Live From the 2023 Ryder Cup: Sky Sports' Virtual Studio in UK Plays Big Role in Remote Production The broadcaster is also sharing an onsite studio with Golf Channel By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Saturday, September 30, 2023 - 3:08 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
It has been a busy run of top golf events for the team at Sky Sports, with this week's Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside Rome following quickly on the heels of last week's Solheim Cup in Spain, the women's equivalent of the men's Ryder Cup.
The components of our Solheim and Ryder Cup coverage are fairly similar, with a world feed plus commentary plus a studio onsite, says Jason Wessely, executive producer, Sky Sports Golf. And there is a gallery and master-control operation at Sky that brings it all together.
Jason Wessely (left), executive producer, Sky Sports Golf, and Katie Harrison, production manager, Sky Sports, in the 2023 Ryder Cup compound
This Ryder Cup marks the first time at any tournament that Sky Sports and Golf Channel have shared a studio location. Located at the first tee, it gives both production teams a chance to leverage the same facility during dayparts that are optimal for their audience back home. Sky is on-air in the morning and during the day; Golf Channel takes over at the end of the day.
Timing-wise, in the U.S., it's much better to use it after the match is finished, notes Wessely. In the morning, we can build up on the first tee with a lovely studio set looking into the crowd and the energy of that crowd.
While Golf Channel is wrapping up the day's action on the studio, Sky Sports switches over to a standup position with an RF camera at the side of the 18th green. Sky also rebroadcasts the Golf Channel Live From show, giving viewers in the UK a bonus two-hour recap.
We'll manage that two hours from a smaller gallery at Sky, Wessely explains, so we can deal with any non-compliant stuff that we want to edit out on the fly. We could also run in our content to replace their content if we feel it's not quite right for our audience, but it is quite light-touch.
Studio operations back home are busy during the Ryder Cup, with a virtual green-screen studio in Osterley Park handling a variety of coverage elements. A camera at the Ryder Cup course shoots backdrops at different times of the day, and those images are dropped into the back-screen projection. The goal is to make the viewer at home feel that that the virtual set is an extension of the real studio set onsite.
Our player avatars, virtual course, and touchscreen are all presented from there, and it's designed to look as though it is here at the course, says Wessely. As soon as the player pairings are known, the team there gets to work building the players and building the editorial. Then they record the head piece in the virtual set and, when the time comes, run that into the program with a throw from the real studio here to the 3D virtual studio.
Building the player avatars began with player recordings last Tuesday and Wednesday. The recording process requires the players to stand on a rotating plank so that cameras can capture them from all angles.
We'll get some still photography, ask a few questions, and have some fun with them. That process is really important to us, adds Wessely. We then map their 3D images, which is crucial to our virtual presentation.
The storytelling rhythm of a Ryder Cup or Solheim Cup is very different from that of a major golf tournament because matches can end prior to 18 holes (and often do). The Ryder Cup, ideally, has very little time between sessions, but, if necessary, on-course RF kits and on-course reporters can do reports or interviews.
Plus, adds Wessely, we have the virtual studio at Sky recording the pairing for the afternoon, and we play that into the break section to reveal to the viewer who was going to play in the afternoon. The time goes by pretty fast.
Next week, the Sky golf team heads to Scotland for another unusual event. The Alfred Dunhill Links Championshi, is played across three courses: Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns.
We choose one course to focus on, Wessely explains, but we have remote OBs at every location for each day. We lean into the celebrity aspect and do interviews with the celebrities playing and have some fun with it because it is a different event.
Key to keeping spirits high for the team is good golf, and that is what it has had for the past couple of months, from the Open in Liverpool to the BMW Championship in Wentworth, the Solheim Cup in Spain, and now the Ryder Cup.
As long as the golf is good, it keeps the spirits going, says Wessely, adding, Weather is the other thing that can dampen the spirit. The trick is keeping the remote team back at Sky motivated, and we find clever ways to get them out to the golf course during the year.
Yes, they can sleep in their own beds, he continues, but it's hard to gauge the event when you're working at home. So a mixture of OBs, remote, and clever ways of getting [the team] to venues is the secret to remote broadcasting because it's here to stay.
North America Stories
12/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Everything You Need to Know for Next Week's Big Sho...
12/12/2025
Hailey Gates at the Atropia premiere (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
12/12/2025
CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the elimination of Federal federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and changes in the way they...
12/12/2025
Wisycom and DPA Microphones announce the appointment of Ren Moerch as Group Product Director, Wireless, a strategic leadership role that will guide the combine...
12/12/2025
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, in conjuncture with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Entertainment Technolog...
12/12/2025
Keepit, the vendor-independent, cloud-native data protection provider, today announced a strategic go-to-market relationship in Poland with Ingram Micro, a lead...
12/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking Open Gate 48P RAW recording w...
12/12/2025
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) once again played a critical role in delivering flawless wireless coordination and support at the 2025 Latin Grammy Awards a...
12/12/2025
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), together with the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the European Broadc...
12/12/2025
DHD audio will demonstrate the latest additions to its range of digital audio production solutions on Booth 321 in Hall B6 at Hamburg Open 2026. The show will b...
12/12/2025
Chaos today announces the release of V-Ray for Blender, update 2, bringing its award-winning rendering technology to even more Blender users by adding support f...
12/12/2025
Lighting specialist UltraLEDs has launched Precision LED Tape, a high-CRI lighting solution designed specifically for professional film, TV, and studio use.
P...
12/12/2025
Zixi, the Emmy Award-winning leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that Roi Sasson has joined the company as Vice President, Engineer...
12/12/2025
BitFire (bitfire.tv), the leader in software-defined live production and IP transmission, today announced a strategic partnership with Appear, a leader in high-...
12/12/2025
LOS ANGELES The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today said futurist Robert Tercek, creative technologist Jessie Hughes from Leonardo.AI and Emmy-winnin...
12/12/2025
HUDSON, Mass. BitFire and Appear have struck a strategic partnership aimed at offering broadcasters, sports leagues and streaming platforms a faster, more flexi...
12/12/2025
The broadcast industry is evolving faster than ever. #IPWorkflows #remoteproduction, and next-gen audio systems are reshaping how teams design, deliver, and sca...
12/12/2025
LOS ANGELES The payroll and production accounting platform Wrapbook has announced the acquisition of Cinapse, a modern scheduling platform for film and televisi...
12/12/2025
DEHLI Ross Video has announced that it is expanding and restructuring its commercial and technical teams in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation...
12/12/2025
LONDON Following the success of its UK launch in January 2025, Rise AV, the global not-for-profit initiative dedicated to supporting and advancing women in the ...
12/12/2025
SAN FRANCISCO Ad-supported streaming service Tubi next week will launch Matter Casting, a new casting standard that will enable seamless mobile-to-TV viewing di...
12/12/2025
LOS ANGELES The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today said futurist Robert Tercek, creative technologist Jessie Hughes from Leonardo.AI and Emmy-winnin...
12/12/2025
In Las Vegas's T-Mobile Arena, fans of the Golden Knights are getting more than just hockey - they're getting a taste of the future. ADAM, a robot devel...
12/12/2025
Scripps Research team pioneers an efficient way to stereoselectively add fluorine to drug-like molecules A new method uses a novel catalyst and inexpensive fluo...
11/12/2025
ESPN's Aims for Spectacular With Heisman Trophy ShowEvent firsts include 1080p HDR production airing on both national broadcast and cableBy Dan Daley, Audio...
11/12/2025
SVG Students To Watch: Frankie Patton, University of ColoradoThe 2025 grad is hitting the ground running as a PA on national broadcastsBy Brandon Costa, Directo...
11/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 3By SVG Staff
Thursday, December 11, 2025 - 7:24 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2...
11/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: What Makes Gen Z, X, and Y Fans Tick? Dave Gavant of WSC Sports Go...
11/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: 5G, MXL, Spectrum Loss, and Outerspace on Tap for Tues...
11/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: David Levy, Turner Titan and Master of Al...
11/12/2025
SVG Launches Follow the Money' Podcast: Go Inside the Sports Media Biz with...
11/12/2025
A Deep Dive Inside Game Creek Video's Bird and Magic Mobile Units, Home to A...
11/12/2025
How Sound Effects for Monsters Funday Football' Emulated the Sonic Soul of ...
11/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CSP Mobile Productions' Len Chase on Upgrading Tr...
11/12/2025
New satellites for the SDA Tranche 1 Tracking program in production at L3Harris&...
11/12/2025
The Meadowlands system, a compact and mobile version of the CCS, uses ground-based radio frequency units to disrupt satellite communications....
11/12/2025
The L3Harris demonstration united tactical communications devices, counter-UAS c...
11/12/2025
Throughout 2025, L3Harris delivered innovative solutions to U.S. and allied warfighters across every domain.
With an unrelenting commitment to excellence, our...
11/12/2025
A Majority of the World's Population (51%) Identify As Soccer Fans
The 2025 MLB postseason notched 58.2 billion viewing minutes, up +24% from the prior y...
11/12/2025
WALTHAM, Mass. Video-over-IP software provider Zixi said Roi Sasson has joined the company as vice president, engineering....
11/12/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. In a move that highlights the growing competition between broadcasters and CTV platforms for local advertising, LG Ad Solutions has announ...
11/12/2025
Boston Conservatory Earns Several Best of Accolades in 2025 Highlights include a faculty Grammy win, a seventh consecutive year on Playbill's list of co...
11/12/2025
RASTATT, Germany Lawo and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) have partnered to launch the SMPTE ST 2110 Practical Lab, an immersive ...
11/12/2025
PHILADELPHIA Comcasts Xfinity operating brand has announced the launch of new national video plans with all-in pricing that the operator said will provide custo...
11/12/2025
After eight years of declines, MoffettNathansons new Cord Cutting Monitor for Q3 2025 shows that pay TV subscribers to linear TV packages rose by 303,000, the f...
11/12/2025
Happy Holidays from Berklee Enjoy this years holiday student-performance video.
December 10, 2025
By
Office of the President
Dear Berklee community,
As w...
11/12/2025
Back to All News
The Teaser Trailer and the Key Art of Motorvalley, the New Ser...
11/12/2025
Back to All News
Trailer for the Fourth Season of Alpha Males
Entertainment
11 December 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DERECONSTRUCT OR DIE
Do...
11/12/2025
Unveiling what it describes as the most capable model series yet for professional knowledge work, OpenAI launched GPT-5.2 today. The model was trained and deplo...
Live From the 2023 Ryder Cup: Sky Sports' Virtual Studio in UK Plays Big Role in Remote Production The broadcaster is also sharing an onsite studio with Golf Channel By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
