Video Call Center, NBCU Collab on Remote Production for ‘Maury,’ ‘Steve Wilkos Show’

Video Call Center Maury
(Image credit: NBCUniversal)

STAMFORD, Conn. & PALISADES, N.Y.—To adapt to the new realities of remote production, NBCUniversal worked with Video Call Center to bring virtual guests onto its “Maury” and “The Steve Wilkos Show” programs. The key tool in this setup was VCC’s Caller Cloud platform.

Caller Cloud enables the shows’ hosts—Maury Povich and Steve Wilkos—to conduct extended interviews with their guests with each in remote locations over smartphones or standard video apps with hyper low latency video return and IFB mix-minus. VCC also provided its StageDoor feature, which enables remote guests to join the production by clicking a texted or email hyperlink.

VCC can deliver broadcast-quality ISO feeds of all interviewed participants that can be used for a director’s line cut or in the post-production process, the company says.

The “Maury” production team is also using VCC’s CrowdView technology, which can display video and audio communication between live video audiences, Povich and his guests. The The technology allows for audience reactions to be delivered with “virtually no lag,” VCC says.

According to VCC CEO Larry Thaler, the use of VCC technology enables “Maury” and “The Steve Wilkos Show” to engaged with about 20 remote guests during any production.

The VCC technology is expected to be used throughout both shows’ 2020-2021 season.