St. Petersburg, FL (September 25, 2023)—CP Communications recently handled RF services, including microphones, IFBs and intercom, for a series of live broadcast projects with production company HRP-Live.
HRP-Live, a production company that works primarily in the fitness space, hired CP Communications to handle all RF content acquisition for the second straight year following a production partnership for last year’s annual athletic competition. This year’s events culminated with the recent 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games at Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI.
CP Communications brought its flagship HD-21 53-foot expando truck to the Alliant Energy Center and provided frequency coordination services for the cameras and audio systems. The four-day event was streamed online over multiple platforms including ESPN+, Facebook, YouTube and the CrossFit website, with select hours during the final three days broadcast live on ESPN or ESPN2. Competitions included weightlifting, gymnastics, cycling, and endurance running.
Riedel Bolero to Receive Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Award
CP Communications worked with the HRP-Live team to capture the competitions, with all content handed off to NEP mobile units. This year’s competition centralized most events to two venues, which allowed HRP-Live and CP Communications to simplify their content acquisition strategy.
Mike “Rothy” Roth, HRP-Live co-founder, emphasized that the biggest upgrade this year was to the intercom system. “CP this year recommended a Riedel Bolero wireless system, which expanded our capacity, improved portability and strengthened RF audio signals carried over the system. We were managing a crew of 215 across three production groups and two control rooms, and the Bolero system was easy to use for all, even a few of our crew who are not TV production people. They all learned how to use Bolero within 10 minutes, and it doesn’t require lugging around a belt and a radio.”
The CP team also built four RF reporter kits with video and audio gear that were used to cover the expanse of the larger events, including cross-country 5K runs around the Quann Park perimeter and through adjacent Willow Island.
Roth also comments, “Last year’s competition included off-site activities at distant venues, which required bonded cellular networking to ensure reliable coverage with robust networking back to the mobile village. While the CP team did an exceptional job deploying a hybrid solution, this year’s more focused coverage area allowed us to really dial it in with nearly 100 percent RF coverage. That also allowed us to one-stop shop almost all our gear with CP, which included PTZ cameras with robotic remote control for the first time, and just one bonded cellular system to exclusively cover athletes in the warmup area.”
