EVENT SPOTLIGHT: BOSTON MARATHON

Thanks to BDM Steven de Haseth and Client Services VP Lee Brinson for contributing to this report and providing images. Thanks to Video Editor Shaun Bales for the highlight reel.

SMT marks a decade powering the Boston Marathon with technology, teamwork and creativity

On Monday, April 20, the 130th Boston Marathon welcomed 30,000 elite athletes and 500,000 passionate fans to one of sport’s most celebrated traditions. SMT continued its long-standing partnership with the Boston Athletic Association to deliver our signature blend of technology, operations expertise and creative production to enhance the race experience for spectators, runners, media and VIP guests throughout marathon weekend.

A crew of more than a dozen SMT team members, led by Event Project Manager Hunter Luhowy, began arriving April 14, with setup starting April 15 and the final crew members departing April 22. The week required extensive coordination, technical setup and around-the-clock support across multiple race locations.

Behind the scenes, SMT’s staff handled a wide range of responsibilities. Operations and engineering teams managed network infrastructure, signal distribution and display connectivity across the course. Production operators ran content on the Photobridge Display, Finish Line Display, Fan Fest screen and Media Center Video Wall, while remote creative teams produced graphics, sponsor assets and race-day messaging from SMT-JAX.

A major focus of the week was content coordination. SMT worked closely with the B.A.A.’s ENG production crews to collect video and photo assets from across race week, including the Fan Expo, Fan Fest, finish line activity and cultural scenes throughout Boston. That content was edited, branded and distributed in real time to SMT-managed displays and digital platforms, ensuring fans saw a dynamic and engaging presentation throughout the event.

SMT’s footprint across the marathon is extensive. At the iconic finish line on Boylston Street, SMT built and operated LED displays featuring live race coverage, leaderboards, clocks, sponsor content and real-time updates.

Photobridge Display: Positioned for optimal visibility, this display offered an additional platform for live visuals and messaging as runners approached the finish.

SMT provided production services for two B.A.A. on-course displays, with content created from a centralized Finish Line production hub and distributed via encoded video signal.

The Media Center Video Wall inside Fairmont Copley Plaza provided media outlets with a quad-split view of key race feeds. In the VIP hospitality area at the Boston Public Library, SMT installed LCD displays showing race footage, statistics and sponsor content for guests.

Saturday’s race schedule also kept the team busy, with SMT supporting the 5K, Invitational Mile and Youth Mile events. For the Invitational Mile, SMT integrated live timing data directly into finish line graphics, displaying splits and results for multiple divisions ranging from middle school races to professional men’s and women’s miles. SMT also streamed Saturday’s races to the B.A.A.’s Facebook page.

New for 2026, SMT provided six wave clocks for the expanded race start format.

On the broadcast side, SMT continued its support of domestic race coverage for WCVB, Boston’s ABC affiliate and producer of the national telecast that aired locally on WCVB and nationally on ESPN. Durham-based services were staffed by Project Coordinator Ellen Campbell, Jasmine Stephens and Lee Brinson, VP, Client Services.

Jasmine, a contractor and former SMT employee, worked her 18th marathon broadcast across Boston, New York and Chicago. She led the on-site GEMLive execution. GEMLive provided a real-time interface to the official timing and scoring feed for wheelchair women, wheelchair men, women’s elite and men’s elite races. Through the system, SMT delivered top hat tickers, individual race clocks, split leaderboards, full-screen standings and editable leaderboard graphics throughout the telecast.

Ellen oversaw the execution of ISO Track 2.0, producing multiple three-runner tracking sequences as well as numerous single- and double-runner isolations during the race. In addition to her on-site role, she also served as SMT’s client services representative for WCVB and was instrumental from planning through race-day delivery.

Lee supported operations from the spotters' room at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, where spotters supplied constant top-10 updates to keep running order graphics accurate throughout the broadcast.

"A quick shoutout to Hunter and the JAX team for generously providing a 49" monitor and power cabling support," Lee said.

From race operations and engineering to live broadcast graphics and fan engagement, SMT’s work at the Boston Marathon once again showcased the power of teamwork behind one of the world’s most iconic sporting events.

Media Center Video Wall: Located inside the Fairmont Copley Square Hotel, this LED wall delivered a quad-split view of the event’s top feeds, giving media outlets comprehensive coverage of the men’s and women’s races.

BROADCAST SPOTLIGHT: NASCAR TALLADEGA

SMT expands NASCAR support at Talladega for The CW

Thanks to TJ Zimmerman, Remote Op III, for contributing to this report and to Video Editor Shaun Bales for the highlight reel.

SMT continued its growing support of NASCAR coverage on The CW during the recent race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, delivering enhanced data-driven tools that are elevating the viewer experience throughout the 2026 season.

Since the start of 2025, SMT has supported NASCAR on The CW, and the return of SMT vector units to race cars this season has significantly expanded the graphics and analytics available for broadcasts. With precise GPS data once again powering coverage, features such as live telemetry and the GEMLive Track Map are now regularly appearing on air.

Talladega provided another strong example of how those tools are enhancing race storytelling. The real-time visualizations gave fans a clear look at race strategy while supporting commentary from analysts in the booth.

"Our Track Map feature from GEMLive was heavily used during pit stops during the Talladega race," according to TJ Zimmerman. "With our vectors back in the cars this year, we have really ramped up the products that we are able to provide The CW, including the track map."

Support for Talladega was delivered remotely from NASCAR Productions headquarters in Charlotte by GEMLive and GEMStat operators from SMT’s Durham operations team.

As NASCAR coverage on The CW continues to grow, SMT remains at the center of the broadcast, combining trusted tracking data with innovative graphics that help tell the story of every race.

EVENT SPOTLIGHT: KENTUCKY THREE-DAY EQUESTRIAN EVENT

SMT returns for ninth year supporting Defender Kentucky Three-Day event

Thanks to Peter Frank, Media Production Manager, for contributing to this report and for the highlight reel. Thanks to Tyler Meyer for contributing the images.

SMT continued its longstanding partnership with the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Equestrian Event, returning to Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, from April 23-26 for the 2026 edition of one of the sport’s premier competitions. Supporting the event since 2018, SMT once again delivered virtual advertising solutions for client Carr-Hughes Productions, helping enhance the broadcast presentation of one of equestrian sport’s most prestigious showcases.

Widely regarded as the ultimate test of horse and rider, the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event combines three demanding disciplines — Dressage, Cross-Country and Show Jumping — into a single world-class competition. SMT’s technology played a key role in bringing added sponsor value to each phase of the event, with virtual ads integrated seamlessly throughout the broadcast.

On-site for SMT were Peter Frank, Lead Operator, and Tyler Meyer, Utility, who managed setup and operations throughout the weekend. SMT delivered a Defender virtual ad during the Dressage and Cross-Country portions of the event, while additional virtual placements for Mars, Buckeye and Ethel Chocolates appeared during Dressage and Show Jumping coverage.

Over the years, SMT has continued to refine the event’s virtual advertising presentation through ongoing enhancements to its matte software, which is used to key sponsor graphics onto the turf and grass surfaces. Those upgrades have helped maintain a polished, natural-looking presentation for viewers while maximizing sponsor visibility.

“We had some hurdles with camera data getting back to our system during setup, but nothing we couldn’t handle,” said Peter Frank, Media Production Manager, pictured at right. “An hour or two of troubleshooting and things were good to go. Once the camera data issues were resolved, everything went smoothly the entire weekend for SMT.”

William Coleman, who rode DIABOLO, became the first American to win the event since 2023, ending a three-year drought for Americans.

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Events and Remote Teams

We are staffing 36 events this week. Safe travels to all!

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