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
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
All the Truth in My Lies Coming to Netflix on August 28
Entertainment
04 June 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Download the imag...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Larry Tanz, VP of Content, EMEA, Delivers a Keynote Speech at ...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Turn Your Living Room into a Stadium With the New FIFA World ...
04/06/2026
Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn Published on Jun 4, 2026 Categories: Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Share
LinkedIn
Facebook ...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
03/06/2026
Liverpool FC and Wasabi Technologies have announced a multi-year extension of their partnership, with Wasabi continuing as the club's official cloud storage...
03/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced that Australian News Channel (ANC), operator of Sky News Australia, has deployed Grass Valley AMPP as part of the relocation of its n...
03/06/2026
The Riedel Group has announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel Networks. She succeeds Michael Martens, who has led Riedel Networks since 201...
03/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the deployment of its intercom solutions at Itaka Arena ...
03/06/2026
Scott Coker has announced six senior executive appointments for his new global MMA promotion, which launched earlier this year with $60 million in financing. Ad...
03/06/2026
Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the FIFA World Cup 2026, has announced its digital and social media programming for the tournament, running Ju...
03/06/2026
The Bundesliga has announced the launch of Captain, an AI assistant built into t...
03/06/2026
Anthony James Partners (AJP) is serving as technology consultant for a moderniza...
03/06/2026
Audio-Technica has announced the recipients of its annual sales rep firm awards for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The awards were presented by Jim Schanz, Executive ...
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 
