On the Gridiron: Jacksonville Jaguars Reflect on In-Stadium Fans During Week 1, Connecting With Duval' Community Due to safety restrictions, production had only one shot for in-venue content during Media Day By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Monday, September 21, 2020 - 1:10 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Many professional sports have opted for a return to play inside a sanitized bubble. Not the NFL. Without skipping a beat, the league is soldiering on with regular-season games in all 32 stadiums across the country. Similar to our At the Ballpark series, On the Gridiron examines the new routines, habits, and production philosophies of in-venue personnel on any given Thursday, Sunday, or Monday.
Despite 2020's being a whirlwind of a year, it has given NFL organizations a chance to catch up and reignite a relationship with their respective fanbases. Starting even before the season opened, production teams are doing what they can to maintain that vital connection. The Jacksonville Jaguars allowed fans in the stadium for their season opener, which provided the franchise the opportunity to cook up content both inside and outside of the stadium.
MORE ON THE GRIDIRON INTERVIEWS
Without Raucous Crowds, New Orleans Saints Adapt to a Quiet Mercedes-Benz Superdome
We were super-fortunate to be able to have some fans here, says Carlos Caceres, production manager, Jacksonville Jaguars. We were close to the 10,000 mark in attendance, which isn't ideal but definitely better than nothing, so we maintained home-field advantage. We couldn't have asked for a better home opener.
AV Scheme: Select In-Venue Fans Alter Production Plans Caceres instructs running back Chris Thompson during a Media Day photoshoot.
The Jaguars joined the defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs as the only two NFL teams to host fans on opening weekend. Throughout the offseason, facing the possibility of having an in-stadium audience for teams in the state of Florida, the production staff made sure to test out both possibilities for maximum assurance.
While we were waiting some direction, we bought some decibel meters and coordinated with our events team, football operations, and myself in the booth to play the [NFL Films] soundtrack out into the bowl, says Caceres. We were walking around and getting different readings on the main concourse, field level, pool deck, etc., and, before the league mandated [crowd noise], we got to an internal agreement.
This year's Media Day was the team's only chance to have direct access to players for content, including shots of quarterback Gardner Minshew.
At a time when fans in the stands are a rarity, producing an in-venue experience that can be digested by spectators is different from what has become normal over the last couple of months. When local and state government officials gave the Jaguars the green light to let fans inside, they were treated to a traditional, pre-COVID in-venue show.
Philosophically, we determined that, whether we had 5,000 fans, 10,000 fans, or 20,000 fans, we still want to bring the same game-day experience and production value that we're accustomed to, expect of ourselves, and think our fans would want, Caceres says. Everything from kickoff videos to player prompts to our Duval chant. The fans reacted very well to a lot of those elements, and I think the appreciation for that level of experience was there.
Digital Connection: NFL Draft, Offseason Acquisitions, Social Justice Fill Social-Media Feeds For fans who can't make it into the stadium, the production team is making the extra effort to curate material that speaks to topics and issues they care about. As protests and marches have taken to the streets in support of the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice, the production team invited all members of the organization to take part in a peaceful gesture of unity outside TIAA Bank Field, which was streamed on social media.
It was a really cool experience and something that the organization supports, says Caceres. Our routine conversations revolve around building diversity, inclusion, community outreach, activism, voting, and social justice. I've been here since 2009, and I don't think we've ever done anything like that. The numbers back us up as well, because we've streamed various things over the years, but, when we streamed the entire march, it was one of the highest-performing live streams that we've done ever. Hopefully, we continue doing more of that.
Prior to the season, the organization's digital outlets updated fans on the newest signings, trades, and other roster moves. As with most teams, the most active days were April 23-25, when Rounds 1-7 unfolded in the first-ever virtual NFL Draft.
One of the franchise's most successful live streams, the player-organized Black Lives Matter march was viewed on the Jaguars' social-media feeds.
The Draft brought the same traditional expectations but within a working-from-home scenario, he says. For example, you usually see inside of the War Room, so we had to install infrastructure in the GM's and coach's house to meet with their scouts for their normal process leading up to and on the night of Draft. We couldn't do a [live and in-person] Draft party, so we did an Instagram Live session with a couple of local influencers and some of our in-house talent.
Another big day for gathering content is the team's annual Media Day. In most years, the event would be packed with representatives of different departments in the organization, but, with safety protocols in place, Caceres and his crew were part of a handful of people permitted access to players in an enclosed setting.
Media Day kept getting pushed back, and we didn't know when players were going to report
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...
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
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
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
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
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...
On the Gridiron: Jacksonville Jaguars Reflect on In-Stadium Fans During Week 1, Connecting With Duval' Community Due to safety restrictions, production had only one shot for in-venue content during Media Day By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
