NFL Playoffs 2021: After Grueling SNF Regular Season, NBC Sports Preps for Dual Wild Card Games After twin productions, the crew will face quick turnaround to the Divisional Round By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, January 8, 2021 - 1:52 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
For the first time since 2013, NBC Sports will be producing two games on Wild Card Weekend, thanks to the Peacock's acquisition of one of the two additional games in the NFL's newly expanded postseason this year. That means twice the crew, twice the trucks, and twice the cameras typically called on in a given week for Sunday Night Football - already one of the largest productions in all of sports television.
We have all the elements in place, and both games will be very close to Sunday Night Football levels, says Tim Dekime, director, sports operations, NBC Sports. That meant a lot of coordinating with the various vendors and ordering additional equipment to match Sunday Night Football levels. We also had to get another crew ready to go. We've all been working on that for the last month to make sure both games are complete and meet the expectations for Sunday Night Football.
In the Compound: A Weekend Split in Pittsburgh and DC Dekime is in Pittsburgh along with SNF Senior Technical Manager John Roch and Technical Manager Greg Pfeifer for Sunday's Browns-Steelers matchup, which will be produced out of SNF's dedicated NEP ND1 (A, B, C, and D) along with Supershooter 22 (brought on this season to allow social distancing of the crew). The SNF production team, led by producer Fred Gaudelli and director Drew Esocoff, will handle the AFC North showdown.
Meanwhile, Technical Manager Keith Kice is overseeing operations in Washington, DC, for the Buccaneers-Washington Football Team game, which will be produced by a crew led by producer Rob Hyland and director Pierre Moossa from NEP ND7 (A, B, C, and D units).
NBC Sports' John Roch (left) and Tim Dekime will be in Pittsburgh for the Steelers-Browns Wild Card Game on Sunday Night Football.
About a month ago, [Hyland and Moossa] started putting their crew together, Dekime explains, knowing that we were probably not going to be able to share crew members because we didn't know where the games were going to be geographically. But, as it turns out, when we found out it was Washington and Pittsburgh, we were able to pivot, and five or six of our Sunday Night Football regulars will travel to Washington to support the Sunday game as well, which is a big help.
Crews continue to be socially distanced by at least 6 ft., are required to follow strict safety protocols, and have been spread out across various areas. For example, SNF's EVS replay team of more than a dozen has been split across multiple trucks so that, if a team member tests positive on any given week, it doesn't take out the entire replay team.
In addition, graphics and edit teams for both games will be working remotely from NBC Sports Broadcast Center in Stamford, CT - as NBC has done all season to allow onsite crew to be spaced out throughout the trucks.
On the Field: Doubling SNF's Massive Camera Complement The cameras deployed in Pittsburgh and Washington will mirror those of NBC's Sunday Night Football package, with a 40+ cameras used for each game.
We're at Super Bowl levels for every Sunday, practically, says Gaudelli. We feel really good about our complement of equipment. Just going to go in there and try to cover the game as well as we always do, with the pizazz that is Sunday Night Football.
In Pittsburgh, the production will feature four Sony HDC-48000 4K 4X-slo-mo systems and 19 Sony HDC-4300's (including one running in 4K, nine in 6X slo-mo, and two in 4X slo-mo) - all with Canon lenses. Also on hand as part of the standard SNF complement are two RF Steadicams with Sony HDC-P1R cameras, seven robos from Fletcher, and, most notably, a Skycam Wildcat system with a Sony P-43 that debuted this season on SNF.
I think that 4K camera has a lot more potential, says Gaudelli. I plan to spend a lot more time in the offseason working with Skycam and Sony to figure out how we can get more out of it, stabilize it more while still being able to use it live in a regular type of replay. That was one of the things I'm most excited about for the offseason, getting to work on that.
Quick Turnaround: Divisional Round Location Revealed Sunday Night Once its pair of Wild Card Games are over, NBC will turn back around and head out to cover its to-be-determined Divisional Round game. In the past, the site of the divisional game was determined at the conclusion of the regular season, but, this year, NBC's ops team will have to wait until all Wild Card Games have concluded to find out where they're headed - making for an ultra-quick turnaround.
We won't find out where our divisional game is until this Sunday, which definitely brings challenges, says Dekime. It could be a Saturday game the following week, which means we would travel on a Wednesday rather than Thursday. We have to get all of the logistics done as soon as possible on Sunday - flights, hotels, equipment, and so on - which likely means a very late night.
A Look Back at SNF 2020: A Challenging Year Unlike Any Other Despite harrowing circumstances and the constant threat of COVID-19, the SNF team was able to power through its entire 19-game regular-season schedule. Much of this was due to NBC's stringent testing each week and safety protocols but also to adapting on the fly from week to week.
Just like other networks, we have experienced cases of COVID-19 during the season within our crew, but we have measures in place to account for that. There hasn't been a week - at least in the last 10 weeks - where we haven't had to replace person
Most recent headlines
17/02/2025
TVBEurope talks to the team who brought a piece of broadcasting history back to life on BBC Wales last night
By Jenny Priestley
Published: February 14, 2025 ...
17/02/2025
Eligible studios will receive the relief directly from their local authorities, with no need to submit a claim
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 17, 20...
17/02/2025
As DEI initiatives come under pressure in the USA, supporters of Rise, which promotes diversity in the media and entertainment sector, discuss the continuing im...
17/02/2025
EIB Global loan will partially fund SES's continued O3b mPOWER medium earth orbit (MEO) fleet expansion enabling additional capacity worldwide. O3b mPOWER s...
15/02/2025
At Nielsen, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) play a critical role in nurturing a ...
15/02/2025
Innovation to empower creativity: Explore the latest in Lightroom
Rob Christensen February 15, 2025
0 Comments
Whether you want to remove distracting ...
15/02/2025
Wisycom, a worldwide leader in RF technology and provider of wireless solutions, announces a new distribution agreement with EQUAPHON. An Argentinian profession...
15/02/2025
DPA Microphones, the leading manufacturer of high-quality microphone solutions, is pleased to welcome Nicholas Nick Mariano and Vincent Vince Divine to the ...
15/02/2025
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking solutions, will showcase how Tuxera Fusion SMB enables unprecedented performance for m...
15/02/2025
Bitmovin's latest Video Developer Report indicates an increasing role of AI, the slow adoption of next-generation codecs, and continuing challenges when it ...
15/02/2025
When Michelin Enterprises set out to promote its prestigious Hotel Guide in the new Sleepless in the Kitchen , campaign, veteran German/Slovenian gaffer Robert...
15/02/2025
Formula E, the world's first all-electric racing series, revolutionizing motorsport with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability has sele...
15/02/2025
Agile Content, a global leader in TV and video technology solutions, announces its rebranding to AgileTV.
The transition to AgileTV stems from a commitment to ...
15/02/2025
Hiltron Communications will promote the latest additions to its range of satellite communication products, systems and supporting services at GovSatCom 2025. Th...
15/02/2025
Following the success of the original Airglow Booklight, DoPchoice debuts a new addition to their inflatable line the Float. This lightweight, inflatable, round...
15/02/2025
LAS VEGAS Marshall Electronics has announced that it will debut its newest camera controller, the RCP Plus, at the 2025 NAB Show at Booth N2649 between April 5 ...
15/02/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Blake Sebo as the next general manager of KTUU and KYES, Gray's NBC and CBS affiliates in Anchorage, Alaska....
15/02/2025
KOKKEDAL, Denmark DPA Microphones will feature its new CORE+ technology for distortion-free microphone sound at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas....
15/02/2025
SWANSEA, U.K. QuickLink will launch StudioPro-NDI and StudioPro-3, two new models of its QuickLine StudioPro video production platform, at the 2025 NAB Show, Ap...
15/02/2025
Live From 2025 NBA All-Star Game Weekend: After 25 Years, Turner Sports All-In F...
15/02/2025
NASCAR Driver Cam on Max Embraces Cloud-Based Workflow for 2025 Season Chris Brown of WBD Sports says Mobii will play key part in delivering signals from the tr...
14/02/2025
Last month, we officially launched the Spotify Partner Program, a powerful new m...
14/02/2025
From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & ...
14/02/2025
The future of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) land systems is evolving so that ...
14/02/2025
Here are 5 reasons why you should attend ISE 2025
Discover more about Calrec: Learn more about Calrec's legacy of innovation in broadcast audio solutions ...
14/02/2025
World Radio Day: On the same wavelength
By Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec
To mark World Radio Day, Calrec's International Sales Ma...
14/02/2025
DALLAS and TYSONS, Va. Tegna has concluded a broadcast rights agreement that makes Tegna's KFAA in Dallas the exclusive local television partner of the Dall...
14/02/2025
Amazon's Prime Video has released a new app for Apple TV that the streamer said delivers an improved streaming experiences with faster scrolling, improved s...
14/02/2025
CLEVELAND Telos Alliance announced a software update for its Axia Quasar XR and SR line of audio-over-IP (AoIP) mixing consoles and will show the offering at th...
14/02/2025
Puget Systems Returns to HPA Tech Retreat 2025 with New Analysis Tools for Puge...
14/02/2025
Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow
Brie Clayton February 14, 2025
0 Comments
80six deploys Blackmagic URSA Broadcas...
14/02/2025
A dispute between Paramount and Youtube TV that would have pulled CBS stations and Paramount's cable channels from the streaming service has been temporaril...
14/02/2025
Colourist Deidre (Dee) McClelland details how she helped shape the distinct look and feel of whimsical Oscar-nominated stop-motion film, Memoir of a Snail
By C...
14/02/2025
BitFire said it intends to introduce forward-looking services that simplify the launch of live production workflows, and enhance real-time collaboration
By Jen...
14/02/2025
The claim by the liquidators is the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the companys collapse at the end of 2021
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 14, ...
14/02/2025
A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount could come to a head today (Feb. 13), with the virtual pay TV provider threatening to pull all of the progra...
14/02/2025
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. LG Electronics USA has opened a new in-house, state-of-the-art virtual production studio at its 360,000-square-foot North American headqu...
14/02/2025
NEW YORK In a bid to help local broadcasters find new ways of monetizing their content, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have relea...
14/02/2025
WASHINGTON Three Democratic U.S. Senators have sent a stern letter blasting FCC Chair Brendan Carr for the weaponization of the agency for attacking broadcast...
14/02/2025
Years after launching the streaming service Apple TV+ in November of 2019, Apple has finally released a version of its steaming app for Android devices....
14/02/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. Red Digital Cinema will make its V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X camera systems available with Nikon's premier Z Mount, providing filmmaker...
14/02/2025
DAYTONA, Fla. The Fox Sports production of this year's Daytona 500 will see the addition of a few new tech elements and the continued unfolding of the broad...
14/02/2025
Watch Bryson Battles Blind Audition on The Voice Get a Four-Chair Turn Michael Bubl said the Boston Conservatory at Berklee musical theater senior might have...
14/02/2025
2025 Daytona 500: FOX Sports Looks To Ride Super Bowl LIX Momentum Into NASCAR S...
14/02/2025
14 Feb 2025
VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2....
14/02/2025
Max Renews THE PITT, Starring Noah Wyle, For A Second Season
Max
Warner Bros. Television Group
The Pitt
New Episodes Of The Medical Drama From John...
14/02/2025
This year, Technicolor proudly celebrates 110 years of shaping the magic of cinema pioneering color, visual effects, and innovation that bring unforgettable l...
14/02/2025
NBA All-Star: More Games, More Teams, More Music, More Sound From the Court Turner Sports' team will deploy familiar tech to capture all the audio By Dan D...
14/02/2025
LIV Golf Continues To Innovate With Drones, Data-Driven Graphics, and All-Access...
NFL Playoffs 2021: After Grueling SNF Regular Season, NBC Sports Preps for Dual Wild Card Games After twin productions, the crew will face quick turnaround to the Divisional Round By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
