WASHINGTON—The inauguration of President Joe Biden on Jan. 20 was brought to viewers on ABC, CBS and NBC, but those three networks’ coverage was pooled together with the help of mobile production company Game Creek Video. In turn, Game Creek Video relied on a number of Canon lenses to capture the historic moments seen by millions of viewers.

Game Creek provided facilities, cameras and engineering support for the three major parts of the inauguration broadcast that were all used by ABC, CBS and NBC—NBC took care of the pool coverage, CBS the parade route coverage and ABC covered Lafayette Park.

Sony cameras outfitted with Canon lenses were used to capture the event, according to Steve Dolce, Game Creek Video’s project manager for the inauguration. The majority of the 30 cameras Game Creek used for the production were Sony 2500s, with a variety of Canon portable lenses being utilized.

Among the lenses was a UHD-Digisuper 122x (which captured the podium where the inaugural address was given), four UHD-Digisuper 100x lenses, 10-12 UHD-Digisuper 86x lenses, 10 HH WA Angles lenses and six 21-24x HH lenses.

The use of Canon lenses is part of Game Creek’s long established partnership with the brand.

“Game Creek and Canon have a great partnership,” said Dolce. “It is always a pleasure working with the folks at Canon and we have always been extremely pleased with their equipment in the field. Being a company that takes partnerships with its clients extremely seriously, the ability to cultivate the same kind of partnership with Canon, one of our key vendors, has been equally as rewarding.

"When the stakes are as high as they are for events like the inauguration, millions of people are depending on us to deliver that historical moment to their screens,” added Jason Taubman, senior vice president of Technology, Game Creek Video. “It really takes the pressure off to have a group like Canon in your corner. The shot of the inaugural address was seen around the world and Canon helped us capture it flawlessly. We are looking forward to many more years of working with Canon to make sure we provide the best product we can to our clients and their viewers."

NEW YORK—Nearly 40 million people tuned in to see the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the U.S. on Jan. 20, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen. Viewership was up over the 2016 inauguration of Donald Trump, though numbers fluctuated, particularly on cable news networks.

CNN was the network of choice for 10 million viewers, besting the broadcast networks and MSNBC and Fox News. That number represents a 196% increase over viewership from Trump’s inauguration. Nielsen also reported that CNN was the primary choice for coverage of the primetime inaugural celebration on Jan. 20. The news network has seen consistently strong ratings since Biden was elected, Nielsen says.

Despite not having the same size audience, MSNBC saw an even larger growth in viewership, with 6.53 million people watching the ceremonies on the cable network, a 338% increase from four years ago. MSNBC said it had its highest daytime ratings in its history for the inauguration.

Inversely, Fox News’ audience dipped 77% over the last inauguration, with Biden netting 2.74 million viewers of the network.

ABC led all broadcast networks with 7.66 million viewers (up 10% from 2017), followed by NBC’s 6.89 million (down 12%) and CBS’ 6.07 million (down 13%).

Overall, the top six networks’ audience was 4% larger than for Donald Trump’s inauguration.

These numbers are not a complete estimate, as Nielsen says that it is still counting people who watched on other networks or outside their homes.

WASHINGTON—News organizations have sent a joint letter to federal law enforcement agencies requesting greater transparency and timely information about the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots and the possibility of further violence, particular in regards to the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden.

The letter was sent to Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Pete Gayno, U.S. Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman, U.S. House of Representatives Acting Sergeant at Arms Timothy P. Blodgett and U.S. Senate Acting Sergeant at Arms Jennifer Hemingway.

“The agencies must share information about possible civil unrest in the days leading up to Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, through frequent and regular in-person press briefings so the public and news outlets can be properly informed about viable threats and can take appropriate action to protect themselves,” the letter reads.

NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith offered a similar sentiment in a recent blog post on The Hill.

The organizations that signed the letter include NAB, Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, National Newspaper Association, Native American Journalists Association, News Media Alliance, News Media for Open Government, News Leaders Association, Online News Association, Radio Television Digital News Association, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Society of Professional Journalists.

The full letter can be read online. 

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—It turns out President Trump’s inauguration last Friday was a record setting event, as it pertains to live streaming. According to content delivery network services provider Akamai, the 2017 Presidential Inauguration was the most live video streamed news event that company has delivered.

Akamai live video streams for the inauguration reached a peak of 8.7 Tbps at 12:04 p.m. ET, during President Trump’s speech. This exceeded the previous record of 7.5 Tbps that occurred during the 2016 presidential election last November. Total number of concurrent viewers supported during peak time reached 4.6 million, per Akamai.

MCLEAN, VA.—Virtual reality and the peaceful transition of power for the U.S. government will be bedfellows on Friday, Jan. 20, as USA Today Network has announced that it will provide livestream virtual reality and 360-degree coverage of the inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump.

Photo credit: Aaron P. Bernstein, Getty Images

The first livestream content produced by USA Today Network’s “VRtually There” show, the stream will include multiple VR camera angles positioned at the Capitol, the National Mall, and along the inaugural parade route. Nikon is providing a KeyMission 360 camera that will allow USA Today Network to livestreaming in 360-degrees via in-camera stitching.

Viewers can watch the livestream through VR headsets via the USA Today channel in the YouTube app. The livestream will also be available in 360-degree format through YouTube for desktop and mobile users.

USA Today Network’s streaming coverage of the inauguration will begin at 9:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON—This Friday, President-Elect Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the U.S., and Dejero will be on hand to capture it for its domestic and international customers. Broadcasters from Los Angeles to Japan will reportedly be utilizing Dejero’s Live+ range of IP newsgathering equipment for the 2017 presidential inauguration.

Dejero will offer a range of IP newsgathering gear, including its EnGo and GoBox mobile transmitters for the transportation of live IP video. The Live+ platform will do so by bonding all available IP networks including cellular, Wi-Fi, and satellite for high-quality, low-latency video.

In addition, Dejero is planning on deploying private Wi-Fi hotspots to ensure coverage at different areas like the parade route, White House, the South and North Lawn, the National Mall, and the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

Broadcasters covering the event will be able to use Dejero’s Live+ Control cloud management tool to monitor and route feeds and remotely manage equipment in the field.