MLB All-Star Game a Wireless Challenge for CP Communications

Major
League Baseball has its hands full for the All Star weekend, and that’s not
because of the fans. It’s because the All Star weekend becomes a media circus
with everyone wanting to have wireless devices. MLB has hired CP Communications
to be the coordinating body for the third year in a row. “From the rights
holders, ESPN and FOX, down to the local ENG crews and of course the venue
itself, the All Star Game occupies all of the available spectrum”,
says Kurt Heitmann, VP of Sales and Marketing for CP. “We start the
coordination program three weeks in advance with notices to all the major
broadcasting entities.

With this year’s MLB All Star game being held at AT&T park in

San Francisco, a major TV
market, Judy Rice, CP’s Frequency coordinator says that poses a problem right
from the start. “We havehave less open spectrum to work with,” she
says.

MLB and CP have agreed to use the NFL GDC program as a model for the events.
“It works so why change it?,” says Heitmann. “We contact the
local SBE coordinators, Bill Ruck and Don Sharp, and make sure the locals are
protected, and then we eat up all the rest of the available itinerant
frequencies for both Audio and Video. It becomes quite a scheduling
challenge to fit it all in.”

This year CP had to coordinate seven wireless camera systems and over 150
wireless audio devices.

We need everyone to be aware that the white space issue will effect us
all in the future and even with coordination efforts it will become a major
problem,” adds Heitmann.