Shure Axient® Selected as Wireless for Super Bowl 50 Referees

The Super Bowl is clearly the most demanding live event on the annual broadcast calendar. Between the live broadcast team, musical acts, and other credentialed journalists like ESPN and NFL Films, plus infrastructure communications inside the stadium, the demand for wireless spectrum isunprecedented, and growing every year. This year’s 50th edition of the game was held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Audio hardware and RF expertise for the event were handled by ATK Audiotek and Professional Wireless Systems. For the 16th time, James Stoffo was contracted to handle all wireless systems for the on-field portion of the festivities.

As any football fan can attest, the most mission-critical microphone on the field is the one worn by the referee. For that task, Stoffo selected Shure Axient ® Wireless. Axient is the only professional wireless system to offer true frequency diversity, and its interference detection algorithm alerts the operator to changing conditions. Stoffo had six channels of Axient, supplied by ATK Audiotek. Referee Clete Blakeman was outfitted with two AXT100 bodypack transmitters, each sending to a separate Axient AXT400 receiver.

As further insurance against failure, a custom antenna system was set up to accommodate the Axient ShowLink remote access. Custom helical antennas were set up on the sidelines, at the 35-yard lines, ensuring a solid RF link no matter where the referee might be standing on the field.

Axient was also used for other critical duties, most notably during the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy to the champion Denver Broncos after the game.

Pregame and halftime entertainers are generally allowed to use their personal wireless microphones, such as the UHF-R systems favored by Coldplay. However, the scarcity of viable UHF spectrum and the interference potential of the LED stage floor at halftime necessitated firm equipment choices in other areas. The in-ear systems for all musicians were Shure PSM® 1000, and Stoffo cleared 30 channels of UHF frequencies by using narrowband RAD UV-1G intercom systems, which operate in the VHF band. That provided enough spectrum for themusicians’ wirelesses.