If it is Super Bowl Sunday, there’s a good chance IBEW members are playing a large role in the day. That will be the case again this year’s game, when the Philadelphia Eagles play the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 12.
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The Fox Sports set outside State Farm Stadium, where many IBEW members are working on Super Bowl Sunday and in the days leading up to the game.
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Fox Sports is televising it, meaning IBEW technicians employed by Fox will be responsible for pictures and sounds seen and heard by more than 100 million viewers in the United States and millions more around the world.
It is the 10th Super Bowl televised by Fox Sports since its inception in 1994. CBS, which the IBEW also has a professional relationship with, has televised the game 21 times. That means IBEW technicians have worked more than one-half of the big games [31 of 57].
A total of 231 IBEW technicians will work the game for Fox Sports. That number does not include IBEW members working for local television stations and other broadcasters and companies covering the game this week in the Phoenix area.
Fox Sports will use 94 cameras. A typical NFL game uses 20-25.
It will be a big day all around for IBEW technicians. Earlier in the day, CBS will televise the Waste Management Phoenix Open from TPC Scottsdale, about 25 miles from State Farm Stadium. The event is generally considered one of the top non-majors on the golfing schedule.
To top it off, Fox Sports is televising three college basketball games on Saturday. CBS is television one on Saturday and one on Sunday.
The IBEW has helped both CBS and Fox Sports meet the demand for technicians by hosting utility training sessions for prospective new members and current members working in other branches interested in broadcast work. One such session was held at State Farm Stadium last September.
“Super Bowl Sunday is always a little more enjoyable for me knowing our broadcast members are responsible for putting together such a terrific broadcast,” International President Kenneth W. Cooper said. “They are the best at what they do and I have no doubt they’ll represent the Brotherhood proudly again. It’s another example of the historical importance of our relationships with national broadcasters like Fox Sports, which we’ve worked so hard to maintain over these many years.”