Tech Focus: Wireless Audio, Part 2 - RF Mics Have a Key Role in Sports Broadcasting

Three examples of how wireless microphones are deployed to bring fans in deep and up close

Microphone manufacturers have myriad ways to put wireless to work for sports. Audio-Technica, Sennheiser, and Shure illustrate three of them: for motorsports, golf, and NFL football, respectively.

Used throughout MotoAmerica's press operations, the Audio-Technica System 20 PRO wireless systems help deliver consistent, crystal-clear audio to media personnel, broadcasters, and livestream audiences. The System 20 PRO has become a fundamental part of MotoAmerica's audio infrastructure for capturing rider interviews in press conferences.

MotoAmerica uses Audio-Technica System 20 PRO wireless systems for press operations.It operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, a globally license-free spectrum that avoids the crowded UHF TV bands. This ensures reliable operation at racetracks across North America without the need for frequency coordination, critical in a dynamic, multi-venue series like MotoAmerica. With its media and broadcasting teams deploying RF microphones and cameras throughout each event, the press room is one less place requiring coordination.

PGA TOUR Studios, the golf organization's broadcast arm, selected Sennheiser's Spectera bidirectional wireless audio ecosystem to support its advanced new facility in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, as well as its heavy production schedule.

PGA TOUR Studios installed Sennheiser Spectera bidirectional wireless audio at its new facility in Florida.The studio complex houses seven dedicated studios and can run 11 shows simultaneously. The audio installation comprises two Spectera base stations, supporting 24 microphones and IFB monitors across the facility with seven antennas. Spectera's design allows talent to move between studios with any available wireless pack without reconfiguration, and battery swaps during live broadcasts take about 7 seconds. The studio team can monitor and manage all base stations via Spectera's web interface from anywhere on the facility network, giving real-time insight into microphone and RF health. Spectera integrates with the existing Dante and Calrec 2110 audio environments.

At last year's Super Bowl LIX from Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, a thrilling showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, fans also heard great sound. The Shure PSM 1000 advanced-in-ear personal monitoring system and Axient Digital PSM advanced digital in-ear monitoring system, implemented by ATK Audiotek/Clair Global and Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), were deployed for all wireless microphones and IEM systems for the pregame entertainment, halftime entertainment, and referees, as well as for the Bud Light Backyard Concert.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/02/04/wireless-audio-part-2-rf-mics-h...
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