ESPN Embraces Full At-Home Workflow for the WNBA's 2019 Season Only the All-Star Game and Finals will be produced onsite By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor
Thursday, May 23, 2019 - 11:08 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Heading into its 23rd season, the WNBA is hitting its stride in the national limelight. In the recent offseason, the league signed a 40-game, multiyear deal with CBS Sports and found a digital home for all postgame recaps on Facebook Watch. To capitalize on that momentum, ESPN is hyping up its productions for the new season, which includes an uptick in televised broadcasts (with three nationwide productions on ABC) and a REMI-exclusive workflow for coverage of the entire regular season.
All of our productions for the [16 games of the] regular season, first and second rounds, and the semifinals of the playoffs are REMI-driven, says Rodney Vaughn, WNBA producer, ESPN. The All-Star Game [in Las Vegas] and the WNBA Finals are full [onsite] productions, but [all REMI productions] are produced out of Bristol, CT.
Home-Court Advantage: Putting REMI to the Test
In an age of increased at-home production, ESPN's REMI procedure will be the backbone of this year's productions. A nationwide audience will witness three of these productions, and ESPN Associate Manager, Remote Operations, Jarrett Baker (alongside Senior Remote Operations Coordinator Justin McIntosh and Operations Producers Tracy Howe, Barb Williams, Shane Smith, and Randy Joseph) is adding some powerful reinforcements to ensure that the job is done without any hiccups.
We're really looking forward to doing WNBA REMIs on ABC, says Baker. The opportunity came up in the offseason, and we had a number of conversations with our counterparts at ABC in New York, with our transmission and production groups, to make sure everyone is on the same page [in order] to make sure those telecasts run smoothly. [Given the] magnitude of ABC, we're adding a couple of backup procedures that we might not have on our [other] regular-season REMIs on ESPN2. We'll have a backup generator onsite and some backup transmissions that are in the works. We're just taking a couple of extra precautions.
From a distribution standpoint, these telecasts will be solely in 720p HD. Although this format will remain consistent, the staff will have two methods of transmission to HQ in Bristol. In venues that have a switcher with IP capability, eight JPEG 2000-encoded feeds will be at the production team's disposal. In venues without permanent installation, either fiber provided by AT&T or an uplink signal from a satellite will do the job.
When we have 10 paths out, we're able to send our Marshall [POV cams] and a scoreboard reference camera back to the PCR on their own dedicated paths, says Baker. When we have eight paths, we have to make that a routable source that changes between the Marshalls and the scoreboard as needed.
Action-Packed Slate: Season Details and Production Headlines
As the 2019 season starts, WNBA coverage promises a wealth of storylines. From intriguing trades and unfortunate injuries to a breath of fresh air with an impressive draft class, Vaughn has a ton of creative carpentry in his toolbox.
There are a number of storylines going into this WNBA season, he explains. One of the biggest ones is that there are a number of star players that either are choosing to be out [like Minnesota Lynx forward Maya Moore] or are injured [Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart and Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi]. Two great players changed teams, and [it] will be interesting to see their impact: Chiney Ogumike going to Los Angeles and, recently, Liz Cambage going from Dallas to Las Vegas. There will also be a great rookie class that is going to be starting this year, with Jackie Young being taken No. 1 overall to Las Vegas and Arike Ogunbowale over in Dallas.
Although themes will unfold on the hardwood as the season progresses, Vaughn, Baker, and the rest of the WNBA crew have developed a production element that allows fans to hear game-day storylines during the course of the action. One month from now, on June 23, the Coaches on the Bench wrinkle will return, placing analysts Rebecca Lobo and Kara Lawson on respective benches during the Washington Mystics at Atlanta Dream game.
A few years ago, I was producing college basketball, and we did a telecast with Seth Greenberg and Dan Dakich at the University of Illinois, says Vaughn. We did something similar where we put the two with a coach of both universities, and it was very effective in the sense that we got a perspective on what they were hearing on the sidelines from the coaches and assistants.
Seattle Storm forward and 2018 WNBA Finals MVP Breanna Stewart soaks in her team's championship win.
I took that idea, he continues, brought it to the WNBA last year, and used Lobo and Lawson for a game in Connecticut [vs. the Los Angeles Sparks]. I thought it gave the viewer great insight into what Rebecca and Kara were able to hear in terms of substitution patterns, what coaches were disagreeing with about referee calls, [etc.]. They were able to hear those things [that] they're not usually able to hear on the other side of the floor.
To facilitate seamless transitions between the traditional broadcast and the specialized locations, Vaughn established a system that would allow up to three-boxes of content simultaneously.
We [will] designate one of our high cameras to [Lobo and Lawson], and then we [will] utilize a three-box on screen periodically throughout the game, he says. The game is in the middle of the picture [while] Rebecca's position and Kara's position are in two smaller boxes above the screen. [At times,] we'll have Kara and Rebecca in a two-box while [analyst] Ryan Ruocco will be doing t
North America Stories
16/04/2024
If there remains any doubt that the cloud and artificial intelligence are transforming the workflows that drive the Media & Entertainment (M&E) industry, Amazon...
16/04/2024
Evan Jacobs, VP Finishing & Stereo at Marvel Studios, cautioned not to downplay the home entertainment environment too much, noting that it's now hard to bu...
16/04/2024
The age of streaming the opportunity for different viewing habits for many. Entire seasons could be binged whenever you had the time to spare and didn't m...
16/04/2024
LAS VEGAS During a press conference at the NAB Show, ARRI unveiled its ALEXA 35 Live - Multicam System, which is designed to bring the cinematic image quality o...
16/04/2024
ROXi announced that it has partnered with Pearl TV and major U.S. broadcasters to deploy ROXi's FastStream-powered interactive TV channels on the broadcaste...
16/04/2024
U.S. Internet households now consume an average 43.5 hours of video per week across all viewing devices. That's an increase of more than six hours in 2020, ...
16/04/2024
Lawo and Waves Audio have announced that the Waves SuperRack LiveBox hardware server being displayed at the 2024 NAB Show is fully compatible with Lawo's mc...
16/04/2024
At the 2024 NAB Show, Riedel Communications has unveiled its expanded RiCapture ingest solutions line with the addition of RiCapture i8, i44, and i84. Complemen...
16/04/2024
The Prismatic Company Debuts Strategy for New LightWeave Platform for the Creato...
16/04/2024
Avid to Demonstrate Latest Stream of Innovation at NAB Show 2024 to Drive the Op...
16/04/2024
Paramount Plus has ordered a fourth season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and said the fifth season of Star Trek: Lower Decks will be the final one. Season f...
16/04/2024
Sinclair said that it launched Broadspan, a datacasting platform based on the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast technology....
16/04/2024
LAS VEGAS Byron Allen, founder, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group, spoke about his bid to acquire Paramount Global at NAB Show April 14. Allen called Para...
16/04/2024
Major station owners are bringing interactivity to broadcast, hoping that will convince consumers particularly younger ones obsessed with TikTok to buy new ...
15/04/2024
(Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
15/04/2024
LONDONDERRY, N.H., April 15, 2024 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) received a $256 million order from the U.S. Army for continued production of the Enhanced N...
15/04/2024
Montreal, Canada - April 15, 2024 - Grass Valley, a pioneer in live production s...
15/04/2024
NEW YORK In a major step forward in the broadcast industry's move to ATSC 3.0, NBCUniversal announced that it is launching personalized broadcast experience...
15/04/2024
LAS VEGAS Ross Video has announced an agreement to acquire Bannister Lake Software (BL Soft), a 31-year old Cambridge, Ontario-based provider of data-driven bro...
15/04/2024
Panasonic has revealed some of its technology that will be used for the broadcast of this summer's Olympic Games and Paralympics in Paris....
15/04/2024
Adobe Previews Breakthrough AI Innovations to Advance Professional Video Workflo...
15/04/2024
Zaxcom NAB Preview - Zaxcom's ZaxConvert Software is Now More Versatile & 10...
15/04/2024
Blackmagic Design Announces New Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton April 15, 2024
0 Comments
Advanced digital film camera in an incredibly versatile des...
15/04/2024
SmallHD's Free PageOS 6 Update Adds Powerful New Capabilities to All Current...
15/04/2024
CBS's daytime panel talk show The Talk will end its run with a shortened 15th season, concluding the show in December, CBS confirmed Friday....
15/04/2024
Season four of Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog starts on Nat Geo Friday, A...
15/04/2024
In a notable leap forward for broadcasters planning to monetize their NextGen TV broadcasts, Sinclair has announced the launch of its Broadspan datacasting pl...
15/04/2024
Like a science fiction novel where artificial intelligence is involved in everything people do, the 2024 NAB Show is seeing artificial intelligence, and in part...
15/04/2024
Sustainability was one of the big topics at NAB Show last year, and this year the topic has matured within a media environment during technological and regulato...
15/04/2024
The cloud has offered significant on-demand availability for data storage without direct active management by the user. Increasingly, however, it isn't just...
15/04/2024
At first glance, it might seem a bit odd that the 2024 NAB Show is rolling out a new feature dubbed the Creator Lab....
15/04/2024
As the media and entertainment industry meets again in Las Vegas, NAB Show kicks off the beginning of its second century. Organizers describe an agenda suited t...
15/04/2024
Celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year, Ikegami USA will introduce four new additions to its range of broadcast-quality production equipment at the 2024 NAB...
15/04/2024
Digital Anarchy Debuts Major Update to its AI-Driven Digital Makeup and Skin Ret...
15/04/2024
Grass Valley Showcases Industry-Leading Innovations and Continued Growth Milesto...
15/04/2024
Hitachi Kokusai Demonstrates ST 2110 Studio Production Workflow
Brie Clayton April 14, 2024
0 Comments
To be shown at NAB Show 2024, new Interface Kit...
15/04/2024
Pebble Collaborates with NVIDIA to Bring PRIMA - Pebble's State-of-the-Art S...
15/04/2024
Need a summer job? Love baseball? Interested in finding out about a career in sports management, food service, hospitality and more? The Greenville Yard Gnomes ...
15/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Monday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff
Monday, April 15, 2024 - 3:00 am
Print This Story
The NAB Show is in full swing, a...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Vizrts Nicholas Jameson on the Democratization of High-...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Sonys Hugo Gaggioni on the Power of Sharing and Connect...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Lawos Andreas Hilmer Walks Through HOME Apps, Dishes La...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: AWS Julie Souza on the Maturation of Live Sports Produc...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: FUJINON Lenses Stosh Durbacz on the Debut of the Duvo H...
15/04/2024
Haivision's Makito video encoders and decoders and Haivision Pro 5G mobile v...
15/04/2024
AI promises to bring the full benefits of the digital revolution to billions acr...
14/04/2024
St. Louis, MO - April 14, 2024 - Studio Network Solutions (SNS) announced updates to the EVO Suite of software tools included with EVO shared storage today at N...
14/04/2024
alt= class=wp-image-12028 data-lazy-srcset=https://www.studionetworksolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-Just-Announced-960x540-1.png 960w,......
14/04/2024
Montreal, Canada - April 14, 2024 - Grass Valley, a leading innovator in live pr...
ESPN Embraces Full At-Home Workflow for the WNBA's 2019 Season Only the All-Star Game and Finals will be produced onsite By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor 
