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 ...
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
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...
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...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
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
Groundbreaking First Nations Screen Business Accelerator launched through nation...
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 
