AFC Championship Preview: Behind the Scenes With ‘NFL on CBS’ Producer Jim Rikhoff and Director Mike Arnold

CBS will add a high SkyCam, additional low–end-zone cams, and more mini cams on the benches

The CBS Sports production team will close out its 2025-26 NFL campaign on Sunday with its largest show of the year: the AFC Championship in Denver. As in the regular season just ended — and many seasons before that — producer Jim Rikhoff and director Mike Arnold will be at the front bench. Despite adding cameras, replay machines, and other technology for the New England Patriots–Denver Broncos matchup, the core philosophy remains unchanged: keep the focus on the game. Or, as Rikhoff puts it, “The better the game, the less I do.”

SVG sat down with Rikhoff and Arnold to discuss how they’re preparing for their final NFL broadcast of the season, the high SkyCam and other cameras added for the playoffs, the impact of the pregame national anthem and postgame trophy presentation, and how Bo Nix’s injury instantly transformed the narrative for this weekend’s game.

CBS Sports: Jim Rikhoff: “You want to make sure you have every possible angle covered for that huge play that everyone is going to remember.” (Photos: Mary Kouw/CBS)

As you look ahead to Sunday, how does your overall production philosophy change from a regular-season game? How do you go about providing that “big game feel” to a broadcast like the AFC Championship?
Rikhoff: Overall, our philosophy doesn’t change that much. Our primary objective is always to cover the football game itself. We don’t ever want to force production elements, and, in the playoffs, we might even be even a little more judicious with those production elements. If the game is good, I just stay out of the way and let Mike cut the game. The better the game, the less I do, and often, I believe, less is more — especially in the playoffs. We could do six games with all the [production elements] we have, so we leave a lot of great stuff out.

I would say 90% of our coverage is exactly what we do on a normal regular-season game, but those added cameras, tape machines, and technology are there for those few special moments that you might not have in a regular-season game. In a playoff game or a Super Bowl, you want to make sure you have every possible angle covered for that huge play that everyone is going to remember. I feel very confident that we have just that going into Sunday.

Any specific examples of the cameras and technologies you have added for the playoffs?
Rikhoff: We add technical equipment as the playoffs go on, and the high SkyCam is probably the biggest addition. Last week, we used seven or eight angles from that, and it was really successful. Tony [Romo] loves to draw on the Telestrator, which gives us another angle. Now we have a slash angle, the All-22, the conventional SkyCam, and the high SkyCam. That’s four angles to show people what happened on the field, which allows us to mix it up a lot more.

And we have other really cool things, like Sky Dry. Those little things and tweaks can make a difference in a big game like this.

CBS Sports’ Mike Arnold (center): “We try to add technology where it makes sense but never add it just for the sake of adding technology.”

How about you, Mike. Does your philosophy change with an AFC Championship Game like this weekend’s broadcast?
Arnold: As Jim said, our core coverage is going to be 90% the same, but the added cameras and EVS machines will show up in subtle ways. We have added a couple of mini [cams] on each sideline to maybe get that reaction shot of a quarterback or a coach or a defensive player on the bench that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. We have added two more low–end-zone [cameras] on each side for a total of four. That allows us to have one low–end-zone following in front of the ball and one behind the play. Those are going to give us some replay looks that we wouldn’t have had.

What does your prep schedule look like this week leading up to Sunday?
Rikhoff: On Tuesday mornings, we have a big production meeting on Zoom and briefly review what we did well and didn’t do well the week before. Then we talk about all the production elements, storylines, and matchups for [the upcoming week]. We’ll come up with ideas for specialty graphics, tape packages, historical vignettes, and those kinds of things. That gets the ball rolling, and the ADs and the BAs start creating all that [content].

On Wednesdays, I start writing out a full schedule for the show. I’ll also start to work on the opener and talk to Jim Nantz, Tony, and Mike to get their feedback. I put together a list of 10-15 major storylines, which I call our golden list. I always say, “Don’t do the game you prepare for; do the game that unfolds.” It’s a live event so you can’t be overly structured.

Saturday, Mike and I will go out to the trucks in the morning. We’ll look at all the new graphics and check out a lot of the new technology and make sure everything’s working. We’ll have a production meeting at our hotel to go through the open, look at all the graphics, look at all the tape, and talk about schedules.

Sunday will be really busy. Now we have THE NFL TODAY+ streaming show and THE NFL TODAY, which is on for two hours, and then we have a 3½-hour game. You’re looking at a seven-hour day of coverage.

Finally, when [the game kicks] off, I take a deep breath and just relax because that’s the fun part and is what I’ve been waiting for all week.

Mike, does your weekly routine look different from an average week’s?
Arnold: There are pieces of this game that we don’t normally do, like covering the anthem and the postgame trophy presentation. We have to have an entire meeting on where the singer will be located, who is singing, if it’s one person or a chorus, which way they’re facing.

For the postgame trophy ceremony, now it’s always on the field. Same questions: where will the stage be, and which way will it be facing? We need to make sure our cameras have access into the pen area.

And, as Jim mentioned, we have THE NFL TODAY+ and THE NFL TODAY onsite. We need to figure out which cameras we’re sharing with those shows and make sure [camera operators and technicians] are scheduled correctly so they don’t burn out before the game even starts. Logistics are a much bigger part of the AFC Championship Game than on a regular game.

Rikhoff at Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas

Any other big changes to your show on Sunday compared with the regular season?
Rikhoff: Aside from the anthem and the trophy presentation, the other big thing we do is add Evan Washburn [as a second sideline reporter]. That means we have options, but we want to ensure there is balance.

I think the defining thing about our game telecasts is that every week looks different because we react to the game. For me, that’s the best part of the job: we react to the game that happens. To me, the better the game is, the less I have to do. I can just get out of the way and let Jim and Tony, Tracy and Evan, and Mike do their thing.

How do you integrate all the technology that you have at your fingertips without overwhelming the broadcast
Arnold: We try to add technology where it makes sense but never add it just for the sake of adding technology. For example, we added a wind graphic last week, and, even though it wasn’t that windy in Denver, the graphic showed that the wind wouldn’t affect the kick. It was additive to the broadcast.

Rikhoff: Fortunately for us, Patty Power, [EVP, Operations and Engineering]; Jason Cohen, [SVP, Remote Technical Operations]; Craig Stevens, [VP, Remote Engineering]; and their team are always 100% supportive of what we do, and it’s up to us to use all this technology smartly. A lot of [using technology] is just being patient and waiting for the right moment.

What are you looking forward to this weekend specifically, and what are the key storylines you’ll be keeping a close eye on
Rikhoff: When we heard the news about Broncos quarterback Bo Nix’s injury, it was kind of a gut punch because we were all excited about these two great young quarterbacks facing off. But you adapt and find a new hook, which is now you have this journeyman kid, Jarett Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass in the NFL since 2023, playing in the biggest game of his life. There have been only seven guys that started their first game of the season in the playoffs and only one that won the game. This is a great story, and we’ll build it up.

Arnold: I’m looking forward to what I hope will be a good, close, competitive game. We’ve had two great ones so far, and, hopefully, our luck continues on Sunday. It’s a unique environment there in Denver, and I expect it to be another great game for us.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity