Sony, an official technology partner of the NFL, will have more technology than ever capturing this year’s Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on February 9th in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In total, more than 240 Sony Cameras will be in and around the Caesars Superdome covering your favorite plays, replays, interviews, and celebrations – enhancing the fan engagement experience for the crowd on-site as well as the billions around the world who will watch the game and consume Super Bowl content after it is over. These cameras range from Sony’s professional broadcast models used by FOX Sports, the official broadcaster, to the various Alpha™ interchangeable lens cameras and E-mount lenses including G Master™ that The Associated Press and other sideline photographers will be using to create timeless Super Bowl imagery.
Sony’s professional broadcast cameras have covered football’s biggest game for over a decade. This year FOX Sports, together with the production company Game Creek Video will deploy more than 100 cameras on-site for pre-game, in-game, and post-game action as well as additional studio shows. FOX will also have Sony BVM reference level monitors on-site used for color gradation to bring the most accurate imagery to fans around the world.
Sony’s cameras will be positioned in each end zone, along both sidelines, and in multiple positions throughout the stadium, including the “SkyCam” over the field. There will be 14 Sony cameras specifically handling content for streaming.
At Super Bowl LIX, in addition to all the broadcast and production cameras, FOX Sports will use Sony’s HawkREPLAY systems, a remote production and instant replay broadcast solution, to support the overall broadcast experience, and additional Hawk-Eye technology will also be supporting in-game officiating and replay services, as well as the overall production.
On the photography side, Sony has been the exclusive imaging products and support provider for The Associated Press – the definitive source for NFL imagery – since 2020. In total, AP will have 14 photographers and 9 editors on-site at the Super Bowl using Sony equipment to capture and share incredible imagery of the league’s most defining moments. NFL’s in-house photography team “NFL Focus” will also be using a variety of Sony Alpha ™ cameras and lenses to cover the game as well. Sony’s Pro Support team will offer a pro photographer depot on-site to help service and support the professionals working the game, including offering loans of the brand-new flagship Alpha 1 II camera.
Both the Associated Press and the NFL in-house photography are also planning to utilize Sony’s PDT-FP1 transmitter device on-site to deliver photos + videos directly from camera to editors in real-time, streamlining their workflow and resulting in the fastest possible distribution to the public.
Each year, the size and scope of the Super Bowl Halftime Show gets larger, including its production elements. For the fifth year in a row, the Funicular Goats will technically produce the Halftime Show and for the fourth straight year, the Goats are choosing the Sony VENICE 2 as their main camera alongside the Sony VENICE Extension System and the Sony BURANO for a total of 14 cameras.
Below is a cumulative, high-level outline of all the Sony cameras and related technologies that are being used to cover Super Bowl LIX.
FOX Sports:
- 97 Sony HDC Series Broadcast System Cameras
- 1 Sony FR7 Cinematic PTZ Camera
- 3 Sony FX6 Full-Frame Cinema Cameras
- 1 Sony Alpha 7 III Mirrorless Camera
- 1 Sony VENICE 2 Digital Cinema Camera
Associated Press:
- 55+ Sony cameras and a variety of lenses
NFL Focus Photography Team:
- 8 Sony cameras and a variety of lenses
Funicular Goats – Super Bowl Halftime Show:
- 13 Sony VENICE 2 Digital Cinema Cameras
- 1 Sony VENICE Extension System
- 1 Sony BURANO Digital Cinema Camera (for ASL camera)
Sony Pro Support:
- 65 Sony Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras
- 140 Professional Lenses including 14x 600mm, 10x 400mm, 6x 300mm super telephoto lenses
