Fred Aldous brought a musician\u2019s ear to broadcast-sports audio. That\u2019s evident\u00a0in \u201cCrank It Up\u201d \u2014 a three- to four-minute \u201cdrum solo\u201d composed solely of sound effects from NASCAR tracks and cars and now a fixture on Fox Sports\u2019 coverage of NASCAR races \u2014 and in the collaborative audio-team effort that he led.<\/p>\n
In college, Aldous\u2019s instruments were\u00a0the trombone and the guitar, and his passion blossomed, in the late 1970s, in the recording studio. But he found it far more interesting to be on the other side of the glass, in the control room.<\/p>\n
His bridge to broadcasting was a visit to a television station, where, within minutes, he spotted and fixed a monitoring problem the audio team had been experiencing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rush of live television was sensational,\u201d Fred recalls. \u201cKnowing you have one shot at making it right was intense. I was hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Twenty-three Emmy Awards later, the sports-broadcasting industry is glad he did.<\/p>\n
From News to Sports
\n<\/b>Starting in 1981 at KUTV Salt Lake City, he began mixing weekend newscasts. The stations \u2014 and the responsibilities and experience \u2014 became progressively larger, and the connections to broadcast sports began to take shape. At Video West Productions, the postproduction arm of KSL-TV Salt Lake City, Aldous mixed Utah Jazz games and other sports events from the company\u2019s 35-ft. single-frame remote truck. Then came Mizlou TV Sports, an independent sports-production company that had the broadcast rights to several college bowl games.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started to hone my sports-mixing chops working the games for Mizlou,\u201d he remembers, adding that this was the gig that began his peripatetic career as a traveling A1. \u201cThey were paying me to travel to cover sporting events. My travel career had begun!\u201d<\/p>\n
Aldous went freelance in 1986, a move sparked when CBS Sports had come to Salt Lake City to do a skiing event and needed audio support.<\/p>\n
\u201cCBS liked what I did and started to call me to mix NCAA basketball coverage,\u201d he says. \u201cThis was my start into network broadcasting. It was happening pretty fast because the amount of sports coverage had increased and the broadcasters needed more freelancers to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working with CBS, Aldous extended his portfolio of sports shows to NFL; MLB; NASCAR; NCAA basketball; the 1992,\u00a01994, and 1996 Olympics; and a host of other freelance gigs. During that time, he benefited from guidance from Mike Rokosa, who would become director of field operations, and especially from the mentoring he received from Bob Seiderman, CBS\u2019s lead audio mixer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great time in my career,\u201d Aldous says. \u201cI was fortunate enough to be involved with high-profile events, including Super Bowls, World Series, the Olympics, the Daytona 500, and many NCAA Final Fours with CBS.\u201d<\/p>\n
As his sports portfolio broadened, so did the outlets he was mixing for. He did shows for NBC Sports, ABC Sports\/ESPN, Turner Sports, Showtime, and HBO as well as for CBS Sports into the 1990s, when sports on television began to become the media juggernaut it is today.<\/p>\n
And a philosophy was emerging, one that would guide the arc of his career. \u201cI want the viewer at home to be a part of the audience in the stands,\u201d he told the\u00a0Verge<\/a>, \u201cbecause the field of play never moves in front of you when you\u2019re in the stands.\u201d<\/p>\n But it was with Fox Sports that Aldous hit his stride. In 1994, when Fox Sports landed the broadcasting rights to the NFL\u2019s NFC conference, he was one of the first hires by Emmy Award-winner Jerry Gepner, who led Fox Sports\u2019 nascent NFL initiative, which had to be assembled in a matter of months. As he had done with every other aspect of his career, Aldous learned quickly and innovated.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the first time the NFL had allowed us to put microphones on the field of play,\u201d he recalls. \u201cWe put microphones on the umpires. The sound was tremendous.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, it was a turning point in the sound of broadcast sports, as broadcast audio became the way to bring viewers more deeply into a game than ever before.<\/p>\n