The actual game broadcast was handled by NMT’s DX10 truck, with the DX11 unit broadcasting the “host portion,” or the pre-game, halftime and post-game shows.
National Mobile Television (NMT) provided ABC Sports with five of its fully digital mobile production units to handle all aspects of the television broadcast for Super Bowl XXXVII. The international broadcast, which reached an estimated worldwide audience of 800 million viewers in 220 countries, involved more than 50 cameras and an intricate intercom system that linked each of the trucks.
NMT has been handling remotes for the network since May 2000. ABC’s use of NMT for Super Bowl XXXVII marked the network’s first contract with an outside mobile production company to handle a Super Bowl broadcast.
Planning for the event began last summer. On January 16, the NMT trucks pulled into Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif., to begin on-site preparations. By opening kick-off, a comprehensive broadcast production infrastructure was in place and fully operational.
The production requirements for the Super Bowl increased several-fold from those of a regular-season live sporting event such as ABC’s “Monday Night Football.” For MNF games, approximately 25 cameras are used, barely half the amount employed at the Super Bowl. In terms of on-site personnel, NMT provided 16 engineers, compared to the usual complement of four for a regular season game.
The actual game broadcast was handled by NMT’s DX10 truck, with the DX11 unit broadcasting the “host portion,” or the pre-game, halftime and post-game shows. A third NMT truck was equipped with additional cameras and tape machines, while two additional trucks supplied graphics and additional video distribution. Each truck was inter-connected via an expanded RTS/Telex matrix intercom system consisting of single- and dual-bus expanders and trunking technology.
For more information visit www.nmtv.com or www.abc.com.
