PITTSBURGH — Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia has launched NCPII, a purpose-built mobile broadcasting facility designed to the specifications of the longtime NEP customer. 62 feet long and 20 feet wide when fully expanded, NCPII has enabled CSN Philadelphia to enhance its coverage of the Philadelphia Phillies, 76ers and Flyers home games — totaling 170 events per year.
“For more than 15 years, CSN Philadelphia has maintained the highest levels of accomplishment that a regional sports network can achieve,” said Shawn Oleksiak, senior executive producer of live events, CSN Philadelphia. “When we launched this project, our objective was to raise our game to the next level and beyond in terms of what we provide our viewers and how we present our team partners. Through our partnership with NEP, we've embraced this challenge by adopting the latest technologies available for production switchers, audio consoles, cameras, replays and graphic platforms. Through the innovation, expertise, and experience NEP is known for, NCPII is enabling us to present national network-level television at the regional level.”
Before adding NCPII, CSN Philadelphia produced home games for the teams from a fixed control room at Wells Fargo Center. With NCPII’s mobile capabilities, the network is now able to produce games from both Wells Fargo Center and Citizens Bank Park within the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. With full HD 1080i video and Dolby 5.1 audio capabilities, the truck is able to program the router and other systems with a core set of recallable audio and video functions to accommodate CSN Philadelphia’s schedule. Engineers can also make show-specific modifications quickly, adding specialized cameras or graphics.
“With this project, our objective was to offer CSN Philadelphia all of the fully integrated capabilities in a mobile setting that the production teams had been accustomed to in the fixed control room. Another unique aspect was the high-intensity production demands that would be placed on the truck due to CSN’s one-day set-shoot-strike schedule,” said Mike Werteen, senior vice president, sales and client services for NEP.
