Happy Independence Day weekend, from PSSI Global Services!
As usual, those of us in the live television business don’t take a lot of time off. Here’s a look at what our team is up to this holiday weekend.
Let’s start with a bang in our nation’s capital! Dave Buckman will once again be parked near the U.S. Capitol Building on the 4th of July. It’s “A Capitol Fourth 2019,” and our customer requested Mr. Buckman by name to provide the transmission of this exciting annual event. It’s a night full of live music, fireworks, and a celebration of our troops at home and abroad, and we are very proud to provide our services for this event every year.
Another 4th of July tradition is the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, live from Coney Island. Mati Kerpen will be there yet again for all the action, providing a 2-channel multiplexed transmission for broadcast on ESPN. There’s both a men’s and women’s competition, but all eyes will be on Joey Chestnut to see if he can repeat his glorious victory from last year. After several years of watching these competitions closely, Mati’s hoping craft services will have a vegetarian option.
We have another Independence Day tradition with a much smaller audience here in Los Angeles. It’s time for the 42nd Annual Palisades Will Rogers 5K and 10K race, and PSSI is there to provide data for timing and registration, production services, and a large screen for all the race fans to enjoy. Mark Huss has been the anchor for this production for several years, and Alex Mestizo, Eric Hall, and PSSI alum Nathan Holsey will be there to support all of our services. CEO Rob Lamb will again serve as executive producer and sandwich-buyer, while GM Clint Bergeson pretends to operate a camera at the finish line. It’s a great charity event, and we are honored for the opportunity to be involved once again!
We’re coming up on a busy weekend in Las Vegas, where UFC 239 will take place at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night. EIC Tracy Michaels will park the compound for our friends at Concom on the 4th, and Paul Blomstrom, Brian Blomstrom, and Wes Hill will join him for Friday’s tests and weigh-in and Saturday’s main event, which features Jon Jones taking on Thiago Santos AND Amanda Nunes fighting Holly Holm. Project manager Garrett Hunt is taking the reins to oversee all domestic and international distribution, while Keith Valeri joins him for support on what is going to be a huge pay-per-view event. The CK35 mobile teleport will be the transmission and monitoring hub, with C-band and Ku-band trucks providing multiple secondary pathways. Mark Huss is also in town to provide ringside commentary services for international broadcasters. And last, but never least, the PSSI International Teleport will figure prominently in our overall transmission scheme, taking in feeds from Vegas and delivering to MMA fans around the world.
Also in Vegas, Joe Cox is handling the origination transmission for the U.S. Darts Masters tournament at Mandalay Bay. This is yet another event that we do every year with our friends at Belmonte Productions, who produce the show for darts fans in the U.K.
More WNBA basketball for David Meyer in Seattle. He’s got games on Wednesday and Friday at the Alaska Airlines Arena, where the Seattle Storm have been playing well. Thanks to our friends at NBATV for having us provide the transmissions for these games.
More NBA action later next week in Vegas, too. It’s the annual Board of Governors meeting at the Wynn Hotel & Casino. Here’s another one we do every year! This time around Paul Blomstrom and Dan Patin will provide a small production out of our K19 production/uplink hybrid of the various press conferences and interviews as the NBA prepares for the upcoming season.
It wouldn’t be the 4th of July without some racing. Let’s start north of the border, where Rick Ball, Justin Roszak, and Steve Hagerty are putting on quite a show of their own as we have two trucks rocking and rolling at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario. Not only are we providing 30 video paths over satellite, we are also providing extensive data and comms via satellite to connect the track with NASCAR headquarters in Charlotte. As with all NASCAR events, Bill Sciolla and the team at PIT are providing extensive teleport services as they take in the massive mux from the track and hand off to AT&T GVS fiber to get down to Charlotte’s production team. It’s the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge this weekend at CTMP, and Steve and Justin have their hands full as we provide transmission services like no one else can.
Once he helps the guys get all set up at the track in Canada, Rick Ball will fly forward to Cleveland, where it’s already time for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game, live from Progressive Field. Rick’ll be setting up the truck this weekend for Fox’s broadcast of all the festivities leading up to the big game on Tuesday night. It’s one of the biggest shows in baseball, which means Rick Ball wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Back to the track! We are at Daytona International Speedway yet again for more Monster Energy Cup Series racing. Ben Bradshaw and Kyle Meyer are already there providing NASCAR with extensive data and transmission services out of the C27 mobile teleport, which hooks into the AT&T Global Video Services network and interconnects the track with PIT and Charlotte for multiple services throughout the week. Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 is the big race on NBC that will cap several days of racing at Daytona.
More Big3 hoops this weekend, too! Mike Howley will provide C-band transmissions on Saturday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL and on Sunday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Craig Henry will join Mike in Birmingham with a portable Media Links shelf that will enable a fiber transmission pathway via AT&T GVS.
Steve Toth’s also going to be in Atlanta on Sunday for some more MLS soccer on Fox Sports 1. The Atlanta United will host the New York Red Bulls on Sunday afternoon at Mercedez Benz Stadium, and Mr. Toth will provide the C-band transmission pathway for our friends at Fox.
And of course it wouldn’t be summer without some golf action! Kevin Spangler is in the CK25 mobile teleport at TPC Twin Cities for the 3M Open, which should wrap on Sunday if the weather holds. Kevin’s providing tournament coverage as well as comms and additional transmission pathways for our friends and partners at Golf Channel.
Not too far up the road from Kevin, Steve Chaisson is at Thornberry Creek at Oneida, Wisconsin for the Thornberry Creek Classic. Steve’s providing tourney coverage through Sunday along with an additional transmission path for a Japanese broadcast. Plenty more tournaments throughout the Midwest coming up as the PGA Tour continues its migration across the country.
From all of us at PSSI Global Services, we hope you had a great 4th of July with your friends and families. Turn on your TV this weekend and have a look at what we’re doing to celebrate!