New York’s Binghamton University has expanded its live sports production capabilities with the deployment of Riedel Communications’ SimplyLive RiMotion R12 replay system, supporting a growing output of more than 120 broadcasts annually.
The system was introduced as part of a broader evolution in the university’s athletics production programme, which is almost entirely operated by students. With a crew of 60 to 70 student operators, the university has scaled from limited coverage of basketball fixtures to a multi-sport broadcast operation spanning soccer, volleyball, wrestling, baseball, softball and lacrosse, many of which are now distributed via ESPN and regional networks.
The addition of the RiMotion R12 has addressed both performance and usability requirements within this environment, where operators often begin with no prior broadcast experience. Approximately half of Binghamton’s annual productions now incorporate the replay platform, enabling faster cueing of replays and transitions during live coverage.
Jeremy Donovan, video production and multimedia coordinator at Binghamton University Athletics, highlighted the balance between accessibility and capability: “Most of our students come in with no broadcast experience at all, but they learn quickly and end up producing ESPN–quality shows across more than a hundred live events a year. Tools like the SimplyLive system make that possible because they’re flexible enough for beginners while still giving us the capabilities we need as our broadcasts expand onto ESPN, SNY, and MSG.”
The deployment replaces an ageing replay system that had reached the end of its operational life, coinciding with a significant increase in production volume following the university’s ESPN partnership. Students are responsible for nearly all production roles, with participants drawn from a wide range of academic disciplines including engineering, nursing and business.
From a workflow perspective, the RiMotion R12 offers multiple control interfaces, including touchscreen, hardware control and hybrid configurations, allowing operators to adapt the system to their preferred working style. In one recent playoff scenario, student operators were able to compile a multi-angle replay of a buzzer-beater within seconds, highlighting the system’s responsiveness under live conditions.
Donovan added: “One of the big reasons we chose the Riedel system was the ability to export clips while we’re still creating them. That lets us quickly move highlights out of the replay system, convert them, and upload them within minutes so the athletics social team can share highlights almost immediately after key moments happen.”
The system is also reconfigured on a per-event basis, with students switching between production setups ranging from four-camera basketball workflows with PTZ integration to simpler two-camera configurations for field sports. A browser-based configuration environment allows these adjustments to be made quickly, even during periods of overlapping fixtures.
Supporting up to 10 camera inputs and four playback channels, the platform is designed to accommodate varying production scales while maintaining operational consistency for inexperienced crews.
Andrew Grant, sales manager live production at Riedel Communications, said: “SimplyLive’s design fits the realities of a student–run environment. It gives operators a workflow that’s easy to learn and flexible enough to match different skill levels, while still delivering the responsiveness needed for high–profile broadcasts.”