcast.
We will enhance these games with at least two or more cameras of our own, says Orlins. We'll be able to cut on and off of [the RSN] feed and cover the stories and people that we're looking to talk about with our own highlight packages.
Odds and Ends: StatCast, K-Zone 3D, Miked-Up Players, FaceTime Interviews ESPN has invested heavily in the future of the game, including integration of advanced analytics. This commitment was evident in the network's presentation of the postseason Wild Card Round in 2019 and 2020. This season, execution of Statcast will return in its current form with the help of an MLB-sanctioned operator working in MLB Network's office in Secaucus, NJ, and MLB VP, Broadcast Products and Services, Ryan Zander. Despite its notable advance, Orlins sees Statcast growing into something even better.
I believe its potential is off-the-charts extraordinary, he says. I don't think we've put all the pieces together to make it the full spectacular that I know it will eventually be.
K-Zone 3D, an innovation honored with the 2019 George Wensel Technical Achievement Award, will be deployed throughout the entire MLB schedule. Prior to the 2019 season, the network was poised to leverage the system to track both pitching and hitting statistics, including exit velocity and launch angle.
Another production element to keep an eye on is the future of miked-up players and FaceTime interviews. During this year's Spring Training, streamlined technology deploying an Apple iPhone and AirPods was used to host real-time interviews with players in the dugout, on the field, and in other locations around the complex. Despite the positive feedback on this implementation, Orlins believes there is still a far way to go until it is seen on a steady basis in the regular season.
We had a lot of success last year in the regular season with
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
MLB Opening Day 2021: ESPN Deploys REMI in Bristol for Weekday Games, Small Onsite Crew for SNB Productions continue to rely on an enhanced' world feed By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
