Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (D-CA) and Congressman Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) joined 21CF Public Affairs, FOX Sports and Major League Baseball representatives at Game 4 of the World Series for an up-close and personal look at the innovative technologies, intense investment and highly skilled professionals required to produce and broadcast the championship series.
FOX Sports director of field operations Francisco Contreras and vice president of media relations Erik Arneson provided an in-depth behind-the-scenes production tour for the network’s broadcast of Game 4, leading the legislators through the production trucks, pregame broadcast studio and on-field innovations used to produce the game. MLB Hall of Famer and FOX Sports analyst John Smoltz briefed the lawmakers on his preparations for the series as well. More than 175 crew members, three miles of fiber-optic cable, 40 cameras, 80 microphones and 64TB of data storage are used to produce the World Series games.
U.S. lawmakers are frequently confronted with legislative and regulatory issues dealing with broadcast spectrum, carriage agreements, copyright law and broadcast standards, among other key communications and technology issues.
“There’s nothing quite like seeing firsthand the investment, innovation and work ethic involved in orchestrating a premiere broadcast like the World Series,” Erik said. “Our goal with these tours is to help decisionmakers in Washington better understand this incredible feat and remember it when considering laws that impact our business.”
Game 6 of the World Series will be broadcast from Los Angeles on tonight at 8:20 p.m. EDT on FOX.
