SVG Year in Review - Audio Edition: More Music, More Mergers, Fewer A1s Spectrum, sports betting, AI are other factors in sound for both broadcast and streaming By Dan Daley, Audio Editor Thursday, January 2, 2025 - 1:46 pm
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Broadcast audio had another eventful year, not least because sports and entertainment came together at ever higher levels in 2024. The synergy was bookended by two halftime spectaculars: Usher at Super Bowl LVIII in February and Beyonc in Netflix's first-ever NFL Christmas doubleheader, the latter performance so jaw-dropping in its sprawling production that Super Bowl LIX halftime star Kendrik Lamar is likely considering additional wattage for his upcoming Superdome show.
It also further increases the value of the biggest entertainment entity on Earth who has never done a Super Bowl show: Taylor Swift, who ended her Eras tour last year with more than $1 billion in black ink. (Beyonc has headlined a Super Bowl Halftime Show, in 2013.)
Now, That's Entertainment Usher headlined the spectacular Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show in February.
A particularly notable music/sports pairing was rapper Snoop Dogg as color commentator for both the 2024 Paris Olympics and college football on CW Sports. (Iconic quarterback Tom Brady went in the other direction, delivering a few zingers of his own at his Comedy Central Roast.) The 2024 NFL Draft featured performances by rappers Big Sean and Bazzi. The NHL offered five-time Grammy Award-winner Shania Twain during the Stanley Cup Final series, and Nashville's Big Machine Music City Grand Prix featured mom-rockers Daughtry and country artist Riley Green.
The year's notable sports-entertainment failure? Break dancing as an Olympics sport. It came and went in an Olympic instant, leaving only a few evanescent memes, such as Australia's B-girl Raygun, who flopped, jerked, and kangarooed her way to a total of zero points.
Nothing can feel like just a game or a concert anymore, opines Michael Abbott, sound designer for the Grammy Awards and reality-TV competition shows. Everything has to be an event. Stadiums and arenas are now built as television studios to produce both sports and music. The content goes up on huge video walls and through massive sound systems well before the game starts and well after it ends.
Who Will Produce the Spectaculars? The growing shortage of A1s got worse in 2024 as retirements increased. Workflow evolution since the pandemic has helped some: REMI and other remote-production techniques have been widely and successfully implemented, reducing the number of A1s needed onsite and, thus, the amount of travel required and increasing the productivity of the remaining A1 cohort.
However, natural attrition continues to occur, and it doesn't take an AARP actuarial analyst to point out that the trend will only accelerate among audio crews, most of whom on the biggest network productions are in their 50s and 60s.
Growing Demand, Crowded RF Spectrum The increasing use of on-player audio put more emphasis on intercom technology last year. The trend underscores both the diminishment of RF spectrum and the increased effort needed to get in closer to the action.
Devices to meet increased demand for player audio challenge use of busy RF spectrum.
The challenge facing intercoms for broadcast sports boils down to a simple equation: the number of wireless devices keeps growing while the available RF spectrum does not. This means that teams, leagues, and productions need to squeeze more devices into an increasingly crowded RF space.
RF coordination can be difficult if not impossible at times, says Clear-Com President Bob Boster. To achieve a successful show, everyone involved needs to make sure they allocate enough time to properly plan their setup, working with the other suppliers and venue personnel to make sure everyone knows what to expect and where they will need to compromise.
WMAS: New Kid on the Spectrum Block In February, the FCC approved a regulation change, permitting operation and deployment of the new, more spectrally efficient Wireless Multichannel Audio Systems (WMAS) technology in the U.S. The technology allows more microphones to be used without allocation of more bandwidth.
The new rules permit WMAS to operate on a licensed or unlicensed basis in broadcast-TV bands and the 600 MHz duplex gap while preserving existing spectrum rights of others sharing those frequencies, which are heavily used by broadcasters as well as by theaters and music venues, corporate events, and webcasting.
It is definitely the start of a new era of wireless-microphone technology, says Joe Ciaudelli, director, spectrum and innovation, Sennheiser, which is among the vendors spearheading new products for WMAS. He notes the nearly six years the FCC spent considering the technology and the eight months it took last year before publishing its finding in the Federal Register. We expect the competition to be rigorous.
The Effect of Gambling Spectrum took on another dimension in 2024 as online sports betting proliferated. Wagering on such platforms as FanDuel and DraftKings is not only on outcomes but can be as granular as individual plays and moments, so-called micro bets. The need for immediacy puts additional strain on cellular networks.
For instance, in the Louisville area last year, Verizon significantly expanded its 5G ultra-wideband service, deployed on its C-band spectrum - the culmination of the 5G C-band spectrum it acquired at an FCC auction - for use at both Churchill Downs, ahead of the running of the 150th Kentucky Derby, and the KFC YUM! Center arena.
Streaming Comes of Age
Thursday Night Football is at the center of Amazon Prime Video's new sports division.
Amazon, Apple, and Netflix boosted claims for virtual territory for sp
