Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

NFL Draft Reflections: Intercoms Keep the Back Channels Open

03/06/2020

NFL Draft Reflections: Intercoms Keep the Back Channels Open Clear-Com's IP gear helps a complex production go truly at home' By Dan Daley, Audio Editor

Wednesday, June 3, 2020 - 9:38 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

There were about three weeks to go before the kickoff of the NFL Draft, scheduled to take place live in Paradise, NV, the last week of April. Then came the pandemic, locking down the country one state at a time. By the time it reached Paradise, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had decided that the event would take place virtually, from the homes and other lockdown locations of every player, coach, owner, and technician involved - and the basement of Goodell's own home. The decision would have far-reaching implications for the one platform that connected every person involved in getting the show online: intercoms.

All production communications were to be handled by a combination of national event-production vendor Freeman; Buffalo, NY-based comms-systems supplier Sound and Vision Entertainment (SAV); and Orlando-based consultant Show Machine - all of which have done this task for the NFL Draft for more than a decade. Suddenly, a year's worth of planning had to be completely revised in a matter of weeks.

We usually start thinking about next year's Draft production right after the current year's is done, if not during its last few hours, recalls Show Machine owner Dave Ragains. This year, we had to go in a completely different direction in less than three weeks.

For the first time ever, the annual meeting of the NFL's football franchises to select newly eligible players for the upcoming season was held via video conference, April 23-25, as a result of worldwide travel restrictions.

Hybrid Approach

Key to making this radically altered event work was implementation of a hybrid intercom system that uses both conventional and IT-based components. Specifically, a Clear-Com Eclipse HX digital matrix system along with LQ IP Series - which integrates into existing workflows and connects securely over 3G, 4G, LTE, or Wi-Fi networks - was the chosen intercom solution to support the large network of remote Agent-IC intercom app clients required for this virtualized broadcast.

When the decision was made to virtualize the Draft broadcast, we were tasked to come up with a reliable and secure remote-communications solution that would enable a large number of production staff to operate from their homes while still being able to communicate on the production intercom freely over many channels, explains Brady Belavek, who runs the comms audio for SAV. What turned out to be one of the biggest challenges was managing ISP connections in individuals' homes and offices, not to mention the security requirements from the league, who were understandably concerned about cybersecurity threats.

Clear-Com Agent-IC mobile app was downloaded and connected to Eclipse and LQ systems.

The wide dispersion of the principals and the technicians on the event was a huge challenge. In fact, the need for additional licenses for LQ units grew to the point that Clear-Com offered to help directly.

We had an AE Lab Eclipse HX system in our Alameda [CA] headquarters that we use to run remote demonstrations across our product range, says Justin Emge, applications engineering manager, Clear-Com, so it already had the required software licenses installed and the IP infrastructure set up to handle large numbers of remote Agent-IC client users.

Members of Clear-Com's IT department were brought on to ensure that the required ISP data connections were operating properly and that the firewall could facilitate all required connections. Freeman and SAV were already familiar with our equipment, Emge notes. When we offered it as an emergency fix, they were happy to accept.

More than 80 members of the production crew downloaded Clear-Com's Agent-IC mobile app to their iOS and Android mobile devices, which connected primarily to the Eclipse HX system or, alternatively, to an LQ system set up at SAV in Los Angeles. Both Eclipse and LQ systems were connected to several phone-conference lines for communication between Agent-IC and various control rooms.

It was the first time that many of the crew had used Agent-IC, Ragains explains, but, since it looks and feels like a regular intercom panel, the learning curve was very small. We gave them a one-page instruction guide for how to navigate the app, and that was all they needed. Each crew member was able to listen and talk to as many conference lines as they needed to, as well as conversing point-to-point with specific staff, with the option to turn different audio streams on and off as required.

In total, there were nearly 100 endpoint connections: around 80 Agent-IC connections, up to nine conference lines for meetings of 10 people, and seven audio trunks running to backup equipment in Los Angeles. Ragains says no backbone-level problems were encountered; rather, glitches tended to be highly localized and often the result of a home internet router.

Homes often had broadband dead spots. He remembers having users run dozens of Ookla tests to check their connection speeds and, in some cases, asking some users to relocate routers or move to their mobile carriers' data plans. It was also common to ask those participating from their homes to ask their family production team to limit use of Netflix and other online entertainment portals during the three-day event - not an easy request when everyone was home under lockdown.

A Flexible Future

In the wake of the, at times, hectic event, the folks who assembled its comms system think it will have various degrees of influence on future productions. Belavek notes that, although pulling in a remotely placed participant had been done on the NFL Draft in
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/06/03/nfl-draft-reflections-intercoms...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 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...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

30/04/2026

PWHL Reports Record Growth in Third Regular Season as Playoffs Begin April 30

The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) concluded its third regular season on Saturday, reporting growth across attendance, viewership, digital engage...

30/04/2026

NBC Sports Launches National Sunday MLB Coverage Beginning May 3

NBC Sports will air national MLB coverage on Sundays beginning May 3, with MLB Sunday Leadoff on Peacock and NBCSN at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by the debut of th...

30/04/2026

Clear-Com Appoints Brian Grahn and Ben Turnwell to New Roles

Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live. Grahn joined Cle...

30/04/2026

ARRI Introduces cforce MAX Lens Motor for Hi-5 Lens Control System

ARRI has introduced the cforce MAX, a new lens motor for the Hi-5 lens control system. The cforce MAX is twice as fast as the cforce plus motor it replaces whil...

30/04/2026

Knuerr, Voxtronic, and IHSE to Present Integrated Control Room Solution at Airspace World

Knuerr, Voxtronic, and IHSE will jointly present an integrated control room solu...

30/04/2026

The CW Network and ESPN to Stream CW Sports Live Events on ESPN App

The CW Network and ESPN have announced an agreement to make the ESPN App the exclusive streaming home for all CW Sports live events. CW Sports will continue to ...

30/04/2026

Sennheiser Spectera Deployed on Ed Sheerans The Loop Global Stadium Tour

Ed Sheeran's The Loop' tour launched in Auckland in January 2026 before moving on to Australia, with South America and the United States to follow late...

30/04/2026

Audinate Launches Dante Preset Creator for Offline Network Configuration

Audinate has announced Dante Preset Creator, a free online tool for configuring Dante network settings before hardware is available on site. Presets created in ...

30/04/2026

Yahoo Sports Appoints Jarrod Schwarz as General Manager

Yahoo Sports has announced the appointment of Jarrod Schwarz as General Manager of Yahoo Sports. Schwarz will oversee product, design, and technology; revenue a...

30/04/2026

Nielsen: U.S. Viewers Spent 79.8 Billion Minutes Watching Soccer in 2025

Nielsen has released a new report, Get Ready with Media Intelligence: 2026 FIFA World Cup Edition, examining U.S. soccer viewership trends, fan engagement, and ...

30/04/2026

USA Lacrosse Names SportsEngine Preferred Youth Sports Management Platform Partner

USA Lacrosse and SportsEngine have announced an expanded partnership, naming Spo...

30/04/2026

Telos Alliance To Appear at MPTS 2026 Across Multiple Partner Booths

Telos Alliance will participate in the 2026 Media Production and Technology Show (MPTS), taking place May 13-14 at Olympia London. Rather than exhibiting from a...

30/04/2026

DAZN Bolsters U.S. Ambitions With ViewLift Acquisition, Targets Evolving Regional Sports Landscape

The global streamer buys the U.S. DTC platform solutions provider for a reported...

30/04/2026

Tigo Sports Upgrades Video Infrastructure with Ateme Technology

Tigo Sports, Paraguay's leading sports broadcaster, has upgraded its video infrastructure with Ateme solutions for live encoding, multiplexing, and signal c...

30/04/2026

World Rugby and IMG Announce Long-Term Media Rights Partnership

World Rugby and IMG have announced a long-term media rights partnership focused on growing rugby in the United States ahead of the Men's and Women's Rug...

30/04/2026

NWSL & Overtime Re-Up Gen-Z Focused Content Partnership

For the second year in a row, Overtime and the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) are teaming up through a renewed content partnership to bring fans even...

30/04/2026

ESPN Executive Vice President David Roberts Set To Retire

The 22-year ESPN vet's responsibilities will reportedly be taken over by SVP Mike Foss...

30/04/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 13: Anaheim Ducks' Scott Fausneaucht - Skating with the Ducks of Orange County

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

30/04/2026

Prime Video Announces Multiyear Agreement with Duke Mens Basketball

Amazon and Duke University have announced a multiyear agreement for Prime Video to present exclusive coverage of three Duke Blue Devils men's basketball neu...

30/04/2026

Ratings Roundup: NBA Playoffs Return to NBC Sports up 38%; UFL Viewership up Midway Through Regular Season

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

30/04/2026

Introducing Verified by Spotify, a Signal of Authenticity and Trust for the Artists Behind the Music

Music is evolving, and so are the ways you discover and connect with artists. In...

30/04/2026

First-Ever Stockholm Music Week Celebrates the Industry's Present and Future

Between April 22-29, the first inaugural Stockholm Music Week brought together thought leaders and partners across industries including music, tech, government,...

30/04/2026

API launch the Vision+ console

Iconic large-format console upgraded API's iconic Vision console has just been treated to an overhaul that aims to meet the demands of today's profe...

30/04/2026

Lewitt introduce the LCT 440 Pure stereo pair

Comes complete with miking accessories The LCT 440 Pure has proven to be a popular member of Lewitt's mic line-up, offering impressive technical perform...

30/04/2026

SynthFest UK 2026 Announced

24 October 2026 at The Octagon, Sheffield Now in its eighth year, SynthFest UK is the largest event of its kind in the UK, bringing together the top keyboar...

30/04/2026

SBS & NITV LEAD NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 2026 WITH LANDMARK GULPILIL DOCUMENTARY

SBS & NITV LEAD NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 2026 WITH LANDMARK GULPILIL DOCUMEN...

30/04/2026

Rohde & Schwarz equips new Terminal 3 at Frankfurt Airport with security scanners

Rohde & Schwarz equips new Terminal 3 at Frankfurt Airport with security scanner...

30/04/2026

Jennifer Ehle and Alex Hassell join the cast of ITV's propulsive lunar thriller First Woman

Jennifer Ehle (Contagion, Zero Dark Thirty) and Alex Hassell (Rivals, Wasteman, ...

30/04/2026

L3Harris Technologies Reports Strong First Quarter 2026 Results

MELBOURNE, Fla., April 30, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) reports first quarter 2026 results. Highlights Orders of $7.8 billion; book-to-bill of 1....

30/04/2026

Golf Craft Interview: A1s Florian Brown and James Deason

Behind the Broadcast: The Sound of Elite Golf Golf is gaining popularity; the 2025 Ryder Cup achieved record-breaking viewing figures in the UK specifically, wi...

30/04/2026

CPI Media Leverages QuickLink StudioCall for Integrating...

STA VENERA, MALTA, APRIL 29, 2026 CPI Media, a voluntary organization within the Missionary Society of St Paul (MSSP) and a leading media house dedicated to p...

30/04/2026

Hitomi Broadcast Presents UK Debut of MatchBox Panorama a...

New software platform delivers comprehensive timing measurement across production workflows...

30/04/2026

Cutting edge British innovation leads at BroadcastAsia 20...

Once again, the UK Pavilion in Hall 5 of BroadcastAsia 2026 will feature the latest and best in technology specifically developed and tailored for modern media ...

30/04/2026

Avid powers faster workflows and next-generation immersive audio with latest Pro Tools release

Avid powers faster workflows and next-generation immersive audio with latest Pro...

30/04/2026

Ocean Blue Software Launches ATSC 3.0 Inspector for Smart TVs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

Digital Azul positions Lisbon as a remote production hub...

Scalable broadcast-grade production over public internet, replacing traditional OB workflows...

30/04/2026

V Nova Brings DTV Deployment LCEVC Ecosystem Progress and...

Live demonstrations highlight LCEVC ecosystem momentum, AI-powered video pipelines, and expansion across broadcast, streaming, and social media. DTV (TV 3.0) ...

30/04/2026

Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon

Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon The dual major shares his path from community college to Berklee, and how his heritage influences his work. April 29, 2026 B...

30/04/2026

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals As part of the Berklee Popular Music Institute, students will perform at Lollapalooza, Governors Ba...

30/04/2026

Study: Rokus Low-Cost, Ad-Free Howdy Streamer Hits 1 Million Subs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

MLS Innovation Lab Selects AI Partners

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

NRB Files FCC Complaint Over Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Monologue

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...