Where does the time go? It’s another busy week for PSSI Global Services as we hustle into an action-packed Fall season.
More NFL preseason football as we gear up for the regular season.
We had a couple of trucks at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, FL for the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jaguars on Thursday night. Justin Roszak was there providing a 2-channel mux of the big game, while Chris Golden handled a Ku-band pathway for local affiliates.
Dave Buckman was at M&T Bank Stadium on Thursday night for the big game between the Green Bay Packers and the Baltimore Ravens.
Dennis Smith heads to Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ where the Giants will host the Chicago Bears on Friday night.
On Saturday, Dave Mitchell heads to Lucas Oil Stadium for the big matchup between the Colts and the Cleveland Browns.
Ron Ford’s back at NRG Stadium in Houston for Saturday’s game between the Texans and the Detroit Lions.
John Bright’s at Heinz Field on Saturday night when the Steelers host the Kansas City Chiefs. He stopped by the Pittsburgh Videotech Center to watch us do a couple of live shots for MSNBC before heading up to the teleport to visit with the crew there.
Quite an NFL lineup! Next week we’re heading to Winnipeg, Manitoba of all places with a couple of trucks for the Packers game! We’re all over the place!
Summer hoops are also keeping us busy. We have a couple of WNBA games on our schedule this weekend. On Sunday, David Meyer is back at Alaska Airlines Arena for more Seattle Storm basketball.
And Dave Buckman’s back at Washington, DC’s Entertainment and Sports Arena where the Mystics will host the Indiana Fever on Sunday.
The Big3 basketball tour continues this week, as well. This time it’s John May’s turn to join the party, as he’ll be setting up the CK48 outside the American Airlines Arena in Dallas for an evening full of three-on-three basketball.
Steve Toth is up at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC for a couple of huge matches in the Women’s ICC playoffs. Steve used some down time between show days to make some key upgrades the K38 uplink truck. We always love it when our guys in the field spend their “free time” improving the fleet!
We have a couple of big fights in Southern California this weekend. Let’s start at the Honda Center in Anaheim, where our UFC crew is getting all set up for UFC 241 on Saturday night. Project manager Garrett Hunt is circling the transmission wagons with EIC Jim Flowers, Wes Hill, and Mark Huss as we partner with our friends at Concom to provide multiple transmission pathways – many of which will run through the PSSI International Teleport – to MMA fans around the world. We handled a small production for a presser on Thursday, the weigh-in on Friday, and we’ll have a full afternoon and evening of fighting on Saturday. It’s Cormier versus Miocic in the main event, so you’d better believe a lot of eyeballs will be on this pay-per-view event!
Right here in LA we have more Top Rank on ESPN action. Rick Ball’s in town for this one, as it will be ESPN’s first fight produced in 1080p. We have been upgrading many of our trucks and much of our equipment to handle 1080p signals, and we’re eager to show off our hard work. Chris Hovden joins Rick for the main event between Naverrete and De Vaca on Saturday night at the Banc of California Stadium. Strategic Television project manager David Gallardo joins Larry Sheets in a separate truck to provide transmission services for the international feed, again passing through PIT on the way to boxing fans around the world.
On Thursday night, before all this boxing started, Chris finished up yet another flawless transmission from LA Center Studios, where Ann Curry’s Chasing the Cure is produced live for broadcast on TBS and TNT.
We are in the heart of a very busy stretch of golf, which is keeping project manager Jennifer Hyder-Michaels on her toes! Craig Henry’s wrapping up a strong week of Golf Channel News and tournament coverage of the BMW Championship at Medinah Country Club near Chicago on Sunday. Craig’s had his hands full with multiple transmission pathways and live shot comms and video running in and out of his truck.
Not too far up the road from him, Mike Howley’s in the middle of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship at the Ohio State University’s Scarlett Course in Columbus.
And Blake Blomstrom’s got a busy stretch of uplinks ahead of him, starting with the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open this weekend at En Joie Golf Course in Endicott, NY.
Next week we have tournaments in Seattle, Boise, Atlanta, and Toronto. Golf Channel is keeping us busy, and that’s the way we like it!
It wouldn’t be summer without a little racing. Ben Bradshaw and Kyle Meyer have the C27 mobile teleport all set up at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee for this weekend’s Monster Energy Cup racing. Ben and Kyle are providing multiple fiber and satellite pathways, as well as data services for production, utilizing AT&T’s Global Video Services network. The PSSI International Teleport plays a key role as the transmission hub between the track and NASCAR headquarters and Charlotte, and PIT VP Bill Sciolla has been instrumental in helping NASCAR develop a complex, diverse transmission scheme to keep the signals moving. The Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race is on Saturday night, and our NASCAR team will be pushing video, audio, and data like nobody’s business until the wee hours of the morning.
The racing might be a little slower, but our role is just as integral at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. Tech manager, Tracy Michaels, is leading the charge for all production and transmission as the Tour crew moves from stage to stage every day throughout the beautiful state of Utah. Mike Sheehan’s the man when it comes to transmission, providing a link between the race and the rest of the world out of his Ku-band truck. It’s a grind to wake up in a new TV compound every single day for a week, but Tracy and Mike are veterans of the live cycling circuit. Hang in there, fellas!
Lastly, some sad news. We lost one of our most beloved employees this week. Dale Fountain was with PSSI Global Services for several years, and he worked with most of our News Group crew at CNN before that. Dale had a friendly word for every single person he came in contact with, and was without a doubt one of the kindest people most of us had ever met. Rest in peace, Dale. You will be missed.