Fargo N.D. ABC affiliate WDAY-TV—the official official broadcast home of North Dakota State University Bison football and basketball games—has selected JVC’s GY-HC900 CONNECTED CAM to cover the collegiate action from a newly built sports production truck. 

Chief Engineer David Johnson noted the station’s long-term relationship with JVC. “We have deployed JVC for over a decade and they continue to manufacture top-of-the-line cameras that work incredibly well,” he says. “With its advanced technology and capability to handle bigger lenses, the JVC GY-HC900 was exactly what we were looking for in a camera. Football and basketball productions are growing in scale and the GY-HC900 allows us to handle whatever size production we need.”

In all, WDAY purchased four GY-HC900 cameras along with the brand’s VF-HP900G/SK-900J Studio Viewfinder kits, KA-EN200G H.265/HEVC adapters, and the BR-DE900 decoder for working with native H.265 SRT streams. Johnson also utilizes a Fujinon 2/3-inch network specification box and ENG lenses in his fleet.

“When we built the NDSU Bison sports production truck, we knew JVC would be part of the build,” adds Johnson. “The GY-HC900 allows us to broadcast with a clarity that rivals any sports production today. In addition, livestreaming to the NDSU and WDAY websites is now much more efficient when using the HEVC/H.265 plug-in encoder.”

In addition to NDSU sports, Johnson plans to use the truck for various high school sports productions, including local area hockey, basketball and golf events. 

WDAY-TV is the flagship TV station for Forum Communications, a family-owned, multimedia and technology company headquartered in Fargo.

NEW YORK—OTT services and platforms are approaching the same level of reach of broadcast and cable TV networks, and that could put them in a position to vie for major sports league rights, according to a new report from MoffettNathanson.

MoffettNathanson, looking at Nielsen data and other metrics, says that Netflix has a reach of 55% of U.S. TV households. By comparison, ABC has a reach of 58%, Fox 58%, NBC 60% and CBS 60%. Other major streamers—Amazon, Roku, Disney+, Pluto TV and Tubi—are lower, but on par with many linear cable services.

MoffettNathanson posits that in three years many premium streamers will be ahead of cable networks and closer to broadcast networks, which would allow them to effectively compete for high-priced programming, like sports.

"While we still believe that the NFL will remain a core broadcast product in the existing bundle, distribution of other sports rights, which we have previously taken for granted, could change meaningfully over the next set of renewals. These shifts could occur as media companies and leagues/teams are forced to react to declining viewership among younger audiences and the acceleration of vertically-owned network streaming services like ESPN+, HBO Max, Peacock and Paramount+," the report reads.

Highlighting the age factor, MoffettNathanson that 65% of all cable network viewers are now over the age of 50.

The shift in the market is already beginning, with MoffettNathanson pointing to recent announcements that NBCSN will be shut down and the WWE shuttering is SVOD service and shifting to Peacock.

For more information, download MoffettNathanson's full report.

NEW YORK—The NHL’s return is just a week away, and the picture is becoming clearer of what hockey will look like in this unusual period, specifically for TV audiences.

In a conference call on July 23, the NHL provided details of what the two hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto would be like for players, personnel and for the broadcast production of games. Rather than try to recreate a normal hockey broadcast experience with faux fans—like what Fox is planning for its MLB broadcasts—the NHL is instead opting for an entire new presentation for TV audiences.

“Rather than taking advantage of virtual fans or cardboard cutouts or putting teddy bears in the stands, we’ve decided that we’re going to do something that really caters to the fans at home, the fans that are enjoying the television experience,” said Steve Mayer, NHL senior executive vice president and chief content officer. “We want to educate them. We want to entertain them. We want to visually excite them.”

First and foremost, this will include an increase in the number of cameras being used by broadcasters (NBC in Toronto and SportsNet in Edmonton). There will now be 32 cameras following game action, an increase of 12 from normal productions, per Mayer.

In addition, the league plans to use video, audio and lighting that will create different looks for each game. There will be LED screens, monitors and stages around the ice for what is described as a “unique television-friendly look.”

The 24 participating teams have also contributed to the effort by providing goal songs, goal horns, in-arena music compilations and motivational videos. The NHL also plans to feature specially produced videos from fans that will replicate chants that are often heard in teams’ home arenas.

EA Sports, who creates the annual NHL video game, is also partnering with the league for use of its library of in-game sounds to mimic crowd noise.

These new features will debut when the puck drops on the first official games of the NHL Qualifying Round on Aug. 1.

LOS ANGELES—Fox Sports believes that its broadcast of Major League Baseball games for the new season actually won’t look as different as many might have expected with the fact that fans will not be allowed to attend games. This will be thanks to the network adding virtual fans.

Fox Sports will implement virtual fans, based on advanced motion capture, into the stands for its game broadcasts starting Saturday, July 25. Fox says that these CGI fans feature more than 500 looping actions and are customizable, with the network able to control the excitement level of the crowd and the balance of the fans for the two teams.

According to a report from Variety, MLB is supporting the effort by providing 75 different sound effects from the audio files of a MLB-sanctioned video game from Sony.

A preview of the technology was given to the New York Post, with Fox Sports Executive Vice President Brad Zager saying: “We were dead set on trying to make the broadcast with no crowd feel as authentic and organic as possible. We want to give people an escape.”

Fox is broadcasting four games on July 25, all of which will feature virtual fans. This will include games at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Petco Park in San Diego and Nationals Park in D.C.

MILAN, Italy—As the world of sports broadcasting is evolving, international system integration consultancy Fincons Group has released a new whitepaper that details the new technology that is essential to keep up and how exactly it can be properly utilized.

“Next Gen Technologies Now at Bat: Machine Learning, AI and Next Gen TV Drive the Sports Entertainment Experience Revolution” provides an insight into how technology like machine learning and next-generation TV standards like ATSC 3.0 and HbbTV will usher in a new era of personalization and interactivity—put on the fast track due to the coronavirus pandemic that is leaving sports broadcasts without one of their staples, live fans.

These new technologies will enable sports content owners to leverage data in new ways, including for targeted, personalized advertising and monetization with access to near real-time data analysis and prediction capabilities that can be applied to both the sporting action and audience preference and behavior.

The white paper focuses on four key areas: data analytics, gamification, smart watching and targeted advertising and ecommerce.

“It is critical for this forward thinking industry to remain constantly poised toward the future by harnessing these new technologies and introducing an expanded Sport Supply Chain with production-ready software frameworks to accelerate transformation ahead of competitors,” Fincons said.

The “Next Gen Technologies Now at Bat: Machine Learning, AI and Next Gen TV Drive the Sports Entertainment Experience Revolution” is available for free download here. 

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Live sports remains one of the most watched elements of live television, but that doesn’t mean that the experience still can’t be improved upon. According to a new report from research and development company NTT around 54% of viewers are not fully satisfied with sports viewing experiences, but they also say that a solution could be found in the form of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

One area of interest for the use of AI in sporting events is for predicting outcomes. More than half of survey respondents age 18-34 (54%) think AI is capable of successfully predicting the results of a sporting event, with nearly the same amount (52%) suggesting that accurate predictions would make a sporting event more engaging. However, across all ages, only 26% of respondents were aware of AI or machine learning technology being used for sporting events.

Additional findings from the NTT report reveal that 56% of millennials (18-34) said they expect to increase their use of “second screens” during live sporting events over the next three years. Across all age groups, 51% of respondents are tracking live updates of sporting events through a second screen at least once a week. A key motivator for including a second screen experience, according to 34% of participants, is for greater access to data and stats.

“It’s clear ICT infrastructure, the cloud and mobile services have a critical role to play as the sport industry evolves to meet the growing demands of digitally savy supporters,” said NTT in its announcement.

Western Michigan University’s (WMU) Division I Broncos football program has a storied history at the Kalamazoo-based school. As the 2015 Bahama Bowl winner, 2016 Mid-American Conference (MAC) champions, and participants in the 2017 Cotton Bowl, the popular team requires production technology that keeps pace with its sports program.

Video production professionals at the school determined that the slow-motion replay system used for in-arena replays and for live ESPN and ESPN+ feeds from home football, men’s and women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s basketball games was not providing a true broadcast look or an optimum training ground for students. As part of the school’s video production unit, Bronco Productions, students are responsible for the school’s sports programming feeds for ESPN and ESPN+.

WMU turned to the Envivo Replay, sports and live event replay solution from Variant Systems, which is sold all over the world, and exclusively by FOR-A in North, Central and South America. Envivo Replay is a complete replay solution with an intuitive user interface that offers support for high-speed slow-motion cameras, as well as playlists for highlights playback, built-in branding capabilities, and direct publishing to social media platforms. It allows for multiple camera inputs and multiple controlled outputs.

As of this fall, Envivo Replay is used to capture slow motion footage for Broncos’ in-stadium replays and for its streaming coverage to ESPN and ESPN+.

“We needed a slow-motion system in our truck that was more broadcast ready,” says Devon Doxey, Assistant Director, Bronco Productions. “We were looking for a replay system with the same look and feel as a professional system that was also easy to learn. The students absolutely love to use the touchscreen. I was a little worried about it at first, but it’s impressive how easy it is to use. It makes doing replays fun. I see our students use it all the time. We rely on them. Envivo Replay gives us state-of-the-art tools that lets them produce broadcast-quality video.

“Plus, we’re able to teach students on technology that’s similar to other systems used by broadcasters,” Doxey continues. “Being able to get them broadcast-ready for replay gigs in the future is something we couldn’t do before.”

Doxey cites having a dual playlist mode as another benefit: “Access to more content has made our production quality even better.”

He adds Variant’s game-day support and the system’s pricing as other factors that contributed to the switch. “With Envivo, we don’t call a technical support line to talk to someone who may or may not know what we’re talking about. We have the guy who created the system as our tech support. That’s incredible.”

Doxey serves as the Director and Producer for all ESPN streams at Western Michigan University, as well as leading all video production for scoreboard and social media content.

Envivo Replay is part of a complete live event workflow with FOR-A’s HANABI series of video switchers, ClassX 3D graphics, and video writer telestrators. 

LOS ANGELES—Sports broadcasting is one of the more demanding activities in television. Specially built trucks (or “OB Vans”) roll in the night before or perhaps the early morning. Utility crews and technicians converge and start rolling out cables and gear to be installed for the game later that day. The production truck (or trucks) is powered on, sometimes with shore power, sometimes with a generator, sometimes both. Inside, the production crew preps for the day, prebuilding effects and graphics, editing b-roll packages, checking the cameras and microphones, setting up comms, connecting back to the network center via fiber or satellite. As the game nears, the director meets with his camera crew, the producer works with the announcers, and everyone else is busy transitioning from setup to operations.

Crews are either locally sourced or travel in; hotel arrangements, local transport and meals are additional logistics to contend with. Veteran crews make it seem easy for the ‘A’ game, but not so much for the B- and C-level productions that may look more like an amateur team using antiquated gear.

It’s a crazy way to cover events that are prescheduled at locations visited many times during the year. But what if there was a way to produce the event from a central fixed location, maybe thousands of miles away? What if the local requirements could be reduced to the core functions while all the elaborate production is done from a full-time production facility with teams of well-trained production personnel? There would be no need for a large specialized vehicle, representing millions in television production equipment on wheels and no travel and hotel or meals to organize and pay for. 

TWO DECADES OF EXPERIENCE

Well, it’s been happening for quite some time. In 1996, NBC Sports took advantage of Atlanta’s proximity to New York and leveraged their new digital equipment infrastructure (Genesis) rebuild at 30 Rockefeller Center to do preproduction and graphics builds for the Olympics, as well as highlight packages remotely in New York. All it took was multiple digital video circuits between the International Broadcast Center at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta and 30 Rock, the will to do it, and the coordination and communications to make it feasible. 

In the last few years, sports networks have increased their efforts to enable “At Home” or REMI (REMote Integration) production, especially for college sports. The key factor is access to high bandwidth/low latency connectivity coupled with a flexible work force that can be trained to do the localized work needed at the remote site. Fixed facilities coupled with a small vehicle to transport the production gear (mainly cameras and microphones) to the stadium or arena enable the central production facility to put on live sporting events while located miles away. 

Big Ten and Pac 12 were two of the first collegiate sports leagues to go down the At Home path. Then ESPN with the SEC Network as well as other college sports have deployed REMI to take advantage of the newly built all-IP production facility in Bristol, Conn. (DC2). But it hasn’t been just for college sports; ESPN used REMI extensively for the 2016 X-Games.

HOW DO THEY DO IT?

Aside from fiber interconnect with bi-directional Gb/s IP pathways, At Home productions have taken different approaches to the on-site equipment and operation. For some college sports, such as swimming/diving, wrestling, volleyball, etc., Pac 12 developed a mobile rack with all the terminal gear to interface to a high speed internet connection and deploy up to six cameras and microphones.

For larger events or outdoors, a small van or truck arrives on the scene and a small local crew deploys the equipment (cameras, microphones, terminal gear) and then operates the cameras and creates audio submixes. At some events, a hybrid approach is taken where there is both on-site production and camera and microphone signals are transmitted back to the central production facility.

For those events where fixed connectivity is not available, wireless connectivity via 4G/5G mobile bonded cellular can be used to stream camera signals to a central production facility. NESN, with production facilities in Boston, uses cellular camera backhaul to produce pre- and post-game coverage, live reports and press conferences at major sports events.

“The Switch,” a global media and transmission solutions provider focused on high quality live video transport, offers a cloud-based live production environment called “Cumulus.” Coupled with “Home Runs,” their video transmission service uses DTM (Dynamic Synchronous Transfer Mode) to enable At Home production. DTM, unlike IP, provides dedicated bandwidth with guaranteed QoS. By enhancing Home Runs with Cumulus, The Switch demonstrated a complete television production at the 2017 NAB Show that included a SkyCam aerial camera system--"Sky Command"--in Denver (Dick Sporting Good Park), with remote integration from The Switch studio facilities in London and Los Angeles with SMT's designed 3D graphics and patented Camera Tracker Technology, which allows virtual graphics to be inserterd over a moving camera, controlled by personnel located at The Switch booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Meanwhile, over in Europe, an example of REMI—as well as cloud production—is in operation. The NEP Hilversum facility, just outside Amsterdam, has connectivity with a telecom provider that has access to high-speed IP connectivity to a variety of venues, including major soccer stadiums. By leveraging existing facilities at a media center in Hilversum, producers can book studios and control rooms, as well as telecom and data center functionality to produce an event, pay only for the time used and then move on while the next production moves in. 

The latest event in Europe involved a REMI “proof-of-concept” that proved that live uncompressed camera signals can be sent over 1,000 miles to a production center where a live sports event is produced, with replays and graphics as well as enabling streaming, 360-degree VR and archiving functions. Gearhouse Broadcast, using gear and software from Snell Advanced Media (SAM), delivered live signals from the UEFA Under 21 Championship Final in Krakow, Poland, to the BT Sport Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. Five Sony HDC 4300 4k/HD camera signals were sent via dual redundant 100GB Ethernet links, which were provisioned by Level 3.

THE CHALLENGES

Live television requires tight teamwork; being on-site, working in close quarters, and knowing you are on your own at a remote site brings out the best in everyone. The downside is the cost and time lost due to travel, setup and breakdown. REMI and At Home brings the remote camera and audio signals back to a fixed facility, which can be used for multiple events throughout the year without having to travel thousands of miles, perform set up and breakdown multiple times. The production team is sourced locally so travel is minimized but the quality of production can be consistent. 

But there is a clear requirement to make At Home work: reliable, affordable and low-latency transmission facilities between the remote site and the central production facilities, as well as the need for reliable, low-delay communication systems to coordinate between the remote site and the central production team. In addition, local camera operators, audio/coms specialists and other skilled operators have to be sourced. There is a growing shortage of people trained in these skills as the role of traditional broadcast operations shrink. Training new hires to replace retirees is going to be needed for At Home productions to be successful. 

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

As the “‘big kahuna” of production, live TV requires planning, reliability and attention to detail, while having the ability to pivot and deal with any contingency. At Home mitigates some of the risk by centralizing operations and facilities, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs; but there is still the need to rely on local talent to operate the field equipment. 

With the industry transitioning to a “cloud” approach, where all signals are in a data center, individual production team members can be anywhere as long as there is reliable, fast connectivity. However the key to successful REMI production will be access at all sites to a reliable, high-speed, low-latency telecom network that is both ubiquitous and cost-effective.

Jim DeFilippis is CEO of TMS Consulting, Inc., in Los Angeles. He can be reached at JimD@TechnologyMadeSimple.pro. See more at his author archive.