CFP National Championship 2025: Van Wagner To Hype Up Buckeyes, Fighting Irish Fans From New IP-Based Control Room Facility was upgraded prior to latest Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United seasons By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Monday, January 20, 2025 - 11:33 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Fans of the two best college football programs in the nation - the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish - will fill Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium tonight for the title game of the College Football Playoff National Championship. The venue will be alive with excitement, and the Van Wagner crew will fire up the fans even more with a videoboard show from a new IP-based control room.
The in-venue production team during rehearsals at Mercedes-Benz Stadium over the weekend
This has been one of our lighter shipments of equipment because of the new workflows, says Patrick Stedman, tech manager, Van Wagner. The building can pretty much handle most of what we need.
IP-Driven Show: Team Adapts to New SMPTE 2110 Workflows Mercedes-Benz Stadium isn't unfamiliar territory for Van Wagner. The in-venue-production company played a role in back-to-back major events shortly after the stadium opened in 2017: the CFP National Championship in 2018 and Super Bowl LIII in 2019. A lot of the LLED video displays are still the same, including the massive Halo Board above the playing surface, but the behind-the-scenes workflows received an upgrade after the conclusion of the 2023 NFL season. Among the changes are routers upgraded to SMPTE 2110, new Ross Video Acuity production switchers, and a communications backbone bolstered with 35 Riedel Bolero beltpacks.
I supported their NFL games for the Falcons during the 2023 season, so I know the facility relatively well, says Stedman. The bulk of their workflows went to IP, and they're still in that process: they're building a secondary control room to produce smaller shows without activating their full control room.
The view of the field from the control room
When the venue opened, the massive Halo Board display was one of the largest double-sided LED fixtures in any building. Now seven years old, the stadium is still a huge draw for fans and still requires much coordination and planning in laying out content. After many seasons of Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United games, populating the display and executing a show with it at the center has become easier, but the new IP-centric workflows need to be factored in.
MORE FROM THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
It's All Hands on Deck for ESPN's Massive Production in Atlanta
ESPN To Deliver Main Game Telecast in 4K for the First Time
ESPN's MegaCast Menu Highlighted by REMI Production of Field Pass With The Pat McAfee Show
Inside Ohio State Football's Creative Storytelling at Monday's Title Game
It's an added layer, notes Daniel Zerunyan, senior producer, Van Wagner. There have been little challenges that have taken away from our programming time, but preparation has gone really well. We were lucky that the Falcons didn't have a home game because a bunch of contingency plans were put in place. It wouldn't really impact us if there was a game two weekends ago, but, if there was one this past weekend, we would have been in and out of the control room.
Collaborative Effort: Stadium Staff, Ross Video Offer Helping Hand As with any large-scale show that Van Wagner participates in, the host stadium's internal staff and vendors are crucial to the show's success. In this case, the staffers responsible for Falcons, Atlanta United, and other sports events at Mercedes-Benz Stadium are assisting on the production and operations fronts. From Stedman's point of view, any tech or engineering inquiries have been answered by Chief Broadcast and Network A/V Engineer Cole Gallagher. Zerunyan's team worked with Senior Director/Executive Producer, Game Presentation and Stadium Productions, Julia Chongarlides, but the main production contact has been Producer, Third Party Events/Game Presentation, Steve Smith.
The IP-based control room will house Van Wagner's crew as well as staffers from the stadium.
A key contributor to many of Van Wagner's shows, Ross Video Senior Graphic Programmer, Content and Workflow, Sports and Live Events, Josh Weber is onsite to manage and troubleshoot graphics-related issues.
Josh has been helping us on the content side of things for the last few years, including at the NCAA Final Four, says Zerunyan. [The stadium] has full-timers that handle a lot of their XPression [solutions], but he's working with their in-house team and being our lead [contact] that reports to their team.
Telling the Story: Production Folds-In Content From Each Program's Postseason Run The culmination of the college football season is an opportune time to tell the fans in the stands how each university got to the championship game. In previous years, Van Wagner would mix in regular-season highlights with footage from their respective semifinal games. In the new era of the 12-team expanded playoffs, Zerunyan and company couldn't possibly fit everything in this short hype video played before kickoff.
We're just going to focus all of our footage from the College Football Playoff and not the regular season, he says. Since they played in the first round [of the bracket], we had more footage to utilize from ESPN and Two Circles, the social team that the CFP hires.
Another view from the control room
With the Halo Board available, Van Wagner is supplementing its open with other elements. An NFL-style venue offers a variety of capabilities for entertainment in the lower bowl, including a top-tier lighting system that adds to the cinematic atmosphere.
We're going with this d
North America Stories
19/05/2026
Actus Digital, a LiveU company, and a leading provider of intelligent media monitoring and broadcast compliance platforms, announced today that METEO CONSULT ha...
19/05/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of managed services for the broadcast and media industry, today announced the completion of a major renovation of its Singapore fa...
19/05/2026
Following a major upgrade to its Connecticut remote production centre with the installation of three 60-fader Argo S consoles in 2023, RPS has switched one of t...
19/05/2026
PlayBox Technology today announced the launch of Celebro Play, a browser-based media orchestration platform designed specifically for broadcast facilities and p...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions for broadcast, post, and professional AV will showcase its latest signal processing solutions at B...
19/05/2026
Media Links, a leading developer and manufacturer of IP media transport solutions, has announced the integration of its Xscend platform with Skyline Communicat...
19/05/2026
Collaboration expands regional partner ecosystem as Media Links showcases IP media transport solutions on stand 4M4-4 and alongside Clearcast Asia on stand
Me...
19/05/2026
Company Highlights Labor-Saving Control and Custom Branding Opportunities Designed to Increase Integrator Profitability
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of ele...
19/05/2026
Mago Studio Moves AI Video Beyond Prompts with New Production-Focused Tools
Brie Clayton May 18, 2026
0 Comments
New Capabilities Bring Controllable, ...
19/05/2026
It May be Time to Stop and Take an AI Breather
Brie Clayton May 19, 2026
0 Comments
If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean. Or you'll...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Agentic AI inference at one-tenth the cost per token with NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL7...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
CFP National Championship 2025: Van Wagner To Hype Up Buckeyes, Fighting Irish Fans From New IP-Based Control Room Facility was upgraded prior to latest Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United seasons By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor 
