When IMG and the New York Road Runners had to slash the broadcast budget for coverage of the 2009 New York City Marathon on Nov. 1, no one was pleased, but NEP Senior Project Engineer John Tomlinson saw an opportunity. NEP’s ESU truck is equipped to handle more than just transmission support, and, for Sunday’s race, ESU will house production of the world feed, which means that the truck will finally be used as Tomlinson intended.

During three decades of ABC Sports’ broadcast dominance, the nation’s sports heavyweight had a go-to producer for many of its most important events: Chuck Howard. Between 1960 and 1986, Howard lent his skills to nearly every ABC Sports event, from Olympic skiing and the Kentucky Derby to the Super Bowl and World Series. A sports fan first and a television executive second, Howard left his legacy as much in the people he trained as in the events he covered.

Covering the 26.2 miles of a marathon course with wireless cameras and microphones is no easy task, but putting those 26.2 miles in the middle of the congested RF spectrum of New York City can be a noisy nightmare. Luckily for fans of the New York City Marathon, however, Total RF Productions has plenty of experience covering marathons, even in the high noise floor of New York City.

The Ironman Championship is a classic ENG show, requiring lots of quick movements to track the athletes through the lava fields and mountainous terrain of Kona, HI. When The Texas Crew Inc. Director of Photography Terry Stewart decided to bring in a decidedly non-ENG high-speed camera — the Weisscam — to this year’s production, he blazed a brand-new trail in the ENG world.

The 3D stereoscopic camera system developed by Vince Pace and James Cameron for the upcoming Avatar film could be described as the most sophisticated one available. Many years in the making and evolved through the process of shooting several 3D films prior to Avatar, the camera system is a robust, flexible production medium.

Condoms, pantyhose, electrical tape. Those could be the makings of a wild night out but are actually some of the tools that helped World Series lead mixer Joe Carpenter keep what have been strong rainstorms off Fox’s microphones. “We set up every show as if there’s going to be a hurricane, even in Anaheim,” he says. “Then we back off from there according to the actual weather.”

Congratulations to SVG Managing Editor Carolyn Braff who didn't only talk the talk and report from the New York City Marathon this weekend but also ran it in impressive fashion, clocking in at 3 hours, 22 minutes, and 56 seconds. It marked the second year in a row she completed the event and her time was good enough to place her 360th among all women running the marathon and 30th among runners her age.

Sony Electronics’ ZIRIS Canvas digital-signage-control system has landed in the U.S. market at the AmericanAirlines Arena. The home of the NBA’s Miami Heat tipped off its season last week with an overhauled video experience for fans. With sports franchises looking for new ways to get fans off the coach and into stadiums and arenas or events, several venues can be expected to overhaul their video operations in an attempt to add flash and sizzle to the in-venue experience.

The 3D stereoscopic business is looking more and more like a powerhouse. Motion-picture revenues passed $1 billion this year, according to Matt Cowan, chief scientific officer at technology supplier RealD. The home-entertainment front also looks encouraging, with an estimated 10 million 3D TV sets expected to be sold next year. And after Televisa delivered a soccer match to theaters in 3D this past Sunday, similar efforts in the U.S. are likely.

TANDBERG Television, part of the Ericsson Group, has announced that Hybrid Television Services Pty Limited, the exclusive licensee of TiVo products in Australia and New Zealand, is deploying a complete suite of TANDBERG Television software solutions to enable carrier class Video On-Demand to the television via broadband Internet.

Baseball is considered one of the most difficult sports to direct, as the ball can go in a myriad of directions and plays on the field can develop in multiple points at the same time. So when it comes to defining a directing philosophy Bill Webb, Fox Sports baseball director, keeps it simple. “Video always follows audio,” says Webb. “All I am doing is backing up what our announce team of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are saying and enhancing it.”

The Philadelphia/New York sports rivalry is at its nadir today as the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles will battle this afternoon during an NFL broadcast and the World Series takes the rivalry up a notch tonight. And for many Philadelphia sports fans Comcast SportsNet, located in the Wachovia Center (home of the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers), will be at the center of the action.

General Electric and the cable giant Comcast have moved closer to a deal giving control of NBC Universal to Comcast, and a formal announcement could be made sometime this week. After a series of meetings last week, the two companies reached a tentative agreement over the main points of a deal, these people said.

“The next wave of 3D is going to be in the home,” said Rob Engle, Sony Pictures Worldwide, senior stereographer and digital effects supervisor, ImageWorks, in a keynote address during the 2009 SMPTE Tech Conference and Expo at The Renaissance Hollywood Hotel this week. “And live sports and videogames will get people to buy 3D TV sets. The Super Bowl in 3D will be important to getting the TVs out there [in homes], and we need to ensure that there is diligence in delivering quality content.”

MLB Network has all hands on deck in Philadelphia for the World Series has there is enough space in the truck compound to accommodate a full-size production unit. Even better for MLB Network? The unit is NEP Denali Summit, a two-trailer unit that has all the bells and whistles for major entertainment productions, making it a perfect fit for MLB Network’s pre- and post-game coverage.

Light (or is it Lite?) makes right for Fox Sports is using Lite Panels LED lighting in the announce booth at Citizens Bank Park. The lighting grid, available through Bexel Broadcast Services, is configured in a single row of six panels with each panel featuring its own dimmer. MLB Network is also using the system for its lighting needs.

MLB Network’s Ballpark Cam system is running on all cylinders in Philadelphia for the World Series as the system at the stadium includes three robotic cameras that are fully controllable by the MLB Network and also available to the other MLB broadcast partners (but minus the control). The three cameras are located in centerfield, the Phillies dugout, and the bullpen.

Cisco Systems took another step to expand its computer hardware businesses on Tuesday by forming a broad partnership with EMC, a maker of storage equipment and software.

Ascent Media Singapore has chosen OmniBus iTX as the playout platform for Asia-Pacific HD lifestyle channel Li TV. Li TV, short for Life Inspired, broadcasts 24 hours per day, seven days a week throughout the region and is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

As he relaxed at Green Bay's Radisson Hotel & Conference Center about 22 hours before the kickoff of the Packers and Vikings game at Lambeau Field, Fox Sports producer Richie Zyontz ran through his checklist of what would make a successful broadcast: Don't overproduce. Don't overtalk. Be balanced. Remember, the Packers are playing too.

Hall of Famer Bill Walton won't return as an analyst for ESPN's NBA coverage. Walton said in a statement Monday that "it is time to dedicate the rest of my life to service." He missed most of last season while recovering from back surgery. Walton calls his battle with back problems a "life-changing ordeal."

Toshiba is kicking off a new multiplatform sponsorship ad campaign on ESPN Nov. 16. The campaign, which runs through December 2010, promotes Toshiba televisions and laptops cross-platform, with traditional TV spots and at various Web sites.

CBSSports.com College Network is rolling out a set of new iPhone and iTouch apps that give college sports fans live audio and on-demand video clips from USC, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and others. The plan is to eventually offer apps from over 60 schools; the first six are launching today. The apps cost $4.99, and include news updates, game schedules and athlete bios, with real-time scoring, play-by-play stats and All Access streaming subscriptions coming down the pike. Sports range from football and basketball, to soccer and tennis.

Comcast SportsNet New England has introduced a new slate of local sports news, delivered across multiple platforms by some of the region’s most familiar and experienced sports journalists and analysts. Comcast SportsNet’s expanded sports staff includes seasoned writers and reporters Sean McAdam, Tom Curran, Joe Haggerty, Chris Collins, Mike Giardi and many more.

New York Festivals, now in its 52nd year, has appointed Rose Anderson to the position of Executive Director of NYF’s Television & Film Awards. Ms. Anderson will spearhead the development of the New York Festivals Television & Film Awards and ensure that the competition continues to evolve with the changing landscape of the television and film industry.

USA Hockey, in cooperation with NBC Sports and the National Hockey League, will announce the 23-man roster for its 2010 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team during NBC’s broadcast of the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Jan. 1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Coverage of the game between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers begins at 1 p.m. EST.

wo-time NBA Champion and 14-year veteran Brent Barry is joining the NBA TV announcer roster for the 2009-10 season. Barry will work as a studio analyst for NBA GameTime, the network’s live studio show filled with highlights, analysis, commentary and live look-ins at games being played across the league.

City officials say a Baltimore-based developer wants to build a sports arena in Las Vegas on several blocks of downtown land abutting U.S. 95 just east of Las Vegas City Hall. The Cordish Companies is expected to ask the City Council next week for time to study whether a 20,000-seat arena for a professional basketball or hockey team and mixed-use entertainment district on city-owned land would work. A previous developer recently bowed out of a similar plan for another site.

If Facebook, blogs and other inventions of the Internet age had existed in the 1950s, would someone have created an IHateVinScully.com Web site to grouse about his bias as a Dodgers announcer during the Yankees-Brooklyn World Series that he called? Or how about a site called ShutUpMelAllen.com to gripe about his supposed pinstriped preference when he was calling some of that same series?

Head to NHL.com after a game, and the experience is already "beyond the box score." There are copious amounts of game notes, photos right off the wire, videos of every goal and key moments. It succinctly captures the game experience. What the NHL is hoping to do through its social media initiatives is to capture the fan experience in the same way.