Super Bowl To Feature Tulsa Company Technology

A bit of technology from the Tulsa area will be a big part of Sunday's Super Bowl coverage by CBS. <br/><br/>News on 6 reporter Chris Wright took a look at a popular camera angle that will be used

Wednesday, January 31st 2007, 9:42 am

By: News On 6

A bit of technology from the Tulsa area will be a big part of Sunday's Super Bowl coverage by CBS.

News on 6 reporter Chris Wright took a look at a popular camera angle that will be used during the game, and its Tulsa area connection.

If you're a sports fan, by now you're familiar with the aerial angle. A gyro-stabilized camera, using a system of pulleys, swoops in from above, putting you in the middle of the action.

It's now used at all sorts of sporting events, from basketball to hockey to soccer, even ice-skating. The NFL has used the flying steadicam for years, and it will be featured during the Super Bowl.

A company called CableCam will operate the camera. Tulsa-based Winnercomm owns Cablecam. Winnercomm also owns Cablecam's chief competitor, Skycam, a Broken Arrow company. That means the Tulsa area has a virtual monopoly on the technology.

Skycam engineer Mike Williams explains, "I think it's becoming very popular, I don't think any of the big producers would do this game without this camera."

Skycam, which is used during ESPN and ABC football games, as well as other sporting events, opened its Broken Arrow headquarters last year. Skycam sets up and tests its various camera systems in a giant Broken Arrow warehouse. "It's an incredible building because we can fly a camera inside our building. All of the development, all the tests, all the maintenance, can be done inside," says Mike Anderson.

After testing is complete, the equipment is shipped to the sporting event, where a Skycam crew spends two to three days installing it. Their services don't come cheap. The company charges between $20,000 and $60,000 for each event. People though are willing to pay the big bucks for Skycam.

The business continues to expand to new sports such as swimming, horseracing and track and field, anywhere where a bird's-eye point of view is appreciated.

CBS actually received thousands of complaints from fans for its admitted over-use of the aerial shot during the playoffs. The network has promised to be more selective during the Super Bowl.