FOX Sports has selected Appear as a strategic technology partner for the next phase of its live sports production infrastructure, expanding deployment of the vendor’s X Platform across remote production, IP workflows and major live events.
The broadcaster said the rollout builds on an initial deployment and now covers three core areas of its production operation: a refresh of its Home Run Productions REMI infrastructure, a standards-based IP workflow for a major global soccer tournament in the Americas in summer 2026, and its Jewel Events production system for top-tier live broadcasts.
FOX Sports said the aim is to create a common technology foundation spanning everything from field kits and mobile units to large-scale premium sports productions.
Rob Rees, vice president of live production engineering at FOX Sports, said the deployment would allow the broadcaster to build a more flexible production architecture able to handle the scale and complexity of modern sports broadcasting.
He said the ability to choose the right compression and transport approach depending on venue requirements, while maintaining high standards of performance and reliability, was critical to covering major live events.
Under the project, FOX Sports is modernising its HRP remote production operation by replacing legacy contribution and processing systems across field kits, trucks and compact deployments. Appear’s platform supports both JPEG XS and low-latency HEVC on the same system, allowing FOX to adapt workflows without changing operational models.
For its summer 2026 soccer coverage, FOX Sports will use a REMI workflow based on SMPTE ST 2110 and JPEG XS, designed to support ultra-low latency contribution across 104 live matches over 39 days.
Appear technology is also being used within FOX Sports’ Jewel Events infrastructure, supporting high-profile national live broadcasts with a scalable media processing platform.
The deployment includes Appear X20 systems across HRP and Jewel environments, as well as X5 platforms for commentator workflows, enabling remote commentators to receive live feeds and deliver synchronised commentary with low latency.
FOX Sports said the infrastructure is intended to deliver long-term value, with the same systems due to be redeployed after the 2026 soccer tournament across other major national broadcasts including American football and baseball.
Ed McGivern, president and general manager of Appear US, said FOX Sports was setting a benchmark for how major broadcasters are evolving live production, using a single platform to scale from compact field operations to the most demanding premium events.
