Sports broadcasting demands precision, reliability, and innovation, and few organizations exemplify this better than NBC Sports. Over the years, the network has consistently embraced cutting-edge technology to enhance its productions, delivering seamless coverage to millions of viewers. One of the most transformative technologies in their workflow has been Dante, an AV-over-IP platform designed for cross-brand compatibility, reliability, and efficiency.

Introduced to NBC Sports in 2016, Dante has become the backbone of their audio and communication systems, revolutionizing how the network handles large-scale, complex productions. Dante empowers the network to push the boundaries of live broadcasting—from intercom systems to audio mixing, playing a crucial role in delivering seamless audio experiences for NBC Sports.

Dante Networking 

In 2016, the NBC Sports communications team made a decision to deploy a completely new technology for their intercom backbone. The OMNEO technology, developed by RTS Intercom Systems, combined Dante for audio networking and AES70 for control data. At the time, OMNEO was bleeding edge, and using it at high-profile events was a considerable risk, but it paid huge dividends.

Afterwards, the communications team, led by John Pastore, NBC Sports’ Senior Director of Broadcast Communications, began integrating more Dante into their workflows, not just in their intercom systems but their audio systems as well. “In terms of bringing on new technology at NBC Sports, there is a very slow and cautious approach, which is typically how we like to do things,” said Pastore.

Fast forward to today, where, for certain events, NBC Sports has rolled out 10 Dante-enabled audio systems engineered for reliability, flexibility, and ease of deployment. The setup for these types of events have included over 350 Dante-enabled devices, such as announcer consoles, analog-to-Dante converters, and high-density audio console I/O units. Together, Dante’s networked audio and built-in redundancy deliver robust and reliable performance, empowering NBC Sports’ teams to operate with confidence.

The system has also at times featured 11 RTS Intercom systems that incorporated 140 Omneo keypanels, all tightly integrated with Dante to enable audio sharing between consoles, intercom systems, and engineering endpoints.

Stamford Operations Center: Dante at the Core

In Stamford, Connecticut, the NBC Sports Broadcast Operations Center produces coverage of events year-round. The Stamford facility has, at points, featured 100 Dante-enabled announcer consoles, and 18 high-density audio console I/O units, all integrated into the audio network. Fourteen Production Control Room intercom systems have used Dante as primary RTS trunking, enabling a dynamic and responsive production environment. In total, the global system has supported over 14,000 trunked intercom and audio resources—enabled by Dante’s unparalleled channel density and the management capabilities of Dante Domain Manager. Final program mixes have been produced using Calrec Apollo, Artemis, and Brio consoles, each outfitted with Dante connectivity to ensure smooth integration with the overall network.

Analog to Dante: Scaling with Purpose

NBC Sports’ Broadcast Operations Center now operates a vast Dante network of roughly 500 devices. But that figure only scratches the surface—the network includes numerous high-channel-count consoles and converters, totaling 10,000 Dante sources and 12,000 Dante destinations. The footprint continues to grow rapidly, as new control rooms come online, and legacy point-to-point audio interfaces are replaced with Dante. “That number will go up substantially,” said Pastore.

Centralized Production, Distributed Flexibility

This expansion is largely driven by the organization’s move to a Field Acquisition Unit (FAU) production model, with Dante playing a critical role in enabling this shift. The Stamford facility now includes 12 production control rooms, 15 audio control rooms, and two submix rooms—with additional buildouts happening on a regular basis. Under the FAU approach, mobile units deployed to events handle only signal acquisition, while core production tasks—video switching, audio mixing, graphics and replay are centralized at the Operations Center. “The success of our FAU model is reliant on the ease and repeatability we get from using the Dante infrastructure,” said Mike DiCrescenzo, NBC Sports’ Senior A1 & Audio Design Engineer.

Modernizing Communications at the Core

The transition from analog to Dante is especially evident in the Communications Machine Room, where legacy analog intercom systems now operate side by side with their Dante-based counterparts. The contrast is striking. Traditional racks filled with analog patchbays and multipin analog patch panels are steadily being replaced by modern setups featuring RTS Intercom ODIN frames and Cisco network switches. Bringing new intercom frames online has become significantly more efficient, requiring only a few network connections and familiar tools like RTS AZEdit and Dante Controller. “With Dante Controller, we can make a few clicks and drags, and our systems light up quickly,” said Niraj Patel, NBC Sports’ Broadcast Communications Engineer.

Dante Network Control: Seamless Management at Scale

Managing a Dante network of this scale requires advanced management and monitoring tools. To handle network segmentation, clocking, and the management of multiple subnets, NBC Sports deployed Dante Domain Manager. “Dante Domain Manager has been the only way we’ve been able to scale to meet our needs,” said Dave Meehl, NBC Sports’ Broadcast Communications Engineer.

Given the complexity of the network and the number of operators involved in daily operations, the team needed to simplify some of the more intricate tasks. To achieve this, they deployed EVS’s Cerebrum broadcast control system, which makes API calls to Dante Domain Manager via Dante’s Managed API. This allows for real-time route changes without operators needing to interact with Dante Controller.

To further optimize operations, control rooms across the facility are equipped with Densitron touch panels. These panels provide operators with intuitive XY routing capabilities, but with restricted access to only the sources and destinations they need.  This approach limits the scope of control, reducing the risk of accidental changes. “Tech managers and engineers are predominantly dealing with sources we’ve exposed via the Dante Managed API in Cerebrum,” said Paul Dryden, NBC Sports’ System Design Engineer. “The control side of things is critical, and we couldn’t do this without Dante’s Managed API.”

Dante’s Evolution at NBC Sports

For NBC Sports, Dante has become far more than just a technology, it’s a cornerstone of their operations. From its initial adoption to the advanced, high-performance workflows of today, Dante has empowered the team to continually evolve, tackle new challenges, and deliver exceptional sports productions. Its scalability, reliability, and flexible integration have redefined the possibilities of live broadcasting, enhancing both the technical execution behind the scenes and the viewer experience on-air. As the industry pushes forward, NBC Sports’ commitment to Dante reflects a broader truth: investing in the right technology not only enables success but also turns ambitious visions into reality.