Tom Brady 'prepares like a maniac’ ahead of first Super Bowl as analyst
Editor's Note: Throughout the NFL playoffs, Chris Myers and his research team analyze upcoming matchups, while providing news, notes, and nuggets for inside access to the information an NFL broadcaster uses to prepare for calling a game.
As FOX prepares for its 11th Super Bowl telecast on Sunday as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, the eighth produced by Richie Zyontz and the sixth directed by Rich Russo, I thought I would take you behind the scenes a bit on what goes into creating these pieces of broadcast history.
The Super Bowl telecast is the biggest of the year for any network. FOX will have approximately 100 cameras at the game. Fifty of them will have manned operators with the rest being stationary cameras along the sidelines, in the pylons and other fixed locations. They are what Zyontz calls "just in case" cameras – ones that might never be used, but also might provide the key, determining replay on a critical play.
The FOX Super Bowl telecast can be a showcase for new broadcast elements such as the new graphics look that will be introduced on Sunday. "We want to use them wisely," Zyontz said. "They can enhance the broadcast, but we don’t want to lose sight of the game."
To that end, Zyontz and Russo rely on their very experienced team of technical staff including camera, tape and graphic operators — most of whom have worked multiple previous Super Bowls and hundreds of other important games. "We have a lot of continuity of personnel," Zyontz said.
So, a successful Super Bowl telecast involves the instant reaction to events, many of them unpredictable, that sports television crews thrive on, coupled with extensive preparation to be ready for both the expected and