University of Utah Opens IP-Based Hub

The University of Utah has opened a centralized sports production facility designed and integrated by Diversified, according to invidis.com. Housed in the university's Language & Communications building, the hub is built around SMPTE ST 2110 and IP infrastructure.

The facility can support in-venue productions, ESPN+ broadcasts and potential future productions for linear broadcast partners. Rather than maintaining separate production resources for individual venues and sports, Utah can now produce content for multiple locations and distribution platforms from a shared environment.

Diversified worked with the university from design through commissioning, creating infrastructure intended to accommodate additional production requirements as Utah Athletics expands its output.

Aaron Jester, assistant athletics director of broadcast operations at the University of Utah, said the facility reflects the direction he sees collegiate sports production taking. "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," he said.

The hub is also part of a collaboration between Utah Athletics and the university's College of Humanities. Students will have access to professional broadcast technology and workflows, allowing the facility to operate both as a production environment and a teaching resource. The university says the aim is to provide experience with technology similar to that used by professional sports organizations and major broadcasters.

Pete Emminger, global chief technology officer at Diversified, said shared IP production environments allow universities to centralize resources while increasing production capacity and flexibility across their athletic programs.