
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the 10,000-Sq.-Ft. Tech Center With FOX Sports VP, Field Ops and Engineering, Kevin Callahan Areas in the facility including editing, AR, drone prep, transmission management, and power By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Saturday, February 8, 2025 - 12:39 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The FOX Sports compound for Super Bowl LIX features a new two-story technical building encompasses about 10,000 sq. ft. of space. Featuring nearly floor-to-ceiling exterior windows, glass doors, and 10-ft. ceilings, it arguably signals a new era in compound office facilities, offering plenty of natural light, proper workstations with power, and other benefits not found in the traditional office trailer.
FOX Sports tapped Infinite Structures to build a two-story technical building for Super Bowl LIX.
The building houses everything from our edits to our video and audio sub-switch to video-transmission management, broadcast communications, and central distribution for the entire compound, says Kevin Callahan, VP, field operations and engineering, FOX Sports. We also have our network-engineering and -architecture team here because every remote these days relies on that network-engineering team for transporting not only video signals but communication files and everything else needed to do a broadcast. That convergence has truly happened at this point: they're as much a part of the team as everybody else.
At the center of the technical facility, which was built by Infinite Structures, are two of FOX Sports' Jewel Event Kits, which made their Super Bowl debut two years ago in Glendale, AZ. The Jewel kit serves as the hub for all incoming video and audio sources and makes them available to the trucks and facilities in the domestic and international compounds (as well as at the FOX Pico facility in Los Angeles).
The core Jewel technology has changed little since the flypack was first built for the 2022 World Cup. In New Orleans, one operates as an IBC and distribution point; the other handles full remote studio production needs.
The equipment remains the same as when they were first built, notes Callahan. We've been very happy with the equipment choices we've made. The Calrec IP Hydra cores, Arista switches, EVS Cerebrum, TAG multiviewers, Ross switchers and Ultrix routers, Calrec audio console, and Grass Valley production switchers are still best of breed and still doing the jobs we need them to do.
The FOX Jewel Event Kit plays a big role in connecting the compound and more at Super Bowl LIX.
The Jewel kits not only make signal management and access easier but also have some additional features making it easier to create a viewing room at a hotel or support requests from any FOX entity. Says Callahan, They can make our shows bigger but also do it economically.
This year, the Jewel Event Kit has some company in the kit world: FOX Sports' new Broadcast Remote IP Studio Kit (BRISK). Deployed at the Bourbon Street studio operation, the small unit allows video, audio, and data signals to be sent from Bourbon Street to the compound as well as to FOX Sports' Pico broadcast facility.
It has multiple paths and multiple redundancies built into it, Callahan explains. It's the first time that we really have cameras in a Home Run Production kit. It was created with remote shows in mind, where we may need to set up quickly. Bringing mobile units and a larger system like the FOX Jewel Event system in isn't always practical. BRISK, on the other hand, is nimbler and can be carried up a flight of stairs [such as at the Krazy Korner bar on Bourbon Street]. If we build a couple of them, they can hopscotch around different venues and still have the same network architecture and technology.
The BRISK unit comprises camera-control units, multiviewers, video-shading components, and a Calrec Hydra core as well as an audio frame. Explains Callahan, It's all being controlled with an RP1 here at the stadium or in Los Angeles to allow remote IFB mixing that needs to occur in order to have those remote studio shows happen.
Without it, he adds, something like Super Bowl LIX Pregame studio show on Bourbon Street would have been impossible. We are at a point with the shows now where productions can get bigger but we don't need to have the technology infrastructure get bigger. At Super Bowl LIV in Miami, we were sending all the signals from a mobile unit at South Beach to the production truck in the stadium. On Bourbon Street, there's no room to put a mobile unit on the street. We had to fit everything into that second floor of Krazy Korner, and this was the best way to do it.
Areas Are Dedicated to Different Functions The technical building houses several areas supporting the needs of the production trucks across the compound as well as of the team in Pico. For example, four Adobe Premier edit bays, two After Effects edit bays, and media management are connected to the Los Angeles facility.
Most of the edits are happening in Los Angeles, notes Callahan., but we do have these four edit stations because it is a collaborative process. This allows producers here to collaborate with the editor in person.
A broadcast comms area ensures users on either the RTS or Riedel intercom systems can communicate with each other seamlessly.
Located next to the Jewel Event Kit area, transmission management oversees all inbound and outbound feeds, ensuring that they are all routed to the right place. They make sure everything is in time and everything is correct, he says. We have close to 150 paths, inbound and outbound, between camera isos used for edit in Los Angeles or just for the watch parties, hotel remotes, all sorts of things like that.
The broadcast-comms area houses two systems from two manufacturers: RTS in
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
12/05/2026
Taiwan Television has expanded its HD content ingest workflow capabilities by investing in the PlayBox Neo Suite - a leading multi-channel multi-server UHD/HD/S...
12/05/2026
Jigsaw24 is strengthening its media team with the appointment of Tom Laker as Client Director and Ashish Chauhan as Project Manager. These strategic hires bring...
12/05/2026
Broadcast playout leader showcases hybrid IP infrastructure and workflow automation with Videoland deployment as regional benchmark...
12/05/2026
dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its centralised approach to production workflows...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
NUGEN Audio will debut Version 1.1 of DialogCheck, its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at the 2026 Media Production & Technology Show (S...
12/05/2026
The reactive visuals can adapt to any stage or screen setup and comprise 50 layers of Notch content
Today, Disguise announced that its high performance GX 3 m...
12/05/2026
Snapgrid , Snapbag & Airglow Expand Creative Control for the ARRI Modular LED BarFollowing the launch of the ARRI Omnibar, DoPchoice introduces a dedicated li...
12/05/2026
May 12th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here
TRIBECA FESTIVAL UNVEILS 2026 GAMES PROGRAM
Tribeca Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary With World Premieres and Pl...
12/05/2026
May 12th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here
MADONNA BRINGS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF CONFESSIONS II TO 2026 TRIBECA FESTIVAL
The Global Icon Will Unveil a Cine...
12/05/2026
Customer demand for data continues to grow in the first quarter of 2026 at Magya...