Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

A Whole New Bull-Game: PBR Team Series Calls for New Production Technology, Storytelling Strategy

18/08/2022

A Whole New Bull-Game: PBR Team Series Calls for New Production Technology, Storytelling Strategy The live broadcast now mirrors the in-venue production with the same on-air talent for both By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Thursday, August 18, 2022 - 2:33 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

With the launch of the PBR Team Series last month, an entirely new five-on-five bull-riding format has changed the face of the sport. And with that new format comes a brand-new look for both the broadcast and the in-venue show - complete with a new state-of-the art in-arena experience, as well as new cameras, graphics, and audio elements for the broadcast.

Photo by Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media

This has been a one-on-one sport for almost 30 years, and now it's about teams; that changes the entire story, says Robby Greene, who oversees TV and production for PBR. The camaraderie and team spirit add a whole new level to the story. To watch teammates and coaches on the back of these bucking chutes pulling for the guy out there [riding] is really special to watch. I'm excited to present that to our audience in a new and totally different way.

After debuting at the outdoor Cheyenne Frontier Days July 25-26, the PBR Team went into full swing with indoor events at arenas in Kansas City, Anaheim, and, this weekend, Nashville in an 11-event regular season that will be followed by championship weekend in Las Vegas in November. All PBR Team Series events are being broadcast on either CBS or CBS Sports Network or are streamed live on Paramount+ or PBR RidePass on Pluto TV.

Best of Both Worlds: Melding the Broadcast and In-Venue Shows From an operations standpoint, the live broadcast mirrors the in-venue show, with the same talent heard in the arena and on television (as opposed to two independent shows for PBR's primary Unleash the Beast series).

Photo by Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

Over the years, says Greene, people at our live events have told us, I wish I could hear the television commentators while I'm in-arena,' and then people watching on television at home say, I wish I could see and hear more of what is going on [in the arena].' So we're trying to give everybody the best of both worlds by combining these two distinctly different shows and making it one product.

As part of the single-show mentality, the CBS TV broadcast desk, captained by Kate Harrison, is prominently located in the middle of the bucking chutes rather than in a traditional announce booth. In addition, CBS has embedded sideline reporters Allen Bestwick and Matt West and dedicated cameras to each team's bucking chute - similar to coverage of dugouts in baseball broadcasts. All these elements will also be incorporated into the in-venue videoboard show, bringing fans in the stands and at home closer to the action than ever before.

We're definitely still learning, says Greene, but we're just so excited to be able to provide that same perspective to both the spectator that bought a ticket [at the venue] or that's watching at home. We can offer that perspective now from the entire talent team - both in-arena and television. Is it perfect? Not yet. But is it a product that we're proud of? Absolutely. And we're getting better every week.

Inside the Arena: Big-Time Videoboard, Lighting, Audio Upgrades The in-venue Team Series experience is almost unrecognizable compared with a traditional PBR event, with PBR's largest-ever main videoboard, a state-of-the-art theatrical lighting system, and a drastically enhanced sound system.

Arena opening during the second day of the PBR Team Series event at Honda Center, Anaheim, CA (Photo by Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media)

The new center-hung videoboard measures 55 ft. wide by 30 ft. tall and comprises nearly 5 million individual LEDs. In addition, 400 linear feet of reinforced-face LED signage surround the entire arena, replacing the traditional printed signage tacked to the fences that bulls would sometimes tear down.

The in-venue experience also features nearly 300 individual lighting elements: beams, strobes, spotlights, moving-head fixtures, fixed and flashing lights. This significantly boosts the drama factor inside the arena compared with previous PBR events, which relied heavily on each venue's house lighting.

On the audio side, a new sound system equipped with 56 line-array speakers and eight subwoofers delivers 512,000 W of sound amplification. PBR has also invested in state-of-the-art sound-reinforcement technology to improve sound levels and clarity everywhere in the arena. Dan Hickman, head of production, PBR, told the Wrangler Network that the system (developed by a German audio company specializing in high-end concert audio) dramatically improves sound clarity and allows his team to digitally steer sound away from the TV booth and other areas that require quiet.

Photo by Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

A total of 15 semi-trucks are required to transport all this gear from venue to venue each week, and that doesn't count the trailers and trucks carrying an average of 90 bulls and 750 tons of dirt for each three-day event.

The addition of 30 seats on a new deck above the bucking chutes put VIP guests practically on top of the action. Another 18 Dirt Suites are located in the end-zone area opposite the chutes. Greene says the in-venue show now feels more like a high-profile title fight or WWE show than a rodeo.

I think I underestimated just how big the wow factor would be at one of these PBR Team events, he says. I just sit back in awe of what has been created in the arena with these 360-degree LED videoboards, the new sound system, the new people-pen structure, and the concert stage. If you didn't think a PBR could get any better, you have to come check one of these out.

Inside the Broa
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2022/08/18/a-whole-new-bull-game-pbr-teams...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

14/03/2025

Avid Appoints New CTO, Adds to Its Executive Leadership Team

BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid has expanded its executive leadership team (ELT) with the appointment of three experienced executives: Tom Sharma as chief technology off...

14/03/2025

TVU Networks Celebrates 20 Years of Innovation at 2025 NAB Show

CUPERTINO, Calif. TVU Networks, a pioneer in live video production and a leader in cloud-based media solutions, is marking its 20th anniversary at the 2025 NAB ...

13/03/2025

You Will Leave Opus Singing the Original Bops Performed by John Malkovich

(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...

13/03/2025

How Spotify Is Driving Growth, Discovery, and Innovation in the Audiobook Market

Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...

13/03/2025

Spotify Audiobooks Launches a New Publishing Program for Independent Authors

At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...

13/03/2025

Evolving EO/IR Technology For All-Domain Airborne Law Enforcement

Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...

13/03/2025

Craft Interview: Jamie McCombs, Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio

Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...

13/03/2025

Craft Interview: Paul Sandweiss, Production Sound Mixer/Audio Director

On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...

13/03/2025

Riedel To Showcase New StageLink Smart Edge Devices At 2025 NAB Show

WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...

13/03/2025

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring for VOS360 Streaming Workflows at the 2025 NAB Show

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...

13/03/2025

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage Platform that Empowers Video Teams to Scale Effortlessly

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...

13/03/2025

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Life at NAB 2025 Exhibition

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...

13/03/2025

Ajit Pai Appointed President of CTIA

CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...

13/03/2025

NAB: FCC's 60 Minutes Investigation Is Unconstitutional, Invalid

he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...

13/03/2025

CBS Miami to Launch AR Coverage of Weather and Sports for March Madness

MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...

13/03/2025

Meet the co-founder and chief customer success & innovation officer

Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...

13/03/2025

FCC Chairman Carr Launches Massive Deregulation Initiative

WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...

13/03/2025

SDVI Integrates Rally With Spectra Vail

SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...

13/03/2025

FCC Approves Gray's Acquisition of KXLT

ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...

13/03/2025

NAB Show 2025 Exhibitor Insight: Blackmagic Design

TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...

13/03/2025

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions. ...

13/03/2025

Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content

Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...

13/03/2025

Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew Cross

Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...

13/03/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size on Completing Customizable Studios for All Clients

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...

13/03/2025

IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036; Add Digital Projects, Initiatives

IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...

13/03/2025

NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical Video Feed, Mascot Mode, and Popular Boss Button

NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...

13/03/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive Experience for Daytona, The PLAYERS, and March Madness

SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...

13/03/2025

Sky Business Launches Cloud Voice A New Cloud Communication Solution for UK Businesses

Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...

13/03/2025

Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark for F band applications

Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...

13/03/2025

The ICG Marketing Survey 2025

We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey. Our 2025 survey p...

13/03/2025

Harmonic Amps Up Video Streaming Efficiency with New Origin Capabilities

SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...

13/03/2025

Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025

Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025 Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...

13/03/2025

FOR-A America Theme Connecting the Present, Building the Future Comes to Life at NAB 2025 Exhibition

Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...

13/03/2025

2025-03-13

A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...

13/03/2025

Italia 90 Republic of Ireland Squad, Riverdance, Cian Ducrot & B*Witched on Friday's Late Late Show

Here is your host, Patrick Kielty! Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...

13/03/2025

RT Celebrating all things Irish this St. Patrick's Weekend

This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...

13/03/2025

GTC 2025 - Announcements and Live Updates

What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...

13/03/2025

T-Mobile, Thales and SIMPL ease IoT deployments with a flexible and secure connectivity solution

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...

13/03/2025

Relive the Magic as GeForce NOW Brings More Blizzard Gaming to the Cloud

Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library. Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...

13/03/2025

Gaming Goodness: NVIDIA Reveals Latest Neural Rendering and AI Advancements Supercharging Game Development at GDC 2025

AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...

13/03/2025

Drop It Like It's Mod: Breathing New Life Into Classic Games With AI in NVIDIA RTX Remix

PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...

12/03/2025

Como o Impacto Cultural e Financeiro da Indstria Musical Define Seu Sucesso em 2025

O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...

12/03/2025

Cmo el impacto cultural y financiero de la industria musical define su xito en 2025

Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...

12/03/2025

Nourish Mind, Body, and Soul This Ramadan With Spotify

Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...

12/03/2025

How the Music Industry's Cultural and Financial Impact Define Its Success in 2025

Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...

12/03/2025

FAST now transcends back catalog content

More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...

12/03/2025

Viamedia Adopts ShowSeeker Pilot To Streamline Ad Workflows

GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...

12/03/2025

Mediagenix Appoints Wael Yasin as Sales Director Central Europe

BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....

12/03/2025

Omdia: Global Online Consumer Expenditure to Hit $6.6 Trillion by 2029

LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...

12/03/2025

Comcast Technology Solutions Upgrades to Interra Systems BATON Version 9

CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....