Related News

Lumen Lede

January 11, 2023

Lumen recognized nationally for valuing Generation Z, early-career employees

Lumen Lede

November 2, 2022

Lumen signs White House Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Challenge, invests in workforce training and development

Lumen Lede

July 11, 2022

Lumen awarded for putting customers first!

Before the ‘The Big Game,’ bettors wagered on everything from the color hat Chris Stapleton would wear during his national anthem performance (he was hatless) to Rihanna’s opening and closing songs (B**** Better Have My Money and Diamonds). They even bet on the outcome of the football game.

What turned out to be the safest bet? The Lumen team’s flawless broadcast transmission of the big game. The broadcast drew more than 113 million viewers, ranking as the second most-watched game ever.

The Lumen Vyvx team served as the elite vendor of choice to deliver the broadcast transmission for major U.S. and multiple international broadcasters. Leveraging Lumen’s world class network, our Vyvx, and Content Delivery Network (CDN) services overlayed live game content for distribution. The onsite Vyvx team “ensured flawless delivery from the stadium,” said Rick Gibson, who leads the Vyvx team. “And our Repair, Network Operations Center (NOC), and Field Services teams were essential to delivering an absolutely excellent customer experience.”

Rick is proud that “we were able to deliver more content and services from ‘The Big Game’ than any other in the 34-year history of our delivery of the game.” He also pointed to the trust that high-profile customers place in Lumen.

Ron Pfaff, who leads the Service Assurance organization, was reminded of a Vince Lombardi quote: “Winning is not a sometime thing. It’s an all-the-time thing.” Ron said, “I’m immensely proud of our teams’ customer obsession and commitment to winning that brings events like ‘The Big Game’ from the field to countless fans around the globe.”

Before and after

Before the game, the team spends countless hours preparing. Chris Noble, Enterprise Repair, pointed to the “hard work and dedication of so many team members throughout Lumen.” And he reported that the team got a special pre-game call: “The team was thrilled that our CEO Kate Johnson took the time to video chat with them to thank them for their service.” Rick and the team truly appreciated Kate’s shout-out. “We’ve done this for years and years, and honestly, this is the first time I’ve seen a CEO reach out on the Sunday afternoon before the game to say thank you,” said Rick.

After the broadcast, the onsite team’s work isn’t over. They have to break down equipment and load up the trailer, which takes them to Monday afternoon. As the semi was hooking up to the Lumen trailer for the trip back, it was time to celebrate: the onsite team enjoyed dinner together at a local restaurant.

What’s next for the team? The college basketball tournament is around the corner, and then there’s the NFL draft in Kansas City beginning April 27. But before that, the team will meet to discuss what worked well, where they can improve, and whether there were any gaps in communication.

During a pre-game conversation, Rick picked the Philadelphia Eagles to win. So, while the Kansas City Chiefs’ win surprised Rick, Lumen customers were NOT surprised by our flawless execution.

Before the game, Rick texts each one of the executives of companies for whom we’re providing services, assuring them Lumen was ready for the broadcast. “Everyone responded back to say they never had to worry because we always have everything taken care of,” said Rick. “And they said they couldn’t have been happier with the delivery of our service.”