The University of Utah has opened a new broadcast production facility developed in partnership with Diversified, expanding the university’s ability to produce and distribute collegiate sports content while giving students access to professional-level media technology and workflows.
The new Language & Communications, or LNCO, broadcast facility is designed to support in-venue productions across multiple Utah Athletics venues, ESPN+ broadcasts and potential future opportunities involving linear television partners.
Diversified worked with the university from the design stage through commissioning to create a centralized production environment capable of supporting the university’s current production requirements while providing flexibility for future growth.
The facility is built around SMPTE ST 2110 and IP-based infrastructure, allowing Utah to centralize production resources while creating content for multiple sports, venues and distribution platforms.
That architecture is also intended to make it easier for the university to adapt as broadcast technology and media-production workflows evolve.
The project reflects the changing role of collegiate athletic departments, which are increasingly expected to produce more live and on-demand content internally across a growing range of sports and platforms.
By centralizing production operations, the University of Utah can use shared resources across multiple athletic programs rather than building separate production capabilities for individual venues.
The facility is also tied closely to the university’s academic mission through a partnership between Utah Athletics and the University of Utah College of Humanities.
Students will be able to work with professional broadcast technology and gain hands-on experience with workflows similar to those being used by major sports organizations and broadcasters.
The university expects that access to the facility will help students build skills that can translate directly into careers across live sports production, broadcasting and other areas of media.
The educational component extends the value of the investment beyond game-day operations by creating an environment where students can learn alongside the university’s professional production teams.
For Utah Athletics, the expanded infrastructure provides additional capacity to produce content around more teams while also supporting storytelling across streaming, broadcast and in-venue platforms.
Diversified said IP-based production environments are becoming increasingly important as athletic departments take on more responsibility for creating and distributing their own content.
The company specializes in audiovisual, broadcast and digital experience integration and works with organizations across media, sports, enterprise and the public sector.
The University of Utah project adds to Diversified’s work developing centralized and IP-based media production environments for sports organizations and broadcasters.
KEY QUOTES:
“This new facility embodies where collegiate sports production is headed. Now we can produce more content, support more of our athletic programs and continue expanding how we tell Utah’s stories across broadcast, streaming and in-venue platforms. Just as importantly, our partnership with the College of Humanities gives students a professional production environment in which to gain experience that can translate directly into careers in the industry.”
Aaron Jester, Assistant Athletics Director of Broadcast Operations at the University of Utah
“Student success is central to our mission. We exist to educate students, learn alongside them and share our collective work with our communities. The new LNCO broadcast facility strengthens our ability in all these pursuits, giving students hands-on experience with professional broadcast technology and workflows.”
Wanda S. Pillow, Dean of the University of Utah College of Humanities
“College athletics is experiencing a fundamental shift in how live sports content is produced and distributed. Athletic departments are increasingly responsible for producing more content, across more sports, venues and platforms than ever before. Shared, IP-based production environments allow universities to centralize resources, increase production capability and create greater flexibility across their athletic programs. At the same time, these facilities are valuable educational environments for universities preparing their students for careers in sports media and live production.”
Pete Emminger, Global Chief Technology Officer at Diversified
