David Bolton stands in front of his Super Bowl wall with past game balls and helmets, including both the Eagles and Chiefs. Mr. Bolton’s company, Cultural Global Media, is coordinating all aspects of Sunday’s live Super Bowl production for Fox Sports Latin America.
The biggest sporting event in the U.S. will be broadcast in Spanish Sunday throughout Latin America — thanks to the efforts of a Santa Barbara-based company.
For the eighth time in nine years, Cultural Global Media is coordinating all aspects of the live Super Bowl production for Fox Sports Latin America.
When Philadelphia faces Kansas City, it will be a special moment for CGM and its founder and owner, David Bolton. A graduate of Santa Barbara High School, he is beginning his 35th year of producing live national sports broadcasts.
“We are honored that the NFL and Fox Sports executives in Mexico City again have the confidence in our work to hire us for this 57th Super Bowl,” said Mr. Bolton, who began his television career in 1982 at Santa Barbara station KEYT.
“Every Super Bowl is memorable,” Mr. Bolton continued in a news release. “We are fortunate to have a strong, talented and dedicated production team. Some of the camera and audio operators have worked with us for more than 20 years.
“On the field, it’s always a team effort,” he said. “It’s the same for us on the production side. A lot goes into pulling off a solid broadcast. It’s definitely a team effort in our production truck.”
Preparations for this year’s Super Bowl began exactly one year ago, according to Mr. Bolton. Everything began to heat up during the past two months.
The Santa Barbara company is responsible for everything from production trucks to cameras, satellite coordination, camera, audio and replay operators, plus logistics with the NFL.
“It’s a lot of detail and sometimes feels a bit overwhelming, but our team members have done this multiple times and they really help carry a big load,” said Mr. Bolton.
In nine years of coordinating NFL broadcasts, CGM has produced Super Bowls and multiple NFC playoff and championship games.
“These stadiums are so modern and so energetic on game day. It is truly an honor to be able to be a part of these big games,” said Mr. Bolton
One of Mr. Bolton’s early career ideas was creating a local sports show on Santa Barbara TV. It was an idea that developed into KEYT’s “Friday Football Focus,” the longest running non-news show on local television.
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
