Two Elistair tethered drones were put to use during the 53^rd Super Bowl in Atlanta: One deployed by CNN for news coverage and the other by Unified Command for security.

CNN received an approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly their drone for live broadcast during and after the game on February 3, according to a news release. The news agency’s DJI M200 drone was tethered to an Elistair Ligh-T and operated by Vector Aerial. The system was set on the rooftop of the CNN building, which faces Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. It operated at a height of 45 meters above the rooftop to collect footage.

Unified Command teams appointed by the NFL also tethered a DJI M200 with an Elistair Ligh-T station, giving them access to continuous aerial surveillance of activities. This system also was set up on a rooftop near the stadium. The security company and the NFL received live images of crowd movements in and around the stadium. It flew for a total of 10 hours on Super Bowl Sunday and 14 hours over a two-day period.

The micro-tether made it possible for both drones to fly for several hours without having to switch out the batteries, which interrupts coverage. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events each year and this latest one was played between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams.

“We are extremely proud of this achievement; our tethered drones have again been proven as a safe surveillance capability for large event security and broadcast applications,” CEO Guilhem de Marliave said. “After the Ryder Cup 2018 and the recent Peace Forum in Paris, the 53rd Super Bowl is a great opportunity to demonstrate the efficiency and safety of our systems in these environments.”

For more on Elistair tethered drone applications, read: Elistair’s Orion Tethered Drone Provides Security During the Ryder Cup 2018