2021 Executive Reflections: The Show Must (Safely) Go On!

When the pandemic hit the U.S. full force in March 2020, sports production was forced to accelerate technology changes that were already in motion but not expected to happen for several years. Health and safety came to the forefront of production concerns at the same time as engineers were racing to enable talent and tech to work from their homes. As always, the production industry came together as a family to deliver sports television to a public that was hungry for live entertainment. This editorial by Mary Ellen Carlyle, SVP/GM, Dome Productions is the latest in a series of “2021 Reflections” from SVG’s 2021 Sports Production Yearbook in which sports-production leaders look back on a year unlike any other and offer projections for the year ahead.

One by one, our events were canceled. Immediately, our scheduling group sprang into action to ensure the safety of our freelance crews and staff engineers who were spread throughout North America covering MLS, NHL, and NBA 2K. We were informed that some might have come in contact with individuals who had tested positive for COVID. Who would have thought we would have protocols for quarantining, but now we do: 14 days quarantine if you experience COVID symptoms or come in contact with someone who has COVID.One night back in March, a few members of the Dome team got together at the Sportsnet Grill. It was there we heard collectively that a Utah Jazz player had tested positive and that the game would be canceled. Little did we know when we left that night, our world as we knew it would change.

Plexiglass, sanitizers, bubbles, declarations, “to- go bags,” and clean boxes are all new industry terms; thanks to Clean Freaks and others, Dome Productions was ready for sports’ restart.

As the world of sports shut down, our NBA 2K client, Defacto Entertainment, would not surrender: “The show must go on!” Dome’s distribution and engineering team was challenged to come up with a technical solution that allowed players to remain in team houses, casters in their own homes, production in Vancouver, technical-production facilities in Toronto, and the overall executive producer in New York. Did we mention that everyone had to hear each other, see all the sources, and experience minimal latency?!? These new workflows introduced by the Dome team are now considered regular daily routine. While the NBA 2K season continued, other Dome team members were attending SVG’s Clean Freaks weekly sessions to ensure that our business comes back in such a manner that our clients, technicians, and employees are not only safe but also have the confidence that we will provide them with a safe working environment. Plexiglass, sanitizers, bubbles, declarations, “to-go bags,” and clean boxes are all new terms in our regular conversations. Thanks to Clean Freaks and unbelievable companies within our industry, Dome Productions was ready for sports’ restart.

Woodbine Entertainment/TSN was the first to be back, with horse racing. A trusted partnership and extreme collaboration allowed a successful and safe return to sports.

Next was the return of the NHL, where we were introduced to the “bubble.” Dome received the call to provide technical facilities and crew for the qualifying rounds through to the Stanley Cup. As we have an abundance of host-broadcast experience, the technical specs were familiar, but nothing could have prepared us for the personal challenges that arose for team members living in a bubble for more than 75 days. Next was the restart of the NBA, where we provided a “REMI on steroids” for the local Raptors home show within another bubble presenting a whole new set of challenges relating to audio/video delays. Then, the restart of MLS — all becoming routine in our new world.

When I was asked to write my reflections of 2020, it was suggested that I “give shout-outs to staffers and others who made a difference.” At Dome Productions, we are truly a team that came together, each playing a role to ensure a safe restart of remote production. I believe my team would agree with me that there is only one person we will remember in 2020, and that is Norm Liepold, our engineering maintenance manager, whom we lost during these unprecedented times.