NFL International Series: Sky Sports opts for an “enhanced production” as the Jags prepare to take on the Bears in London

In the latest game in the NFL’s International Series, the Jacksonville Jaguars will be looking to kickstart their faltering start to the season when they take on the Chicago Bears at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

Sky Sports holds the rights to show the game live in the UK and Ireland. SVG Europe caught up with senior producer Alex Jackson on the eve of the Week 6 matchup to find out how the broadcaster will handle pre-match, half-time and post-match coverage.

“The London games are our FA Cup Final,” acknowledges Jackson. “It’s a real opportunity for us to showcase to the UK audience, what we’re all about. So, we invest a lot of time and resources into trying to make it the best possible production.”

Sky’s NFL output is ordinarily helmed from a mixed reality studio at its HQ in Osterley, West London. But for this ‘home’ fixture, the presentation team will be going on-site.

“As much as we’re proud of our new studio, you can’t beat being on-site,” continues Jackson. “We want to bring the atmosphere of an NFL game to the viewers at home. You get such a difference when you’re on site. The atmosphere comes crashing through your screen and that’s what you want.”

The on-screen team at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium will include longstanding host Neil Reynolds, former NFL players Jason Bell and Ndamukong Suh, NFL analyst Phoebe Schecter, and reporter Olivia Harlan Dekker.

“The Bears have given us access to shoot in their locker room before the team arrives. That’s exclusive access. It’s an opportunity for us to peel back the curtain and take the viewers to a part of the stadium that they wouldn’t normally go.”

Sky has several different presentation positions available to them on Sunday.

“We try to bounce around areas to take the viewers closer to the stadium. We’re going to present the match build-up from field side. We have a reporter position field side too which we can use for updates during the game or at halftime. Our reporter, Olivia Harlan Dekker, will grab interviews with players post-match.

“We’re going to try and stay in our presentation position up to kick off,” he continues. “And then Neil, Jason and Suh will reposition from field-side up to the broadcast studio in the stands that we use on Premier League games. Before the game, we’ll also have a position outside the stadium because we feel the fans are a big part of the story during a London game.”

Sky is also getting something that eludes many broadcasters, adds Jackson.

“The Bears have given us access to shoot in their locker room before the team arrives. That’s exclusive access. It’s an opportunity for us to peel back the curtain and take the viewers to a part of the stadium that they wouldn’t normally go. Phoebe and Suh are going to explain the intricacies of the locker room and the setup.”

Although the presentation team will be on site, the production is being done remotely from Osterley (gallery pictured, above).

Jackson says: “The director, director’s assistant, technical supervisor, sound, graphics, producer, VT ops, they will be all be in our NFL gallery back at Sky. And then we have all the camera circuits coming in via fibre. For the first time for a Sky NFL London game, we’ve got a full HDR camera set up to improve the visual quality of what we’re offering to our viewers.”

Sky’s presentation elements will be captured in 1080p HDR. To match this to the host match coverage, which is 1080p SDR, the host feed will be up-converted at Sky. The final output will be made available to viewers in both 1080p HDR and 1080p SDR.

In total, 45 people are working on the NFL output on Sunday, this includes the talent, the staff from Sky, and the crew from the OB provider EMG, plus those working for Sky Sports News and in Sky’s Digital and Social teams.

Among the ongoing challenges for Sky is explaining the intricacies of the sport to viewers who are new to it. This can be solved, at least partly, through the language used by the talent but also via on-screen graphics and specially produced explainer content.

“We’re conscious that it is quite a complicated game,” recognises Jackson (pictured above). “And we definitely do our best not to assume knowledge. We’ve made a real effort over the last couple of years to make the coverage more accessible. We’ve moved away from Xs and Os. We’ve tried to focus more on the stars and not go too far down the analytical route.

“We’ve recently upgraded our analysis software to Piero. Sometimes [with NFL] there is a feeling that there’s just a sea of bodies and it’s hard to know where you should be focussing your attention. We think it is important to help direct the viewers.”

“Phoebe is leading a series of explainers throughout the rest of the season. We think they’re essential. These have already started. This Sunday we should be seeing the first episode of her jargon-busting series. But equally, we have a loyal audience. Many of the viewers have been with us for quite a while and we don’t want to dumb it down. So it’s a fine balance between not assuming too much and not patronising your audience.”

Ross Video’s Piero will play its part in this process too.

“We’ve recently upgraded our analysis software to Piero to bring it in line with what the football [soccer] department and Premier League use. We think it is important to direct viewers to where they should be looking. Sometimes there is a feeling that there’s just a sea of bodies and it’s hard to know where you should be focussing your attention. That’s why we’ve taken the time, effort, and resources to improve our analysis software. The beauty of Piero is that we can use it whether we are in the studio at Sky or on-site at an OB. This helps to improve our analysis on-screen with pieces of in-game clips and analysis from the game.”

Make way for the superheroes

For the 2024 season, Sky Sports’ NFL coverage has a new look and feel that is reflected in the opening titles, bumpers, on-screen graphics and across its studio screens.

“The brief was to deliver something authentically American: bold and pioneering with maximum energy. There’s a Marvel comic book feel to it all. It’s so fresh and eye-catching. It’s so bold. It’s so colourful. It really grabs your attention. And it celebrates the athletes, helping to reinforce that they are superheroes.

“You see the players without their helmets on. We think it is important to highlight to a UK audience who the stars of the show are. Our new creative does a really good job of that.”

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To provide the backstory and context to Sunday’s matchup, Sky is also producing a slate of additional content. This will include a sit down interview with Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, the number overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. “There is a lot of hype around him,” says Jackson.

In addition to this and a Jags interview, there will also be an exclusive interview with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell touching upon the expansion of international games.

It’s all part of the special NFL content package that the broadcaster is delivering for matches being played in their own backyard.

“What stands out around this time of year is the excitement and the wider interest in the NFL,” surmises Jackson. “We feel it from the support we get around the business. People are talking about NFL. For us, it’s one of the tentpole moments of the season, which we are keen to elevate. And that’s why we’re doing an enhanced production.

“We enjoyed a record-breaking Super Bowl which we were proud about. We’ve enjoyed a strong start to the season from a viewing figures point of view and we’ve received some awards recognition. We are hoping to take all that into Sunday.”

Key people:

• Bryan Henderson, Director of NFL & Cricket
• Alex Jackson, Senior Producer
• Will Sawrey Cookson, Senior Director
• Rhys Phillips, Production Manager
• Patrick Crowley, Producer
• Greg Bushell, Assistant Producer
• Andy McMillan, Production Coordinator
• Maria Hicks, Production Coordinator
• Scarlett Walker, Junior Assistant Producer
• George Havord, Junior Assistant Producer

Sky Sports coverage of Jacksonville Jaguars @ Chicago Bears on Sunday 13th of October starts at 13:30 on Sky Sports NFL and Sky Sports Main Event.