Sportscasting: New era of facilitating field-to-fan emotions offers speed, simplicity & short route to ROI

By Shirish Nadkarni

Sportscasting has always been more than just broadcasting the game. Instead, it is about capturing the drama, emotion, and immediacy of sport and delivering it to fans wherever they are. From the roar of the stadium to the precision of the replay, broadcasters have long been the bridge between the field and the fan. Today, that bridge is being rebuilt with cutting‑edge technologies, from AI‑driven production to immersive graphics and mobile contribution systems, transforming how audiences experience live sport.

As the industry embraces innovations such as automated camera systems, IP‑based distribution, and referee‑mounted perspectives, sportscasting is entering a new era.

Broadcasters are no longer limited to the big leagues or traditional workflows; they can now deliver dynamic coverage of events at every level, in real time, across every platform. The result is a richer, more inclusive, and more engaging sports experience, one that redefines the very meaning of “live” for fans worldwide.

What then, are leading manufacturers offering to elevate sportscasting to the next level?

“Our extensive solutions portfolio includes real-time motion graphics, sophisticated sports analysis tools, hyper-converged switchers and routers, elegant camera motion systems, and more, so you can focus on delivering dynamic and engaging content for sports fans,” said David Ross, owner & Chief Executive of Ross Video. 

Ross Video’s graphics solutions, including XPression real-time motion graphics, PIERO sports analysis tools, and Voyager virtual graphics engine enable networks to streamline their workflow while delivering more compelling and visually rich productions.

The NBC Sports Regional Networks, with their vast portfolio, faced the challenge of finding a large-scale and comprehensive graphics solution to support their studio shows across multiple regional networks. They needed a solution that would be adaptable for the studio and Media Object Server (MOS)-style workflows in the network’s main broadcast centres and deployable for live sports production workflows across third-party remote trucks.

“With our XPression Studio and XPression Tessera, NBCU Local’s hub-and-spoke graphics workflow is supported across their three regional networks, using a single tool to manage all on-screen and studio-wall graphics content from a centralised graphics system,” said Ross.

“To further elevate programming, the PIERO sports analysis toolset, along with the Voyager virtual graphics engine and Lucid Studio are being used across several sites to unlock new storytelling opportunities and deeply engage fans.

“PIERO’s rich toolset of customisable effects for a wide range of sports not only helps inform viewers about the action on the field, court or ice but it is another tool that helps the networks add entertainment value to their programming.”

Earl Camburn, Senior Director, Creative Services, NBC Sports, added, “As a live sports producer with unique requirements, we’ve relied on XPression and XPression Tessera to manage and synchronise our graphics across multiple studios.

“Its flexibility and real-time capabilities ensure that our visuals are always on point, regardless of the complexity or scale of the production.”

Another company that is accelerating the digital evolution of local broadcasters is LTN Global, with innovations that enable stations to launch streaming channels faster, deliver live news and sports with precision, and distribute content to multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), virtual MVPDs (vMVPDs), and streaming platforms.

LTN’s IP-based network allows broadcasters to deliver high-quality, low-latency video content to various platforms and devices. With active services across a growing footprint of over 900 stations in the US television market alone, LTN’s new tools enable local broadcasters to bring more live sports to air while extending live news into new digital formats and channels.

The company’s latest advances extend the reach, efficiency, and monetisation capabilities of its purpose-built IP video network, expanding its role as the go-to aggregation hub for local station feeds, providing cable providers and streaming platforms with high-quality access to live broadcast signals nationwide.

Rick Young, SVP, Head of Global Products, LTN, said, “Broadcast stations can massively grow the value of their local content if they move quickly and operate across every available platform.

“Our new capabilities are built into our global network, allowing us to give local broadcasters the speed, simplicity, and shortest path to ROI when launching streaming experiences, expand their footprint to MVPDs, vMVPDs, and over-the-top (OTT) partners, and power digital revenue with localised, live news and sports.

“LTN enables stations to receive high-quality, low-latency game feeds from venues across the country, helping them expand their live sports programming with speed and reliability. These capabilities are already supporting sports coverage across top US broadcasters, including professional, college, and high school games.”

Haivision is yet another outfit that is concentrating a lot of its energies in a clutch of products that provide quality sportscasting. Its mobile video solutions have been used with great success in sports held in mountains, including the Pierra Menta, an international ski mountaineering competition held every March since 1986 in Arêches-Beaufort in Savoie, France, on the slopes of the Grand Mont.

Covering a total of 10,000 meters of elevation gain over four days, more than 600 elite athletes compete in teams of two skiers in one of the world’s most demanding and exhilarating ski mountaineering races. Haivision mobile video transmitters, attached to JVC cameras on the ground, along with four roaming mobile devices fitted with the Haivision MoJoPro smartphone camera app, followed the racers throughout the course.

This gave viewers captivating views of the skiers and the competition, immersing them in the struggle of the climb and descent. It enabled them to capture the emotion of the participants and to produce dynamic angles from up close on the mountain and for dramatic perspectives from the air. Combined, it created exhilarating footage of the competition.

“Having already worked with Haivision solutions on several projects in similarly challenging environments, we were very positive that we could provide viewers with exciting footage of the Pierra Menta competition,” said Mickael Favard, Director of France’s Favoriz Production, an audiovisual production company.

“Haivision technology is extremely agile and allows us to build a versatile workflow. The powerful cellular bonding features of its mobile contribution devices allowed us to deliver reliable and dynamic footage to viewers in one of the most remote locations in the country.

“We needed ultra-reliable and ultra-low latency video contribution in a difficult and unpredictable environment — and we got it!”

As we head towards 2026, a lot of excitement centres around the projected use of Riedel Communications’ RefCam and Easy5G systems in the final weekend of the Men’s EHF (European Handball Federation) Euro 2026.

The RefCam, a lightweight head-mounted camera offering a referee’s-eye view of the game, will capture live action from the semi-finals and medal matches in Herning, Denmark, on January 31 and February 1, 2026. Powered by Riedel’s Easy5G Private 5G network, the camera’s signal will be transmitted live to the TV world feed, delivering an unprecedented, immersive perspective for fans.

“The RefCam brings fans closer to the action than ever before,” said Martin Hausleitner, Secretary General, EHF. “Its introduction underlines the EHF’s broader mission to embrace state-of-the-art broadcast technology and continuously enhance the spectator experience, both in the arena and for millions of viewers worldwide.”

The light 14-gram camera unit, featuring a wide-angle lens, automatic exposure adjustment, and electronic image stabilisation, integrates directly into the referee’s headset and works in combination with a compact transmission beltpack. Together, the complete system has a total weight of less than 150 grams, ensuring that there is no interference with the referee’s mobility or communication.

Together with its refereeing partner DEKRA, the EHF will use footage recorded by the RefCam combined with referees’ audio to give fans deeper insight into how referees lead the game, communicate with each other, and interact with players. First clips will already be published on the EHF’s channels during the tournament as part of the established Final Whistle series.

“We are incredibly proud to see our RefCam technology deployed at the Men’s EHF EURO 2026,” said Riedel’s CEO – Managed Technology, Lutz Rathmann. “This marks a major milestone — not only for Riedel, but for handball and sports broadcasting worldwide. 

“For the first time ever, RefCam will be used in a live broadcast outside of football, with multiple units operating simultaneously on our Easy5G network.

“We can’t wait to showcase how this new point of view can redefine the live sports experience and bring fans even closer to the intensity and emotion of the game.”