SMPTE ST 2110 the Foundation of New PAC-12 Studio

(Based on the Article: PAC-12 Networks Builds a Brand-New Studio and Broadcast Center)

College sports lovers are well acquainted with PAC-12 Networks, the network that brings live PAC-12 athletic events to millions of homes each year. Last year, the organization's lease with its existing broadcast studio was set to expire. In response, the network devised a bold plan: Build an entirely new facility in time to broadcast Fall 2023 colligate sporting events.

Construction of the facility began in November 2022 at Bishop Ranch, a business center in San Ramon, California. PAC-12 partnered with Advance Systems Group (ASG) to build a SMPTE ST 2110 compliant production facility. ASG has a proven track record when it comes to the implementation of solutions and services for media production. PAC-12's goal was to broadcast over 850 sporting events annually, so the partnership with ASG was a match made in heaven.

The construction of this facility, the second largest on the West Coast, would be a grand undertaking for any organization, especially in just under a year. Challenges like that, however, are where SMPTE ST 2110 thrives. Thanks to Imagine's Magellan™ Control System, PAC-12 was able to create an ST 2110 backbone that had been successfully tested at other live sports studios.

It wasn't all smooth sailing, though. With a variety of vendors and construction crews, achieving interoperability was difficult. The audio portion was particularly trying, and the IP network had to be reconfigured to compensate. However, there were far more successes than issues; the results speak for themselves.

The facility was completed by June 2023, just in time for the 2023-2024 college athletic season. Since then, the PAC-12 has broadcast hundreds of live sporting events, well on the way to their goal of 850 broadcasts in a year. Through the massive efforts of PAC-12 and ASG, SMPTE ST 2110 has made it possible to achieve greater success in the production world. This type of collaboration is the future of media production, and it's a future we greatly look forward to.