There’s nothing better than going into work knowing you love what you do, and we’re lucky to experience that everyday. Combining a passion for sports with technical savvy, our team gets to push the limits of technology to deliver some pretty incredible visuals for clients. In the last decade, we’ve made seemingly impossible feats possible with graphics and solutions for everything from basketball to football, soccer and tennis broadcasts.
However, if we took an office poll right now to determine the favorite sport among RCS employees, there’s no question football would be at the top of the list. RCS is home to some of the most avid football fans you’ll meet, and with the 2017 season upon us, football fever is running high at our Burbank and London offices.
RCS’ penchant for the sport has only made our work with NFL Network over the last 12 years all the more fun. Working together with NFL Network, we’ve broken new ground in sports graphics, with the added bonus of getting a backstage pass to the Super Bowl each year. Here’s a quick recap of some of the highlights:
2005: Looking to spice up its seasonal studio shows (“Total Access,” “Gameday,” and “Franchise”), NFL Network takes a chance on RCS, enlisting our team to build an all-new graphics package and custom database to interface studio shows with real-time GSIS stats.
2006: NFL Network debuts its first-ever Thursday Night Football game and RCS gets in on the action, providing a comprehensive graphics package including rendered animations and real-time inserts, along with a host of graphics hardware and software solutions.
2007: RedZone channel debuts to rave reviews, with a dynamic data-driven graphics package created by RCS. The NFL Draft and Combine shows also get a digital facelift with a new real-time graphics package and workflow solutions from RCS.
2008: NFL Network turns to RCS to build a 24/7 automated ticker system that keeps viewers up to date with the latest scores, stats and headlines. RCS delivers a complete solution featuring an integrated L bar, bottom ticker, rundown bar and Game Center, which runs on Gameday Sunday from NFL Network’s master control center in Atlanta.
2010: RCS’ Uppercut touchscreen graphics production technology makes its way into NFL Network’s studio just in time for NFL Combine content being streamed to NFL.com.
2011: The first-ever stereoscopic 3D NFL game hits TV screens as the Raiders go head to head with the Chargers, and RCS is there to lend a helping hand. We also design an interactive application that allows the network to share draft and combine stats, rankings, formations and roster breakdowns in a dynamic template.
2013: NFL Network and CBS Sports turn to RCS for Thursday Night Football simulcast graphics, including game, half-time and pre- and post-game elements, in addition to software development and onsite support.
2015: The first successful implementation of our Foundation database service takes place at NFL Network studio, consolidating all of their data sources into one platform to simplify the creation and playout of dynamic data-driven graphics on-air.
We’ve implemented a lot of interesting technology and made great memories working with NFL Network, and look forward to continued collaborations, especially as the 2017 season draws near.