MLB Opening Day 2024 Broadcast Project Honored in Acquisition Category, BitFire Spark Production Environments Wins in Remote Production
LAS VEGAS — April 17, 2025 — BitFire (bitfire.tv), a longtime leader in live video transport, today announced dual NAB Show award wins at the 2025 NAB Show in Las Vegas. The company’s MLB Opening Day 2024 broadcast project — led by MLB Network with BitFire as its technology partner — is the winner in the acquisition category of the inaugural NAB Show Project of the Year Awards. BitFire Spark™ Production Environments earned an NAB Show Product of the Year Award in the remote production category.
The NAB Show Project of the Year Award program highlights the outstanding key players bringing to life the most ambitious and innovative projects delivered in 2024. The first-of-its-kind program recognizes excellence across the broadcasting and entertainment industry, honoring cutting-edge applications, installations, workflows, and use cases that push boundaries and redefine possibilities. Winners were selected by a panel of industry peers.
“We’re honored to be recognized by NAB for a project that demonstrated new capabilities — and new possibilities — in live international sports production,” said Jim Akimchuk, president and CEO at BitFire. “This award reflects the quality of our technology as well as the close collaboration and shared vision that allowed the BitFire team and MLB Network to deliver world-class results.”
For MLB’s Opening Day 2024 event in Seoul, South Korea, MLB Network partnered with BitFire to deliver a large-scale, multinetwork REMI (Remote Integration Model) production, transmitting more than 28 synchronized video and audio paths from Seoul to production teams in Secaucus, New Jersey; San Diego; and Los Angeles. The broadcast supported MLB Network, SportsNet LA, and San Diego Padres TV while providing customized feeds to Japanese, Korean, and American rights holders. BitFire’s contribution included IP-based transmission with deterministic latency, real-time monitoring, multiviewers, and remote collaboration tools. The production achieved broadcast-grade quality and redundancy without requiring a large on-site crew, setting a new benchmark for scalable international REMI workflows.
“NAB is proud to recognize the industry’s top work driving a remarkable range of solutions opening new frontiers and shaping the future of content creation, distribution, and monetization,” said Eric Trabb, senior vice president and chief customer success officer at NAB. “Congratulations to BitFire on earning the 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award for MLB Opening Day and the 2025 NAB Show Product of the Year Award for BitFire Spark Production Environments — a breakthrough solution transforming a pivotal stage of the content lifecycle and empowering storytellers to meet today’s challenges while shaping the future of media.”
Designed by broadcasters for broadcasters, the BitFire Spark cloud-native production environment transforms remote and hybrid production by bringing the full capabilities of a traditional broadcast control room into the cloud. Rather than redefine broadcast workflows, BitFire Spark leverages the scalability and flexibility of the cloud to enhance the established methodologies that have served the industry well for decades. A modular solution, BitFire Spark allows production teams to quickly configure and deploy essential production tools — including cloud-based switching, mixing, replay, multiviewing, and intercom — via one cohesive, intuitive interface. Whether spinning up a full-scale remote production or deploying a single application for a specific function, users can build custom workflows within minutes.
Further information about BitFire and the company’s technology is available at www.bitfire.tv.
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About BitFire
BitFire leads live, software-defined production and transmission with a glass-to-glass platform that enables scalable, high-quality content creation. Blending deep experience in traditional broadcasting with expertise in cutting-edge technology, BitFire modernizes broadcast workflows for networks and production companies of any size. With intuitive cloud-based control over fully integrated broadcast-grade systems, BitFire users can achieve professional results without limits with greater freedom, agility, and economy without the conventional constraints of geographic location, equipment availability, and unpredictable pricing. More information is available at www.bitfire.tv.
About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America’s broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory, and public affairs. Through advocacy, education, and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.
About NAB Show
NAB Show is the preeminent conference and exhibition driving the evolution of broadcast, media and entertainment, held April 5-9, 2025 (Exhibits April 6-9), in Las Vegas. Produced by the National Association of Broadcasters, NAB Show is the ultimate marketplace for next-generation technology inspiring superior audio and video experiences. From creation to consumption, across multiple platforms, NAB Show is where global visionaries convene to bring content to life in new and exciting ways. Learn more at NABShow.com.
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Link to Word Doc: www.wallstcom.com/BitFire/250417-BitFire-NAB_Awards.docx
Image Link: www.wallstcom.com/BitFire/NAB_Project_of_the_Year_BitFire_MLB.jpg
Image Caption: Image Caption: Left to right – Steven Rittenberg, VP, Engineering, MLB Networks; Craig Robertson, Manager, Technical Operations, BitFire; Jason Hedgcock, Sr. Director, Technical Prod/Special Projects, MLB Networks; and Colin Bonzey, Director, Technical Operations, BitFire accepted the NAB Show Project of the Year award at the 2025 NAB Show.
Image Link: www.wallstcom.com/BitFire/NAB_Product_of_the_Year.jpg
Image Caption: BitFire accepts the NAB Show Product of the Year Award for BitFire Spark™ Production Environment. Photo includes Staz Modrzynski, Director, Media Engineering; Jim Akimchuk; President and CEO; Colin Bonzey, Director, Technical Operations at BitFire; and Eric Trabb, Senior VP and Chief Customer Success Officer at NAB.
