NESN Taps Ross Video for Facility-Wide Technology Upgrade
Story Highlights
- Two Acuity Production Switchers and OverDrive Automated Production Control Systems
- Four XPression Dual Channel Character Generators with Streamline Asset Management System
- Four CamBot Robotic Pedestals and openGear Terminal Equipment
- Three XPression engines will also be part of the upgrade as NESN is also deploying a complete Ross Virtual studio system
“We chose Ross because of their ability to provide a bundled system for the entire studio production workflow – from camera robotics to production switchers and graphics,” explains Dave Desrochers, VP of Engineering at NESN. “Ross also supports our future technical plans and provides us the best flexibility moving forward; that coupled with a competitive price made the choice easy.”
The Ross system will immediately be put to use on a wide range of programming formats. NESN produces three daily sports newscasts on a virtual set that re-airs up to 8 hours per day, plus multiple pre/post-game shows 225+ days per year. NESN’s productions will originate from two studios at the network’s television center plus remote studios at Fenway Park and TD Garden.
“NESN is excited to partner with Ross as the first regional sports network to produce all pre-game, post-game and live sports newscasts using an automation solution,” says Joseph Maar, VP of Programming and Production / Executive Producer at NESN. “Millions of viewers throughout New England and across the country on NESN National will watch coverage using Ross gear.”
“We consider ourselves a leader in the sports television business, so we’re excited that Ross brings the latest in broadcast technology to our productions,” says Neal Scarbrough, NESN’s Senior Director of Network and Technical Operations. “But perhaps more importantly, this allows us to position our staff as best in class and to be even better prepared for the future of television.”
The Ross Creative Services team is working closely with NESN to recreate both the NESN news and Boston Bruins studio graphics packages using XPression and Streamline. The rebuild focus is to help NESN move to an automated MOS-based template package from the previous manual operator-driven package.
“We’re simply thrilled that NESN has chosen Ross for a complete production technology upgrade,” says Pete Ross, Director of Sales Key Accounts for Ross Video. “Ross is a leader in providing solutions for both in-venue and mobile-based sports productions. We’ve invested in building a team that knows sports and can help customers build workflows that keep them current with today’s business challenges and on-air trends.”
Training and Commissioning is underway on all systems, and the expected launch is January 2016.
