YES Network Bats 1000 With Sigma
The YES Network, the United States’ most-watched regional sports network for the past four years and the television home of the New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets, has deployed a Sigma audio console with Bluefin High Density Signal Processing (HDSP). The installation is part of a state-of-the-art HD renovation of YES Network’s 2,500-square-foot control room at its broadcast center, located within the Ascent Media compound in Stamford, Conn.
YES Network’s Connecticut studio is primarily used for live pre- and post-game shows and for simulcast of another signature live program, WFAN Radio’s top-rated “Mike and the Mad Dog” show. These high-quality, sophisticated productions involve multiple instant replays and require many microphones and remote feeds, adding up to thousands of cues. This type of demanding operation requires a dependable and versatile audio console.
“I am in love with the Calrec Sigma console,” said YES Network Senior Audio Engineer Bill Powers, who has been working in broadcast for 25 years. “In a reasonably small footprint, it has all of the options I want — two layers controlled by one fader, the 20 auxiliary and four direct outputs. But the thing I love most is its reliability. In my eyes, this is the Sherman tank of audio consoles.”
Powers noted that an element crucial to him in live production is the Sigma’s resiliency. Occasional routing errors are an inevitable part of audio operations in the digital age, he said, and when they happen, it’s important that the audio never falters. According to Powers, because the Sigma console can be reset and under control almost instantly, the audio is never interrupted.
The YES Network, the most-watched regional sports network in the country the past four years, features exclusive telecasts of the 26-time World Champion New York Yankees and the New Jersey Nets. The network is available in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania on cable and on the new television services provided by telephone companies and is also available nationally on DirecTV. In addition to the Yankees and Nets, YES televises other pro and college games, as well as Emmy® Award-winning biography, interview, and magazine programs. The network also presents a live daily simulcast of WFAN’s “Mike and the Mad Dog” show. Further YES Network information can be found at www.yesnetwork.com.
