Jason Cohen

"It will be easier for us to have an East Coast show followed by a West Coast show," says Jason Cohen, HBO Sports director of production.

The new truck mirrors the previous one (SS19) with some subtle differences in layout and replay and major enhancements to routing and infrastructure via GVG Jupiter and a move to an all EVS XT[2] facility with more memory and channels."We can get highlights on air more quickly and that's important in boxing," says Cohen.
...
"It makes us more potent in audio because the audio inputs were maxed out in the old truck," adds Cohen.

Jason Cohen, HBO Sports, Director of East Coast Productions

Jason Cohen, HBO Sports, Director of East Coast Productions
...
Jason Cohen

HBO Sports director of East Coast production Jason Cohen opened the doors of the Toyota Center and his truck compound to the students, giving them an inside look [...]

"This is home-cooked technology within the HBO groups," says Jason Cohen, director of East Coast production, HBO Sports, "and we're proud of it."

The system was put together by HBO Sports, HBO East Coast Productions, and HBO's Emerging Technology division and IT department. Between rounds, a 3D graphics visualization of each fighter is displayed on-screen and shows the accumulated punches to seven zones on the body: three on the head, three on the body, and one below the belt. The zones turn a different color - first yellow, then orange, and then red - as punches accumulate.

"The system relies on Compubox, which is used to count punches," says Cohen. "We have two additional operators who are tracking where the punches are landing on the body. That data is then pushed off to Chyron HyperX, where the graphics are built."

Punches can be displayed either as whole numbers or as a percentage of the punches thrown. "It's a good tool to teach viewers who are watching the fight," says Cohen. "This is our version of the KZone for baseball or the shot map for basketball."

NEP Supershooters 17 was on hand, as always, to meet HBO's production needs during the fight. Inertia Unlimited's xMo (with the V12 system) and an RF camera supplied by Aerial Video Systems also played an important role in the production.

"Ultimately, we'll stream PunchZone live to the Web," says Cohen.

HBO Sports director of East Coast production Jason Cohen opened the doors of the Toyota Center and his truck compound to the students, giving them an inside look at a live sports production, and even put one of them to work during the show.

"We were proud to continue our commitment in reaching out to university students once again," Cohen says.
...
One of the Prairie View students was available to work during the event on Saturday, so Cohen procured a ringside credential for him and let him get his hands dirty. "One of the greatest challenges in our industry," he says, "is to keep students connected to our industry's opportunities, and hopefully, SVG-U will bridge that gap."

Which led HBO's Jason Cohen to wonder: "Maybe he's trying to keep kosher."

Jason Cohen, HBO Sports, Director of East Coast Productions