INDIANAPOLIS—London-based OTT subscription service DAZN has purchased several Panasonic AW-UE150 4K pan/tilt/zoom cameras for its production of “The Pat McAfee Show” from a new studio it has built in the hometown of the former Indianapolis Colts Pro Bowl punter.
The show, streamed live weekdays on DAZN from 10 a.m. till noon EDT, is one of several ventures McAfee, who also is a commentator on ESPN’s Thursday night college football coverage, has taken on for the OTT service. He also creates football-focused segments for DAZN Canada and Germany, where the OTT service holds streaming rights for the NFL, and streams a podcast three times per week.
During the summer, DAZN built out the Indianapolis studio in a warehouse space where McAfee was working.
“Pat continues to work with his longtime crew, but this is really DAZN’s first opportunity to associate our brand with football, and we wanted a high-end, future-proofed production studio,” said DAZN Technical Operations Director Petro Mynch.
Five of the new Panasonic AW-UE150 cameras are installed permanently in the Indianapolis studio. Two are stationed in McAfee’s mobile studio. DAZN also acquired two AW-RP 150 PTZ control surfaces—one each for the Indianapolis and mobile studios, as well as three Panasonic BT-LH1770 17-inch monitors—two for the former and one for the latter.
“As a host, Pat is always on the move, very kinetic, so robotic cameras were a natural choice for us,” said Mynch. “We wanted our production kit to be good for at least a few years, and while we presently produce in 1080i/59.94, we have built-in 4K acquisition with the UE150.”
The new studio was built on an accelerated schedule, and Mynch found Panasonic to be helpful with the tight schedule, delivering the equipment promptly and offering necessary training, he said. “There is no on-site engineer; it’s literally all hands on deck with camera ops, and everyone has been impressed with the UE150’s ease of set-up and use,” he said.
The Panasonic UE150 cameras deliver excellent image quality and offer plug-and-play ease with the AW-RP150 remote controllers, he added, noting that the real-time color correction support offered by the BT-LH1770 monitors is helpful.
“Beginning with our very quick studio build, then moving on to demanding weekly live production assignments, the UE150s and support gear have worked impressively well and dependably,” he noted.
More information is available on the Panasonic website.
