ESPN Ops Team Tips Off Challenging College Hoops Season With Focus on Safety, Efficiency Innovation and flexibility are key in an effort facing myriad changes By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, December 4, 2020 - 12:48 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
What is expected to be the most challenging college basketball season in recent memory tipped off last week with a smattering of early tournaments, and the schedule will kick into high gear later this month. Although ESPN's operations team is no stranger to the challenges of navigating the college basketball season - annually producing more than 1,200 games over seven months - the team has already faced an difficult series of challenges brought on by a list of canceled and postponed games.
There is an all-hands-on-deck mentality amongst the operations team, says Erin Orr, manager, remote operations, ESPN, as the virus continues to spread throughout the world, especially headed into the winter months. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging moment in time, yet the operations team has derived innovation from necessity through advancements in workflows, skills, and routines.
With that in mind, ESPN's operations team has crafted a plan that focuses on keeping crews safe onsite and producing more games via REMI from control rooms in Bristol, CT; Charlotte, NC; and Wide World of Sports in Orlando.
Never before has such great change surrounded ESPN's college-basketball coverage, adds Orr. ESPN is committed to looking forward as a company and has supported the college-basketball operations team in designing new health and safety policies, business models, and technological efficiencies.
Ramping Up REMI: ESPN Increases Remote Production, Focuses on Safety Onsite During the 2020-21 season, the majority of ESPN's college-basketball productions will be either REMIs or productions that use ACC and SEC schools' on-campus control rooms. The standard of practice last season was about 10 full onsite productions per week; however, with increased safety protocols and a commitment to keeping staff safe and healthy, ESPN plans to have four or five onsite shows a week this season.
For onsite college-basketball productions, ESPN has instituted functional groups for its crews and requires all staff to wear masks and socially distance.
On a standard REMI production, the only positions onsite are audio, video, cameras, and operations. Talent and production personnel are handling their roles at home or in studios in Bristol, Charlotte, and Orlando. Announcers working from home leverage ESPN's Live From Home production model, which has been implemented over the past eight months and is built around Zoom, TVU, and Unity intercom tools.
The operations team [responsible for] getting college basketball on ESPN is made up of a network of groups, says Orr. However, the universal goal has always been simple: to get each game on-air in the safest and most efficient way possible. While the transparency of this goal is concrete, the means of finding efficiencies within the sport have morphed throughout time.
For onsite crews, ESPN has instituted functional groups that give the team the ability to strategically plan for each crew member who works at a game. ESPN's deliberate planning has created a more comprehensive understanding of onsite personnel and roles, which Orr says has facilitated management of each individual's functional group.
These restrictive groups mitigate unnecessary interactions onsite, she notes, which in turn allows each crew member to walk into each game knowing that their health and safety is number-one priority.
COVID Uncertainty: Ops Team Faces Ultra-short Timelines Orr adds that the biggest impact of the pandemic has been the onset of unknowns, which has resulted in initial operations planning now taking place just 10 days prior to each game.
Throughout the team's preseason preparation, the increase in communication within [the] operations [team], as well as with production, has been hugely important. The sport itself has been faced with a landscape of ever-changing information, and, as a result, the operations team aims at a moving target. The team has quickly learned that the plans laid yesterday immediately become a notion of the past.
The operations team and its production, crewing, and health and safety partners have determined to be flexible in the face of myriad changes. With game cancellations and postponements expected to be a regularity throughout this season, the ops team is focused on keeping the lines of communication as strong as possible throughout ESPN.
There is no manual on how to produce live sports during a global pandemic, Orr points out, so each group is learning and evolving with each curveball. Historically, the team has practiced adaptability in adjusting to the inevitable changes that come down the pipeline in a normal season. However, this season has inspired each group to raise the bar in terms of distributing immediate and concise communication amidst a field of ever-changing games.
Unmanned Cameras: POVs, Robos Play Big Role in Game Coverage Much time and energy has been spent individualizing the logistical planning for each venue's unique health and safety protocols. In addition, some venues allow fans to attend while others do not, and the capacity varies from one venue to another. Given all the variations, Orr says, the most challenging aspect has been mapping out camera locations while ensuring that each area maintains proper social distance.
The biggest loss in game coverage has been the elimination of on-court handheld cameras, so ESPN will lean on unmanned cameras to capture much of the on-court action. Marshall POV cameras have been added to every production to be used on the baskets for variou
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
02/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Med Tech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might thin...
02/07/2026
Summer is heating up - and GeForce NOW is taking players along for the ride.
Start the month with Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains, bringing a galaxy fa...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
ESPN Ops Team Tips Off Challenging College Hoops Season With Focus on Safety, Efficiency Innovation and flexibility are key in an effort facing myriad changes By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
