Rising to the Challenges of High Definition

The only constant in producing live sports events, particularly from a mobile production unit standpoint, in recent years has been change. In fact, a constant state of flux may best describe this ever-changing, ever-challenging industry.

The first recent big challenge presented itself around the mid-1990s with the advent of digital broadcasts. Players in the industry had to regroup, reevaluate and most importantly react. Just as the analog-to-digital wave broke, a new more rocking wave was approaching: high definition and the immense financial strains associated with it. Building an HD truck, often 53-feet in length, can cost more than $10 million.

Industry experts estimate that the need for high definition capability constitutes anywhere from 10-30 percent of the industry's efforts today, with the actual broadcast time naturally being lower. Though HD has been on the scene for about six years, it has really picked up steam in the past two. And now that the HD wave is coming, industry experts agree that there is no turning back.

"The NFL has gone HD. NASCAR has gone HD. It's coming quickly," said Mary Ellen Carlyle, senior vice president and general manager of Dome Productions. "I think you're going to see it continue to come quickly."

While many companies in the industry stress innovation, the nature of the field is reactionary. As the viewing public demands more HD, the networks, too, demand it. The challenge is rather straightforward: Adapt and deliver, or fade away.

"HD is now being considered a threshold requirement," said National Mobile Television CEO Mark Howorth. "And everyday the demand for it increases. The challenge with an HD signal is it cannot be produced from a truck not built to do so. Many trucks have had to be rebuilt or built from scratch to accommodate HD.

"That creates a trickle-down effect. The SDI trucks used to be the top line of the industry. Now, they do more mid-level events. The analog trucks are being phased out. So, you see this big switch happening. It’s well over $100 million that is being spent industry-wide. It's a big strain on the industry."

While HD is the headlining theme in production circles, it's not the only recent trend that is affecting the industry. Experts agree that the attacks from Sept. 11, 2001, began a downward spiral for the industry. As the economy dipped, regional sports networks and national broadcasters needed to trim expenses. While subscription fees covered some of these losses, largely, the losses were being absorbed by the production industry.

However, business has universally taken an upswing in the past two years or so. And the latest hot trend - college sports coverage - has even further bolstered business. With the emergence of College Sports TV, ESPNU and Fox College Sports, the demand for increased coverage has been more than welcomed by the production industry.

"For us who provide facilities, this is great news," said Howorth. "They are televising games and even sports that they might not have telecast before. It's fun to sit on the sidelines and see the creative battles going on between our customers. It's good for colleges, broadcasters, the fans, and, ultimately, for us as well."

International Flair

In an industry where people and companies come and go, Pittsburgh-based NEP Broadcasting has remained a constant. The company is celebrating its 20th anniversary next year and prides itself on growing as the industry grows. With more than 400 employees worldwide, NEP Broadcasting remains at the forefront of the industry. It has added a number of business units over the past five years, but Dan Wilhelm, executive vice president of sales, marketing and business development, stresses that remote production is still the company's core business.

NEP Broadcasting's fleet of state-of-the-art mobile broadcast facilities, called SuperShooters, includes 10 HD units as well as a host of standard definition units and support trucks. NEP Broadcasting, which also has a unit based on London, has covered events as diverse as the Super Bowl, the Masters, the Kentucky Derby, NASCAR, the Academy Awards and Olympics all over the world.

It comes as little surprise that NEP Broadcasting was among the frontrunners to embrace the shift to HD.

"In the remote TV industry, one of the major milestones is professional football - always has been and always will be," said George Hoover, senior vice president of engineering. "Two years ago we saw the first transition to HD with both ESPN Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football on ABC, which were the first full-time, regularly-scheduled professional football games to go HD. At that point, NEP rolled out our first HD truck. Here we are two years later with 10 HD trucks.

"We've seen in the past year an increase with high definition football on Fox and CBS, and now we're seeing other sports coming into the picture. The Super Bowl this year was an all-HD event. Everything was in HD origination. That was the first time for that. The shift was either going to be a trickle or a tidal wave, and it's been a tidal wave."

To handle the demand, NEP Broadcasting invested in the people and tools necessary to meet the task, even purchasing an adjacent building to their Pittsburgh headquarters for expansion.

"It's very challenging for companies to be able to keep up, not only with the demands of the new technology but also maintaining the proper mix of equipment and talent to be able to do the business day-to-day," said Wilhelm.

Wilhelm said that real tidal wave of HD has come from sports, but NEP is equipped to handle whatever requirements their clients need. For example, NEP's entertainment truck recently broadcast 'A Capitol Fourth,' the live Fourth of July celebration from Washington, D.C. He cautions, though, that standard definition is still clearly in the majority, for a variety of reasons.

"The successful launch of high definition is a very complex paradigm," explained Hoover. "You have to have interesting content. The broadcasting cable partner has to have upgraded their abilities to handle it. Their cable partners have to have upgraded their systems, and the customers have to be willing to pay for it. All of these things are starting to come together, though, and high definition television is becoming very affordable."

Whether through its fleet of mobile units or through its Screenworks division, the world's largest provider of mobile and modular JumboTron and LED daylight video screens, NEP Broadcasting figures to remain at the forefront of the industry.