Fox Sports selects Appear for remote production media processing

Building on an initial deployment, the rollout of Appear’s X Platform now extends across three key pillars of Fox Sports’ production infrastructure: a refresh of Home Run Productions (HRP) remote integration model (REMI) infrastructure; a standards-based IP workflow supporting coverage of a major global soccer event taking place in the Americas in the summer of 2026; and the broadcaster’s Jewel Events production system for its highest-profile live broadcasts.

Fox Sports’ HRP operation is modernising its remote production infrastructure, replacing legacy contribution and processing systems across field kits, mobile production trucks, and compact deployments. By supporting both JPEG XS and low-latency HEVC on a single platform, Appear enables a consistent production approach across a broad range of live sports, while providing the flexibility to optimise codec choice and bandwidth usage without compromising operational efficiency.

For coverage of a major global soccer event in the Americas in the summer of 2026, Fox Sports is deploying a REMI production workflow based on SMPTE ST 2110 and JPEG XS. This standards-based approach will enable ultra-low latency contribution of 104 live matches over 39 days, enabling workflows to seamlessly adapt across venues with different connectivity profiles.

Appear technology is also being deployed within Fox Sports’ Jewel Events production system, supporting the broadcaster’s highest-profile national live broadcasts with a scalable and robust processing platform.

Together, these deployments are to create a common technology foundation supporting Fox Sports’ production models, from field kits and mobile units to large-scale premium live events.

Across the deployment, Fox Sports’ infrastructure includes Appear X20 platforms across HRP and Jewel environments, alongside Appear X5 systems supporting the commentator workflows. The X5 provides a compact contribution solution for distributed production, enabling remotely located commentators to receive live feeds and deliver synchronised commentary with ultra-low latency.

Using a single platform, Fox Sports can select the optimal workflow for each production environment, from ultra-low latency JPEG XS over SMPTE ST 2110 to HEVC and SRT for more constrained or variable networks. This approach means production teams can maintain consistent workflows regardless of venue connectivity conditions.

Following the soccer event in the summer of 2026, Fox Sports also plans to redeploy the same infrastructure across other major national broadcasts, including American football and baseball, maximising long-term value while maintaining performance and reliability.

“By adopting Appear across our REMI workflows, Jewel Events productions and Summer 2026 soccer coverage, we are creating a flexible production architecture that can support the scale and complexity of sports broadcasting today,” said Rob Rees, Vice President of Live Production Engineering at Fox Sports. “The ability to choose the right compression and transport approach depending on venue requirements, while maintaining the highest standards of performance and reliability, is critical to delivering the biggest moments in live sport.”

“Fox Sports is setting a benchmark for how major broadcasters are evolving their live production infrastructures,” said Ed McGivern, President and General Manager of Appear US. “By deploying a single high-performance platform, they can scale workflows from compact field kits to the most demanding premium sports events.”

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