Breaking into College and Pro Football Broadcasting: It’s Game On

Get ready for some football! The College Football season is upon us and we’ve got an exclusive interview with the Director of Digital Network for Conference USA, Jordan Foreman. He’s giving us a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to bring live sports to television. From game day production to pre-production and the master control room, Jordan shares his insights on the process.

So, how many cameras does it take to produce a football TV broadcast? According to Jordan, 4-5 cameras is pretty much the minimum. But every stadium is different, which means every camera location has to have multiple HDSDI, Fiber, Triax, XLR, and network connections, all feeding back to multiple locations for both the truck dock and the house feeds. It’s a lot of work, but it’s all worth it to bring the game to life on TV.

And speaking of work, how early do you have to show up for game day video production? For video board operation, Jordan’s staff of students show up 2 hours before kickoff. But for the Dallas Cowboys event presentation (video board) crew, their call time is 6 hours before kickoff. And for broadcast, Jordan thinks 6 hours before kickoff is probably the minimum.

But what about the master control room? It’s an interesting ecosystem, with an executive producer, a couple associate/assistant producers, an EIC (video engineer), and an audio EIC (audio engineer) that are full-time employees. Just about everyone else is freelance. The director is calling which cameras to take, the technical director is pushing the buttons on the switcher based on what the director calls, and the graphics producer is entering updated stats, adding lower 3rds for ID, and adding sponsor logos when needed. And that’s just the beginning.

Thanks to Jordan Foreman for giving us a look at game day production. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s all worth it to bring the excitement of college football to TV screens everywhere.Get a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into a conference broadcast! From the broadcast booth to the video board, there are a ton of people working hard to bring you the game. The TV broadcast includes audio techs, a stage manager, spotters, stats trackers, and potentially a sideline reporter. And that’s not even including the graphics operators working computers to control displays in the stadium!

But what about the on-screen graphics? C-USA sends out a document to all media partners with the preferred name, logos, and colors for each school. And a lot of the graphics can be updated automatically, pulling data straight from the official scoring system in the stadium.

And let’s not forget about the broadcasters themselves. They have a stat monitor in front of them, updated after every play by the official stats keeper for the game. Spotters help fill in the gaps, pointing to a number on the depth chart to let the broadcaster know who made the tackle or caught the ball.

All of this hard work pays off when the video feed goes out to viewers. C-USA Digital Network games are available online and streamed through CBS Interactive, with several schools using TriCasters to send out their webcasts. So next time you’re watching a game, take a moment to appreciate all the work that goes into bringing it to your screen!Check out American Sports Network (ASN), one of our awesome TV partners! They’re revolutionizing live TV broadcasts by ditching those clunky satellite trucks and using LTN technology instead. This innovative system takes the program feed out of the production truck and sends it to ASN master control via high-speed internet connection. Not only does this save costs for ASN, but it also allows them to cover more of our events. How cool is that?

Ever wonder how people get involved in athletics? Our friend and colleague got his start by working on a local sports call-in TV show in his hometown. After transferring to North Texas, he took a chance and emailed someone in the athletic department with the title of “video coordinator” and asked if he could volunteer. The rest is history! He spent every free moment he had in the athletic department and eventually worked his way up to being the only student working in the production truck for the football video boards. Talk about making an impression!

If you’re interested in shooting sports, our friend has some advice for you. First and foremost, you need talent, passion, and knowledge. As a camera operator, you have to be able to follow the game, know what you’re looking at, and react quickly to keep your shot. Live production is cut-throat, so you better be on your game! You’ll also need passion for the job or the sport you’re covering, otherwise, you won’t enjoy it. And last but not least, knowledge is key. You have to know the sport you’re covering and your job inside and out. If you can master these three things, you’ll be well on your way to a successful career in sports broadcasting. Want more articles on sports broadcasting? Let us know in the comments below!