This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surround the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers
The sports-production industry continues to evolve at a remarkable pace, fueled by new technology, new workflows, and a new generation of leaders pushing the craft forward. Now in Season 3, our SVG All-Stars series highlights the innovators and decision-makers driving that progress. Through each conversation, we explore their career paths, leadership philosophies, creative and technical breakthroughs, and the ideas shaping the future of live sports production.
Few areas of sports television demand the blend of speed, storytelling, institutional knowledge, and emotional connection quite like studio coverage around a local team. For Stu Mitchell, senior coordinating producer, SportsNet LA, that work is at the heart of the job, shaping near-nightly programming as well as championship coverage that connects Dodgers and Lakers fans to the teams they love.
Mitchell oversees the studio group for one of the industry's last great standing RSNs, managing pregame and postgame shows, evergreen and special coverage, and ancillary programming built around two of Southern California's iconic franchises. His role requires close collaboration across studio production, remote game production, team representatives, and PR staffs to ensure that each broadcast reflects the moment, serves the fanbase, and supports the people behind the scenes. Even as his leadership responsibilities have grown, Mitchell still values the producer's chair, regularly jumping in to produce shows himself.
Over more than three decades, Mitchell's career has taken him from ESPN, where he rose from production assistant to longtime SportsCenter producer and golf-production lead, to the NHL, where he helped oversee studio production around some of the league's biggest events. Since joining SportsNet LA ahead of its 2014 launch, he has helped guide the network through the daily rhythm of Dodgers coverage, the emotion of World Series seasons, and the long-awaited celebratory championship parades in Los Angeles.
In this edition of SVG All-Stars, Mitchell reflects on the art of local-team studio production, the value of building a staff that feels invested in the product, the ways new live-content tools have changed coverage, and why attitude, effort, and curiosity remain essential to building a long career in sports television.
What are the key responsibilities of your current role?
I oversee the studio group for our Dodgers and Lakers networks, which includes our pregame and postgame shows, evergreen and special-coverage broadcasts, and any ancillary programming around the Dodgers and Lakers. Much of that involves working with our studio team, remote game production, and teams and PR representatives to integrate all those elements into our coverage.
While my role may be titled coordinating producer, sitting in the chair and producing a show is always going to remain part of my job responsibilities, because that's truly the most enjoyable part of this business for me. And let's be honest, the Dodgers play almost every day, so, with producer vacations and days off, there's always going to be an opportunity for me to fill in.
Because we are a small group, the most important part of the job is to help the staff grow and develop and to make sure everyone feels invested in the product.
What is one key industry trend (commercial, technological, etc.) that you believe is having a major impact on your organization (for example, REMI, crewing shortage, IP, 4K/HDR, media consolidation, cost of media rights, shift to streaming, etc.)?
Perhaps the biggest technical change over the last few years has been the ability to get live content on the air, especially with remote interviews during the offseason. Back in 2014, we had to send our reporter to [Dodgers pitcher] Clayton Kershaw's house and book a truck in Dallas for a live interview during our MVP/Cy Young shows. Now we regularly have players join us via video call from their phones wherever they may be during the offseason. And our shows from Dodger Stadium are much easier to produce thanks to the flexibility of LiveU units.
What is one core philosophy you try to live by when managing your team/operation?
It's sports TV, so there is much already built into the profession to make it fun, and truly enjoying the job is incredibly important to me. The on-air product and effort are essential, but for the group to enjoy and appreciate what we do while respecting and supporting each other is what makes any job feel special. The job is hard, but that doesn't mean it can't be engaging and enjoyable, too. We all want to feel valued and appreciated, and I'd never want anyone working with me to feel that they are not both of those.
What is your favorite event(s) you've ever worked?
I've been incredibly lucky to be a part of some amazing events over the last 30 years. Being onsite in 1997 for Tiger Woods's first Masters win was an incredible experience because it was early in my career and an unforgettable moment. There's a long list of special memories from working golf for so long at ESPN.
Truly, though, any success with the Dodgers has meant a lot to me personally, because of the people involved and my relationship with them. Our core staff has been with the network since our launch in 2014, and to win the World Series in 2020 and then cover the World Series parades in 2024 and 2025 after not having one in 2020 are the moments that matter the most. They were shared experiences that were special for all of us.
Receiving an email from [Dodgers Manager] Dave Roberts after that first World Series, thanking our staff for working just as hard as the players, meant a great deal to our group.
How did you get sta
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This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surround the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers
