ESPN Doubles Up Production Efforts for MLB in Omaha The network is keeping a majority of the same staff for the College World Series By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor
Friday, June 14, 2019 - 1:05 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
The world of sports gained two historic moments last night. As Toronto captured its (and Canada's) first NBA title, MLB placed its trademark on Omaha, NE's TD Ameritrade Park before the College World Series begins tomorrow. ESPN broadcast the first major-league game in the state of Nebraska with the same crew that is producing college baseball's crown-jewel event.
From a remote-operations perspective, it just made perfect sense. Early on in discussions with production and the College World Series management/ops team, as well as the timing and nature of the event, it was clear that the MLB game would mesh very nicely with the set schedule, says Paul Horrell, remote operations manager, MLB, ESPN. For that reason, we looked to adjust the truck and crew schedule to accommodate the MLB game needs while minimizing impact to the College World Series prep. Our College World Series remote-operations team members that were already assigned [to the tournament] took the lead throughout.
Two-in-One: Meshing a Pair of Productions
With two major events clashing, ESPN has deployed nearly 150 onsite staffers to facilitate game coverage and studio programming. The network needed to bolster their infrastructure in order to accommodate two productions in a short-time.
With the synergy between having a regular-season MLB game and the Men's College World Series in the same venue just days apart, we have been able to add a few extra facilities to the standard MLB broadcasts, says Dick Mullen, operations manager, ESPN. We'll be using NEP ND7 for both events at TD Ameritrade, with over 30 cameras utilized in the broadcasts.
Comprising more than two dozen cameras, the complement includes a Sony HDC-4800 with HFR and super-slow-motion at 960 fps. On the audio side, ESPN placed an on-field mic on Kansas City Royals lead-off hitter and right fielder Whit Merrifield. With the venue being only a 3 -hour drive from Kaufmann Stadium in Missouri, a wave of Royals fans behind the outfield wall had some fun with their fan favorite.
.@WhitMerrifield: man of the people.
(MLB x @GEICO) pic.twitter.com/EuqlExtobC
MLB (@MLB) June 14, 2019
The Bristol Connection: ESPN HQ Supplies File Transfer
With 1,423 miles between Bristol, CT, and the onsite compound, ESPN leveraged a file-transfer system that bridged the distance.
With [NEP's] ND7, we had a full REMNAS [remote near-access storage] file-transfer system, says Horrell. We also arranged for fiber connectivity this year for both the MLB game and the College World Series.
The studio was also a reliable source during the first couple of innings. During a brief truck outage, ESPN made a quick adjustment by displaying whip-around coverage of other MLB games in progress. With the help of the TD Ameritrade Park staff, ESPN used the feeds of the in-venue videoboard cameras and provided audio commentary via in-studio talent. After the truck regained power, the on-air broadcast continued as normal.
No one likes when mechanical failures happen, and we regret we went off the air, says NEP U.S. President Glen Levine. I'm really proud that our field- and engineering-support staff immediately jumped on the problem and worked together to bypass the failed regulator to recover and get us back on the air as quickly as we could.
For the broadcast, Horrell and his team tapped a graphics setup that has become customary for all MLB on ESPN productions.
Specifically for the MLB game, we implemented our GREMI workflow, he says. [In addition,] we had Viz Graphics and EVS operators in Bristol integrated with the truck.
The compound hosted a handful of onsite technicians and gear that handled the GREMI (graphics remote integration) aspect of the broadcast.
Lastly, a Bristol, CT, staple, Baseball Tonight, traveled to Nebraska to provide on-field studio programming during the pre/postgame.
Bringing MLB to New Frontiers
The hometown Royals' 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers isn't ESPN's only project with the MLB. As the league strengthens its relationships with entities like the NCAA, ESPN is the backbone of such operations.
With the first-ever MLB game in Nebraska, especially in concert with the College World Series, it generates a whole new experience. [It's] very similar to the MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, PA, that MLB has introduced with Little League and ESPN in recent years, says Horrell. These efforts serve to capture the nature of the sport and [also] this particular event.
North America Stories
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
21/12/2025
Back to All News
Legoshi and Haru's Story Reaches Its Finale: BEASTARS Fin...
20/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking ProRes RAW recording from the...
20/12/2025
CJP Broadcast has completed the digitisation of the European Gymnastics tape archive, converting 328 tapes containing more than forty years of recorded material...
20/12/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced the launch of the Stream Lab MCP Server, to give AI agents and large language model...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Barack Obama Includes Laufey on His 2025 Favorite Music List The former presidents roundup of books, music, and movies includes a song from the Berklee alums ...
20/12/2025
Study reveals a key hormonal circuit in the kidneys Scripps Research scientists identify the protein that helps kidney cells regulate renin, providing foundatio...
19/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Diversified's Jared Timmins on AI for Broadcast Sports and Cre...
19/12/2025
2025 SVG Summit Audio Recap: Say What?The Audio Production and Distribution Workshop at the SVG Summit 20 took on issues including speech intelligibility, Next-...
ESPN Doubles Up Production Efforts for MLB in Omaha The network is keeping a majority of the same staff for the College World Series By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor 
