
SVG Sit-Down: DAZN's Head of Tennis Sarah Milburn on the Importance of a Good Team and Good Partners WTA Medias Head of Production leads a production team who manage the delivery of more than 50 International tournaments each year By SVG Staff
Wednesday, September 4, 2024 - 1:39 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
As the sport of tennis has surged in popularity, more professional tournaments are being produced for television and streaming all around the globe.
Since 2017, the Women's Tennis Association has driven production under the moniker of WTA Media, following a partnership with Perform Group. That deal which was for 10 years and is the most financially lucrative media rights deal in the history of women's sports has seen WTA Media deliver thousands of matches.
That outfit is led by Sarah Milburn, the Head of Tennis for DAZN and the Head of Production for WTA Media. SVG spoke with Milburn about her career, how she got started, her advice for the next generation, and why working with good people and reliable partners is crucial in live sports production.
How did you get into sports broadcast?
I started out as a runner at Sky Sports bringing my love of sport and media, and combining the two. After making the teas for a while, I found myself carrying out multiple roles across many different sports, before taking up a full-time position on the Tennis production team. Working my way up the production team (it was so long ago content was still on tapes!), I ended up producing the ATP Tour coverage and US Open within Sky Sports galleries and on-site, before taking to the road with ATP Media managing their content output and learning about on-site live operations. Wanting to see more of what the industry had to offer, I set up as a freelancer, before taking on a Head of Production role at Perform/DAZN (which was still within tennis). I just can't seem to get away from it!
What have been some of the challenges in your role over the years?
Managing an international OB production during the Covid Pandemic was a game changer. As the whole world stopped, people and the industry still wanted to watch and play tennis. Making sure operational standards were met and the teams travelled safely for 2-3 years was, extremely difficult. We had partnered with AE Live at the start of the 2020 season, so they had about 5 events before Covid hit. Their calmness, support and understanding of our needs during the next few years whilst the world settled down again, providing us with remote solutions and always being available to contact with new challenges we faced, has been imperative to the ongoing success of this project.
How have production technologies and techniques changed over your career?
Thankfully, and rather fortuitously, we had already looked at remote production solutions and streaming our production operation on-site before Covid. This helped immeasurably, not only to keep costs down, but also operations going with fewer people. WTA Media now delivers in full via SRT and we use remote working production solutions in GFX (with AE Live) and for post production. 75% of our commentary output (over 2000 matches per season) is delivered remotely direct from commentators' homes.
What have been the highlights of your career?
I'm very proud to have run an OB operation of more than 30+ Host Broadcasts each season, which can often change and we have to react very last minute. We have built a great work ethic and dynamic at WTA Media, where everyone is a joy to work with; you don't get that everywhere.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to follow in your path?
Think about what could be done, not about what is already being done. There are far cleverer people than me working in all areas of technology and creativity who can support your ideas. Don't be a silo, work as a team and support everyone you come across.
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...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Two Alumni Win Tony Awards Mike Morris and Cedric Leiba Jr. won awards for Best Orchestrations and Best Play, respectively.
June 8, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
...
08/06/2026
The two execs discuss the goals and the challenges of building a huge multi-cult...
08/06/2026
This industry legend has been a road warrior since the early '90s and is, today, a lynchpin on College GameDay
The sports-production industry continues to ...
08/06/2026
DAZN has agreed a multi-year rights partnership with Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC), expanding its global combat sports portfolio.
DAZN will broadcast EFC...
08/06/2026
As fans move across broadcast, streaming, social, mobile and creator-led platforms, and they expect every angle, in real time, TVU Networks has released a new e...
08/06/2026
Infront has further strengthened the 2026 Diamond League's international bro...
08/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced the appointment of Sam Craig as Vice President, Global Pre-Sales. Based in the United States, Craig will lead Grass Valley's glob...
08/06/2026
SMPTE has announced its summer 2026 education lineup covering IP networking and SMPTE ST 2110, including two standalone courses, a 13-week boot camp, and a hand...
08/06/2026
Sportradar Group AG has announced a multi-year global agreement with Kalshi, a p...
08/06/2026
FIFA and Gamefam have announced the launch of a FIFA World Cup 2026 event on Roblox, running June 5 through July 31, 2026. The event centers on FIFA Super Socce...
08/06/2026
A collaboration of NHL Productions, Monumental Sports, and Michael Levitt Produc...
08/06/2026
CBS Sports production staffer Bryce Adair has died at the age of 31 after sustaining injuries during a car accident on Wednesday while in Ohio working the the P...
08/06/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...
08/06/2026
WMT Digital today announced the launch of WMT Fan Intelligence, designed to unif...
08/06/2026
The Heat are the seventh NBA team to air their games over-the-air next season...
08/06/2026
Paramount and UFC have announced an expansion of their media rights partnership making Paramount the exclusive home of UFC Numbered Event main cards in Canada ...
08/06/2026
The Qatar Football Association (QFA), in cooperation with Sponix and broadcaster...
08/06/2026
Project B has announced the appointment of Host Broadcast Services (HBS) as Offi...
08/06/2026
The Buckeyes now produce and stream upwards of 200 sports events annually with a...
08/06/2026
At Spotify, our commitment to the LGBTQIA community is year-round. Through GLOW, our global music program, we celebrate and amplify the contributions of queer ...
08/06/2026
Get Hands-on With Keyboard & Synth Brands
GearExpo UK wouldn't be complete without some synth action, and we've got some of the industry's most ...
08/06/2026
50 popular in-ear monitoring system profiles added
The latest update for IK Multimedia's headphone-correction system has just arrived, and introduces ca...
08/06/2026
Manny Marroquin signature cans upgraded with SLAM Technology
The flagship model in Audeze's Manny Marroquin Signature Series has just been treated to an...
08/06/2026
Air domain supremacy redefined - New counter UAS, space solutions and directiona...
08/06/2026
he BBC and BritBox have announced that Edward Bluemel (We Might Regret This, My ...
08/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/06/2026
Dante interfaces, intercom and control systems for modern AV environments
Glensound will showcase a focused range of networked audio and intercom solutions fo...
08/06/2026
Bminty is proud to celebrate the first anniversary of T18, the new free national French DTT channel launched on June 6, 2025. This symbolic milestone also marks...
08/06/2026
DaVinci Resolve Used For Global Collaboration on Tony Foster Documentary
Brie Clayton June 8, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio and Blackmagic Cl...
08/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/06/2026
Plus, 20% off TVs ahead of kick-offMonday 8 June 2026
Sky introduces Real Time...
08/06/2026
FOX Secures Live NFL Game Package in Mexico Starting in Fall 2026 Agreement Features Thursday Night Football, Sunday Games Package, Thanksgiving Day Games, al...
08/06/2026
FOX One, FOX Sports and Indeed Name Austin Franklin and Kevin Akoto as FOX One C...
08/06/2026
Meet us on the show floor
Stand #286310 Discover Nara, the media management tool used by major facilities including Harbor and Molinare.
Nara v2 introduces re...
08/06/2026
L'art de l'Image dans Reflet dans un diamant mort' Une conversation avec le directeur de la photographie Manuel Dacosse, SBC et l' talonneur Pe...
08/06/2026
Embracing today's modern media workflows: FilmLight presents Nara 2.0, with FilmLight API Designed to support the growing demands of today's production ...
08/06/2026
Moderated by Andy Minuth, FilmLight's Colour Workflow Specialist
Wednesday 18 February
6:00pm / Doors open
7:00pm / Presentation in German
8:00pm / Drin...
08/06/2026
Join us on April 14 at 10:00am for a technical roundtable with the Filmlight dev...
08/06/2026
You're invited to FLAPI Classroom The fundamentals of coding and machine-assisted development
These sessions will help you build the skills needed to cre...
08/06/2026
With Sylvain Canaux (St Louis, Paris) and J r me Cloutier (MELS, Montreal)
Wednesday 6 May
Pick your time: 1:00PM / 5:00PM
Note: The presentation will be hel...
08/06/2026
FilmLight, 1107 N El Centro Ave, Los Angeles
Doors open at 3:30pm
Join the FilmLight team on June 9th at 4pm to learn how FilmLight products and APIs can stre...