SVG Sports Cloud Production Forum

SPORTS CLOUD PRODUCTION FORUM

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SPORTS CLOUD PRODUCTIONFORUM SVGcloud

AGENDA

8:45 – 9:45 a.m. REGISTRATION

9:45 – 10:00 a.m. WELCOMING REMARKS

PRESENTER: Andrew Reich, Senior Industry Specialist BD, Media & Entertainment, Games, Sports

10:00 – 10:25 a.m. NHL: Adventures in Live Cloud Production

The NHL continues to embrace new cloud-based live productions, most recently using the cloud to create a main broadcast as well as an alternate feed. Learn about the project, the technologies involved, and what it means not only to the NHL but the entire industry.

MODERATOR: Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-Executive Director, Editorial PANELISTS:

Grant Nodine, NHL, SVP, Technology

Andrew Reich, AWS, Senior Industry Specialist BD, Media & Entertainment, Games, Sports

10:25 – 11:05 a.m. GETTING STARTED IN THE CLOUD

This panel is designed for both beginners and veterans who are eager to initiate their voyage into the cloud and unlock the vast potential it offers for live sports production. Don’t miss this introduction to the fundamental principles, practical considerations, and strategic approaches for navigating the cloud.

MODERATOR: Kristian Hernández, SVG, Senior Editor PANELISTS:

Tom Buffolano, The Switch, Head of Business Development, College Sports

Ian Cobb, Alpha, Senior IT Systems Architect

Patrick Daly, Diversified, Principal Engineer

Andrew Reich, AWS, Senior Industry Specialist BD, Media & Entertainment, Games, Sports Claudia Souza, Advanced Systems Group (ASG), Chief Cloud Officer

11:05 – 11:35 a.m. NETWORKING BREAK

11:35 a.m. – 12 :00 p.m. AWS POWERS 60 LIVE FEEDS FOR THE NASCAR TRACKS APP

Learn how NASCAR & AWS worked together to enhance the in-venue fan experience, by incorporating more engaging content in the NASCAR Tracks App.

PRESENTERS:

Patrick Carroll, NASCAR, Managing Director, Digital Technology

Andrew Reich, AWS, Senior Industry Specialist BD, Media & Entertainment, Games, Sports

12:00 – 12:15 p.m. CASE STUDY

PRESENTER: Mike Kelley, Grabyo, President, Americas and APAC

12:15 – 12:40 p.m. ESPN: Adventures in Live Cloud Production

Over the past two years, ESPN has pushed the boundaries of live cloud-based production with several real-world deployments and a plethora of behind-the-scenes tests. In this fireside chat, ESPN technology leaders will discuss how they are working towards IAC (infrastructure as code), building out their “golden image”, and working with internal security teams in order to lay the ground for a cloud-based future.

PRESENTER: Chris Strong, ESPN, Director, Specialist Operations

INTERVIEWER: Brandon Costa, SVG, Director of Digital

12:40 – 1:40 p.m.

1:40 – 2:05 p.m. EMPOWERING SPORTS PRODUCTION WITH MICROSOFT AZURE: Cloud-Based Solutions and Fan Engagement

Discover how Microsoft Azure, a hyper-scale platform, revolutionizes sports production. We’ll discuss the NBA App powered by Microsoft, showcasing GenAI features that elevate fan engagement. Learn how cloud-based production and personalized viewing experiences enhance sports broadcasting worldwide

PRESENTER: Scott Bounds, Microsoft, Senior Director, Data & AI Technical

2:05 – 2:20 p.m. CASE STUDY: SNY Leverages Cloud Production Workflow to Get

Big Names on NBA Show

Ian Begley, an NBA insider, is known for booking some of the most sought-after special guests for his SportsNet New York (SNY) online program, “The Putback with Ian Begley.” Find out how SNY uses LiveU Studio to ironically go beyond the traditional studio environment to bring in a high caliber of guests for the weekly program.

PRESENTER: Samantha Kandell, SNY, Senior Producer/Editor, YouTube Manager

INTERVIEWER: Paul Brack, LiveU, Sports Sales Director

2:20 – 3:00 p.m. LIVE CLOUD PRODUCTION & ORCHESTRATION TOOLS

This session explores the cutting-edge tools and technologies that drive seamless and efficient live content production in the cloud. From orchestration to automation, equipment manufacturers and software providers will dive deep into the innovative solutions shaping the current landscape of live cloud production.

MODERATOR: Brandon Costa, SVG, Director of Digital PANELISTS:

Keith Bickford, Sony Electronics, Solutions Architect, Networked Solutions

Robert Erickson, Tag Video Systems, VP of Sales, Americas

Ben Grafchik, BitFire, VP of Business Development

Greg Macchia, Riedel Communications, VP, Business Development, Live Production

Francesco Scartozzi, Matrox Video, VP, Sales and Business Development

3:00 – 3:25 p.m. NETWORKING BREAK

3:25 – 4:05 p.m. THE BIG DEBATE: Public vs. Private Cloud vs. Hybrid Workflows

Industry experts engage in a spirited debate on one of the most critical decisions media organizations face in their cloud strategy: Public vs. Private Cloud vs. Hybrid Workflows. This conversation will explore the merits, challenges, and strategic considerations associated with each approach.

MODERATOR: Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-Executive Director, Editorial PANELISTS:

Brad Cheney, Fox Sports, VP, Field Operations and Engineering

Nick Garvin, Mobile TV Group, COO

Scott Rothenberg, NEP Group, SVP, Technology & Capital Planning

Jason Taubman, Game Creek Video, SVP, Technology

4:05 – 4:20 p.m. CASE STUDY: Transforming the Digital Foundation for a Future-Ready Production

This case study will highlight emerging trends in the digital landscape and explore how media and entertainment organizations are tasked with creating high-quality, engaging content distributed to more devices and more channels while maximizing and protecting the digital asset and ensuring operational and capital efficiency.

PRESENTERS:

Jeremy Dujardin, Tata Communications / The Switch, CTO, Global Media & Entertainment Services

Dave Herfert, Grass Valley, Senior Director of Sales – Service Providers, New Media and Enterprise

4:20 – 4:45 p.m. PGA TOUR ENTERTAINMENT: Adventures in Live Cloud Production

The PGA TOUR is taking some major technology leaps in 2024 and 2025. Those efforts allow TOUR’s use of cloud-based production to continue to expand, whether it’s the “Every Shot Live” production or the use of cloud production tools to lessen the need for racks and rack of equipment in the new facility and trucks.

PRESENTER: Anthony Renda, PGA TOUR, Director, Content Publishing & Media Workflows

INTERVIEWER: Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-Executive Director, Editorial

4:45 – 5:45 p.m. NETWORKING RECEPTION

BY

SPORTS CLOUD PRODUCTIONFORUM SVGcloud

SPEAKERS

Keith Bickford, Sony Electronics, Solutions Architect, Networked Solutions

Bickford oversees the design and deployment of next-generation production and contribution solutions. Bickford has been in the broadcast industry for over a decade, starting in local television in his hometown of Portland, ME. Over the years, he has been instrumental in various aspects of the field, encompassing news production and live production, where he has orchestrated the implementation of file-based workflows and SMPTE ST 2110 routing systems.

Scott Bounds, Microsoft, Senior Director, Data & AI Technical

Bounds is a leader in the realm of cloud computing and artificial intelligence. His career spans over 28 years at Microsoft, where he currently is a senior director for data & AI technical. Bounds’ expertise lies in architecting cutting-edge cloud solutions tailored for the dynamic industries of media, entertainment, and sports focusing on content creation, production workflows, asset management, and the use of AI and generative AI technologies.

Paul Brack, LiveU, Sports Sales Director

Brack works closely with sports teams, leagues, and production companies in Canada and the northeast U.S. to address their unique cloud and REMI production needs. Prior to joining LiveU, he was a sales and channel manager at Avid, playing a pivotal role in helping the company migrate to a subscription business model and moving clients to a cloud production workflow.

Tom Buffolano, The Switch, Head of Business Development, College Sports

Buffolano’s experience spans business development and partnerships, sales and marketing, rights acquisition, programming and production, distribution, and monetization. Buffolano holds decades of experience growing businesses and driving new partnerships at leading media companies, including MTV Networks, CBS College Sports, LTN Global Communications, BitFire Network/Studios, and LiveU.

Patrick Carroll, NASCAR, Managing Director, Digital Technology

Carroll spearheads the digital technology strategy and leads a comprehensive team skilled in web and mobile app development, design, project management, and quality assurance. He has dedicated his career to crafting front-facing digital products, ensuring that every innovation not only meets but exceeds industry standards.

Brad Cheney, Fox Sports, VP, Field Operations and Engineering

Cheney manages technical and operational planning for baseball, boxing, and college sports along with transmission services and advancedtechnology projects for Fox Sports. Cheney is a leader in new technology approaches, including IP-based live and post-production centers, IP over RF, UHD, HDR, and UAS systems. His work includes innovative production approaches and executions for in-ground audio, robotic cameras, and home run productions.

Ian Cobb, Alpha, Senior IT Systems Architect

Cobb is a highly skilled senior IT systems architect with an impressive 18 years of experience in the broadcasting industry. As a pivotal member of the Alpha team, he has consistently showcased his expertise in IT systems to deliver exceptional solutions. Cobb has been a key contributor to a range of prestigious projects, collaborating on remarkable events such as SuperBowl LVII, the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Univision, Sphere, and the 2021 NFL Draft with Van Wagner.

Patrick Daly, Diversified, Principal Engineer

Daly leverages two decades of experience serving the media and entertainment industry. Dedicated to delivering excellence and innovation, he spearheads the engineering behind some of the industry’s largest and most intricate projects — from designing and building entire facilities to reimagining master control and news production systems for local broadcasters.

Robert Erickson, Tag Video Systems, VP of Sales, Americas

Erickson possesses a thorough understanding of emerging and evolving technologies and the know-how to maximize them in the fast-paced broadcast and IT markets. Throughout his career, he has designed and maintained live production systems, most recently focusing on adaptable, scalable, software centric workflow tools, ranging from on-prem to cloud-based infrastructures.

Nick Garvin, Mobile TV Group, COO

Garvin is the chief operating officer for Mobile TV Group (MTVG). This includes all strategic partnerships, management of all day-to-day operations for its mobile unit fleet covering over 4,000 live events annually, and its audio/video manufacturing facility called Colorado Studios. MTVG has led live 4K HDR productions in the U.S. covering the PGA Tour, NBA, NHL, UFC, college football, entertainment, and corporate events for many of the top Fortune 500 companies.

Ben Grafchik, BitFire, VP of Business Development

Grafchik is a dynamic professional with a keen ability to identify client needs and deliver effective solutions. A well-rounded leader with a strong technical foundation, he has developed comprehensive production and sales strategies, worked closely with broadcast leaders, executed cutting-edge projects, and implemented effective marketing plans.

Dave Herfert, Grass Valley, Senior Director of Sales –Service Providers, New Media and Enterprise

Recently joining Grass Valley in 2022, Herfert carries responsibilities for the North American market focused on Grass Valley’s end-to-end solution set, ranging from the most advanced camera, IP infrastructure / multi-viewing, orchestration technologies, and most notably, AMPP, the most advanced media processing platform utilizing public, private, and/or hybrid infrastructures.

Samantha Kandell, SNY, Senior Producer/Editor, YouTube Manager

Kandell excels in creating captivating live and pre-taped content for all New York sports fans. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, she plays a pivotal role in bringing the latest sports news and analysis to audiences across various platforms. At SNY, Kandell thrives in the fastpaced environment of live broadcasting, orchestrating seamless productions that keep viewers engaged and informed.

Mike Kelley, Grabyo, President, Americas and APAC

Kelley is a sports and entertainment executive with 25 years of experience working at the intersection of content, distribution, and technology. Currently, Kelley is president of the Americas & APAC for Grabyo — managing a team that works with various sports and entertainment properties, broadcasters, and publishers in North and South America.

Greg Macchia, Riedel Communications, VP, Business Development, Live Production

Macchia has 25+ years of experience in the live broadcast production industry. Before joining Simplylive in 2017 to manage the region, he was the SVP, Americas for EVS Broadcast Equipment where he spent over 18 years building the Americas sales and technical operations.

Grant Nodine, NHL, SVP, Technology

Nodine started his career working as a systems librarian at Editel. He moved on to working as a web developer on sites like Rodale Press’s MensHealth. com. He later co-founded a web development firm called Mercury Seven where he worked as the firm’s chief technologist. Twenty-plus years ago, Nodine arrived at the NHL where he has been involved in building a technology infrastructure that supports NHL.com and all 30 of the team’s websites, numerous systems to produce and deliver streaming media, and many other large technology implementations.

REPLAY FOR EVERYBODY, EVERYWHERE.

RiMotion is an easy-to-install replay solution that can be implemented almost instantly in broadcast environments of any scale. It streamlines traditional and modern workflows and provides real-time performance, even when working remotely.

• Intuitive touchscreen UI

• Dedicated Remote Controller

• Compact 1RU or 2RU server

Available in five cost-effective bundles:

RiMotion R6, R8, R10, and R12 with 6 to 12 HD channels

RiMotion R84 with up to 4 UHD / 8 HD, HDR channels

SUPER-SLOMO CAPABLE

SPORTS CLOUD PRODUCTIONFORUM SVGcloud

Andrew Reich, AWS, Senior Industry Specialist BD, Media & Entertainment, Games, Sports

Reich joined Amazon Web Services in January 2020. He is currently a senior industry specialist BD for the Media & Entertainment, Games, Sports group. Reich works with customers and partners on migrating their solutions to the cloud, in addition to driving technological innovation in sports. He has led major cloud adoption initiatives and projects involving live and post production, visual effects (VFX) rendering, content data and analytics, media pipeline, and services deployment.

Anthony Renda, PGA TOUR, Director, Content Publishing & Media Workflows

Renda has worked at the PGA TOUR for 21 years, starting in November 2002 as a post audio mixer. He moved from audio post to video editing/ publishing for the TOUR’s website team in 2007, where he worked on the initial launch and continued development of the workflows and processes for creating, transcoding, and publishing videos to PGATOUR.COM. Currently, Renda oversees the automated publishing and delivery of video highlights for the PGA TOUR O&O platforms and media partners, cloud-based workflows, and technical oversight of PLAYERS All Access “Every Shot Live”.

Scott Rothenberg, NEP Group, SVP, Technology & Capital Planning

Rothenberg is responsible for coordinating and managing NEP’s global technology roadmap and bringing NEP’s teams together to meet client expectations for the delivery of reliable and creative solutions. In his previous roles, Rothenberg focused on understanding and matching clients’ needs with NEP’s technical capabilities and capacity. He worked tirelessly across all NEP divisions to ensure that the right equipment was in the right place, using the right

Francesco Scartozzi, Matrox Video, VP, Sales and Business Development

Scartozzi is responsible for managing the worldwide BMG Sales and Product Management teams to develop, sustain, and grow revenue. Extremely loyal, he joined Matrox in 1995 and has held various roles from applications engineer, building his technical knowledge while sharpening his customer support skills, to sales director, managing a sales team and developing performance goals in order to drive opportunities for growth.

Claudia Souza, Advanced Systems Group (ASG), Chief Cloud Officer

Souza is the chief cloud officer of Advanced Systems Group, a cross functionally integrated solutions and managed services provider for media creatives and content owners. The company’s headquarters are in the Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S. Souza has spent the last six years leading teams at the forefront of media and entertainment’s cloud transition.

Chris Strong, ESPN, Director, Specialist Operations

Strong oversees a team responsible for technology, innovation, and workflows supporting and executing remote and studio productions. Together with the REMI team, Strong has helped lead ESPN’s journey in Cloud REMI workflows.

Jason Taubman, Game Creek Video, SVP, Technology

Taubman spearheads Game Creek Video’s efforts in truck design and helps service the company’s vast profile of high-profile sports clients including ABC, CBS, ESPN, Fox, HBO, NBC, MLB, NBA, the YES Network, USA Network, NFL Network, and Winnercomm. Prior to joining Game Creek in 1999, Taubman was an engineer-in-charge for National Mobile Television and VTE

MATROX® ORIGIN

Breaking new ground in live production

Matrox ORIGIN is an asynchronous media framework with native cloud architecture enabling developers to build scalable, best-of-breed, live production applications that broadcasters can use for both cloud and on-premises production. Finally, the cloud can deliver on its promises.

• Faster than real-time processing

• Frame accurate routing

• Low latency

• HTTP API

• Live migration

• Built-in redundancy

MEDIA PLATFORM

The only solution that masters the transmission network and the cloud tools.

Own the journey into the cloud and back, with unrivaled reliability and support.

Cloud Production

Cloud Comms

Cloud Multiviewer Cloud Master Control

FireBridge Monitoring Inferno