The coverage continues in the long aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. A huge thank you to the PSSI News Group engineers who have been rotating in and out of the region to bring the harrowing, and sometimes hopeful, images and stories from Texas to viewers around the world. Al Meshberg, Michael Humphrey, Charlie Neiswenter, Steven Mills, Max Lewis, and Bill O’Toole are among the best in the business, and their hard work is greatly appreciated, as is that of Ron Ford and John Poss, PSSI Global Services’ Texas-based engineers who have been in the thick of the action, too.
And still we press on!
Hard to believe it, but we already have our first college football games of 2017 under our belts. Down in Stillwater, Oklahoma, new-to-PSSI engineer John May and senior engineer John Bright were in CK48, the newest addition to the PSSI Global Services fleet. The guys and CK48 were providing C- and Ku-band transmissions for Fox’s broadcast of the Tulsa vs. Oklahoma State game, live from Boone Pickens Stadium. The team rolls to Norman today to prepare for UTEP vs. Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.
PSSI Global Services was also plenty busy in Indiana Thursday night. We were proud to be an integral part of ESPN’s “mini MegaCast,” which included satellite and fiber transmissions. Kenny Holley was at the helm of a 12-channel multiplexed transmission via fiber back to ESPN headquarters, while Todd Harvey was set up in C32 for backup satellite paths. This is the first of many at-home transmissions that PSSI Global Services will handle for ESPN this football season. We’re happy to report it was a great success!
Senior engineer Rick Varney is alongside Joe Cox in Austin, Texas, getting set for the Maryland vs. Texas game on Fox. This will be the first 4K broadcast of college football, and we are delighted to be the transmission provider for this exciting event. As the season continues, we’ll be providing the satellite transmission of Fox’s 4K college football broadcasts each week.
Still more work for Fox this weekend! Larry Sheets will be at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for UCLA’s first game out of the chute. Todd Harvey leaves Bloomington, Indiana, for Indianapolis, where he’ll be doing the uplink at Lucas Oil Stadium for Fox’s broadcast of the Louisville vs. Purdue game. Blake Blomstrom is setting up in Piscataway, New Jersey, for Washington vs. Rutgers, and Dave Buckman’s there with him providing a Ku-band backup path. Wes Hill is all the way up in Pullman, Washington, for Montana State vs. Washington State.
CBS Sports Network has us in West Point, New York, for the first of many Army and Navy games. This week Army takes on the Fordham Rams in a rare Friday night game at Michie Stadium, and Nick Ray on C42 will be there for every minute of the action.
Way down I-95, senior engineer Rick Ball and new-to-PSSI engineer Justin Roszak will be doing a 10-channel at-home transmission for ESPN’s broadcast of Navy at Florida Atlantic University.
What a weekend of college football, and there’s so much more to come.
We still have plenty of golf on our schedules, as there will be for the rest of the year. This week we’re all the way up in Calgary, Alberta, at the Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club for the Shaw Charity Classic. Steve Chaisson is at the controls in our Atlas truck, and from Calgary he’ll head north to Edmonton for the next UFC pay-per-view, UFC 215. Steve’s a long way from home, and doing a great job.
Just a little further south, LA-based engineer John Jennings is at the Cambia Portland Classic in Oregon providing transmission services for Golf Channel with additional feeds for viewers in Japan.
Mike Howley’s on the other coast in the middle of the Dell Technologies Championship in Norton, Massachusetts. Mike’s providing multipath transmission services for Golf Channel along with extensive comms for the camera crews there at TPC Boston.
Tracy Michaels, senior engineer and engineer in charge (EIC) for PSSI Global Services’ Golf Channel projects, is in Columbus, Ohio, for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, live from Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course. From there C43 will head up the road to Indianapolis for the Indy Women in Tech (IWIT) Championship next week. Much more to come soon!
Yep, we’re racing again! C27 and our intrepid NASCAR crew are in Darlington, South Carolina, this week for the Coca-Cola 600. From there the caravan rolls to Richmond, Virginia, for the Federated Auto Parts 400. Last week’s “off-week” is a distant memory as our truck and crew are back to the NASCAR grind.
Kevin Spangler is taking a break from his normal golf routine this weekend as he heads to the Carolina Dragway in Aiken, South Carolina, for some IHRA action.
Mike Lemieux’s up in Canada for another installment of the Camping World Truck Series at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He and CK25 finish up on Sunday and cross back into the states. Mike then flies to LA for next week’s Super School Project, live from the Barker Hanger at Santa Monica airport. Mike is racking up some miles!
Speaking of racking up miles, world travelers Jim Flowers and Garrett Hunt are in the Netherlands as we speak, providing extensive transmission management services for the UFC Fight Night live from Ahoy Rotterdam. Working alongside trusted local vendor News Live, Jim and Garrett will ensure the signal leaves Rotterdam and reaches viewers around the world.
Wishing a happy and safe Labor Day weekend to all!