SVG Year in Review: December

As 2011 drew to a close, SVG showed no signs of winding down.  On December 12 and 13, SVG hosted the Sixth Annual League Technology Summit at the New York Hilton, highlighted by the announcement of the SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund; an effort that will support individuals in the sports-broadcasting family who are in need.

Industry professionals converged on Monday for four workshops: DTV Audio, Remote Production and Engineering, Next-Generation TV, and Postproduction and IT, as well as the annual meeting of the Women’s Sports Media Initiative.  Tuesday featured a day-long series of seminars, including Producer Perspectives, Directors and the Art of Storytelling, Sports and the Synchronous Screen, Network Perspectives, Truck Tales, League Perspectives, and look inside the Pac-12 Network.  SVG Europe was on hand to offer the European perspective on the two-day event, and the Technology Showcase floor featured more exhibitors than ever before.

On Tuesday evening, the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame celebrated its fifth anniversary with an emotional ceremony that honored eight of the industry’s greatest past and present forces: legendary broadcaster Jack Buck; former NBC executive Dick Ebersol; Bill France, Jr., who transformed NASCAR; NEP Supershooter’s innovative Deb Honkus and George Hoover; IMG founder Mark McCormack; NFL Films great Steve Sabol; and visionary audio mixer Ron Scalise, a lynchpin at ESPN.

After the official 66-game NBA schedule was finally released on Dec. 6, mobile vendors and networks – including ESPN and TNT – shifted into high gear in preparation for tip off Christmas Day.

December was a busy month throughout the industry, as CBS, FOX, and NBC locked up NFL rights through 2022, FOX Sports ushered in the inaugural Pac-12 and Big Ten Championships, ESPN commenced its annual Bowl Week Coverage, Turner Sports and the Big South Conference unveiled new mobile apps, and NBC gears up for the fifth annual NHL Winter Classic and NBC Sports Network rebrand on Jan. 2.

Other highlights include a behind-the-scenes look at NFL Network’s Sound FX: Thursday Night Football Special Edition, Blackmagic Design’s acquisition of Teranex, Elemental Technologies’ ESPN video server, the latest on the CALM Act and Venue Sound, and iN DEMAND’s upgrade to HD.