College Basketball 2018-19 Preview: ESPN Continues To Evolve REMI for Hardcourt Coverage The network will produce nearly 3,000 games on multiple platforms By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor
Thursday, November 15, 2018 - 12:40 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
After a season that offered more than 2,500 games on all platforms under the ESPN umbrella, the sports-media giant is sticking with a steady diet of productions for the upcoming college basketball season. Out of close to 3,000 games, about half will be dedicated to digital platforms, including 550 men's and women's games on ESPN+ in November. As for the 1,400 linear broadcasts, Associate Director, Remote Operations, Larry Wilson and Remote Production Operations Manager Donna Capone will lead the network's efforts.
It takes a lot of preparation, Wilson says. With the help of Remote Operations Manager Erin Orr, we have an amazing team that handles the day-to-day of over 1,000 games by being in constant communications with each other.
REMI Offers Limitless Possibilities
In a season jam-packed with games all over the country, ESPN will continue to use its REMI production model, which it has developed in recent years, for more than 200 basketball productions. To reduce headcount and facilities onsite at remote productions, ESPN will deploy resources and crew at its broadcast centers in Bristol, CT; Charlotte, NC; and the Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.
We still have the same amount of producers, directors, and equipment, Wilson said. We're just looking at innovative ways of becoming more efficient by leveraging [this] technology to extend the capture onsite back to the studio.
For linear telecasts, Game Creek will be the main truck vendor for the Saturday Primetime games. Other mobile units that align with a game's location and logistical needs will be used as well. To integrate universities and their production staffs, ESPN will use school control rooms for about 20% of games.
ESPN Tips Off Season in Style at Champions Classic
Pulling out all the tech stops at the State Farm Champions Classic to begin its 2018-19 season (on Nov. 6 in Indianapolis), ESPN more than doubled its average A-game camera complement of five for the Duke-Kentucky and Kansas-Michigan State matchups, and College GameDay originated live from Bankers Life Fieldhouse throughout the night.
We started the season off with a lot of firepower at the Champions Classic, says Wilson, and we had some very interesting new products that we're using.
Headlining the tech toys in Indianapolis were three C360 panoramic cameras, the first time ESPN has used the system on college basketball (having experimented with it at NBA Summer League this year).
[The C360 system] is really interesting in that it has a 180- by 360-degree field of view, says Wilson. It has a huge capture field, and then you can crop what you're looking at and take it live or use it on replay.
ESPN also deployed a Spidercam point-to-point aerial system in Indianapolis, as well as Sony HDC-P1 above-the-rim and Grass Valley 3X-slo-mo Slam Cam robotic systems on each basket (all provided by Fletcher). Also added were a 6X-slo-mo camera system at mid court, an RF and a cabled handheld, two slash positions, and two Marshal POVs capturing behind-the-scenes action.
On the replay side, the network kicked up its total EVS replay channels from 18 for an average A game to 28 for the opening-night tournament.
The Complete Package
On the mic, 2018 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee Dick Vitale is entering his 40th season with the network. ESPN's Saturday Primetime and other prominent matchups will be called by Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, and Maria Taylor. For pregame festivities, College GameDay will once again feature Rece Davis, Bilas, Seth Greenberg, and Jay Williams.
Wilson and Capone, in their third and fifth seasons, respectively, are thrilled to start another great year of college hoops. It was a great way to start in Indianapolis, Capone says. We're just really excited to kick off another season.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
College Basketball 2018-19 Preview: ESPN Continues To Evolve REMI for Hardcourt Coverage The network will produce nearly 3,000 games on multiple platforms By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor 
