
SVG All-Stars: Pam Chvotkin, Remote Operations Management Freelancer The D.C. native brings her skills to major broadcasts all over the country By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
In an era when sports production is evolving faster than ever, a new generation of leaders is making its mark on the industry. Our new SVG All-Stars series explores the journey of the industry's rising professionals, showcasing their experiences and career highlights in the business, overarching philosophy and leadership strategy, technological and creative innovation, and where they see the industry headed. Join us as we uncover the story behind their ascent and the impact they are having in our ever-evolving industry.
She's one of the hardest-working people in the sports-television business; that's the name of the game for freelancers like her.
You'd be hard-pressed to walk around the production compound of a major national broadcast and not bump into Pam Chvotkin. With her fire-red hair and electric personality, you'd spot her quickly, too.
Pam Chvotkin is a freelancer in remote operations management. She has worked major championship events like the Stanley Cup Final.
Residing in the D.C. Metro area, Chvotkin is a battle-tested leader in remote operations. Whether it's a scalding-hot set day before the MLB All-Star Game or a bitter winter night at the scorer's table during a basketball game, things get done efficiently and correctly when Chvotkin is at the top of the crew list. And, because she's a freelancer, many broadcasters (FOX, ESPN, CBS, and others) benefit from her hustle and intuition.
In this week's edition of SVG All-Stars, Chvotkin shares her career journey while offering her opinions on industry innovations she has her eye on, how to get started in the industry, and why not all professional networking is created equal.
What are the key responsibilities of your current role?
I work with other operations managers/directors as well as the technical managers. Whatever they need onsite during an event/broadcast, which varies from network to network, is the primary focus. Additional responsibilities include distribution of schedules, managing of production assistants, vendor/equipment needs, parking, catering, travel, vendor/heavy-equipment needs, shipping, and administrative duties. Depending on the show, it will vary by game-side or studio-side; we often support both sides onsite.
In August 2017, Chvotkin worked the MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, PA, for ESPN.
This job is primarily to ensure that logistics of any remote productions run smoothly. I have experience working high school, collegiate, and professional sports and entertainment shows including award ceremonies, pageants, and reality television.
Organization is key with this job, along with having flexibility and adaptability so we can troubleshoot and resolve any issues that could happen.
Chvotkin has worked numerous NCAA Men's Basketball Final Fours for CBS Sports and TNT Sports, including in New Orleans in April 2022.
What key industry trend do you see as having a major impact on your organization right now?
One key industry trend is that traditional-TV viewership is declining, but the need for sports and entertainment is increasing! Recently, more fans are consuming sports content on digital platforms. In order to have a clean broadcast, one has to deal with challenges, such as buffering, streaming, bandwidth, etc. As with any new technology, there are going to be hiccups with producing events; it is still being perfected. There is a need not only for content but for authenticity with any brand. Producing television is no different. We're starting to see many organizations revising their marketing and operating models to integrate current digital capabilities across all aspects of their organizations. The industry is constantly changing, and there have to be revisions to these models to keep up with the consumption.
What core philosophy do you try to live by when managing your team/operation?
There are three core elements in my work philosophy: people, action, and feedback. It's important to have an energetic, thoughtful, and collaborative team that can deliver a great product. It's important to understand that we're managing people, not work. Establishing everyone's communication styles early will help with organizing and distributing what needs to be done among the team. Everyone wants to be successful, which also includes mentoring and helping each other. The expectation in the industry is that there is zero room for error. However, people will make mistakes. We strive to minimize them by problem-solving issues as soon as they arise. I always want to foster creative freedom amongst the team to ensure open communication and feedback regarding any situation.
What is your favorite event(s) you've ever worked?
Some of my favorite events include the Army-Navy game, Little League World Series, any Game 7's (World Series, Stanley Cup Final, NBA Finals), US Open tennis, WKC Dog Show, Super Bowl, Field of Dreams, MLB at Rickwood Field, Miss World pageants, International soccer friendlies, conference-rival college football and basketball games. There's nothing like being onsite for any event.
Chvotkin worked for CBS Sports at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
How did you get started in sports production? What was your first real job in the business?
My first real job was timeout coordinator for a basketball game because the person who was hired for the job was stuck in traffic. I volunteered. After seeing a production truck for the first time and how many people it took to create a seamless event, I was hooked. I've been in production ever since.
Wh
North America Stories
13/08/2026
New Agreement Aims to Leverage Gracenote Infrastructure to Create More Relevant ...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
IBC today announced that its most prestigious honour, the International Honour for Excellence (IHFE), will be presented to Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), ...
13/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced its participation in the IBC2026 Accelerator Media Innovation Pro...
13/08/2026
dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its new application, dzjinius on-set , at IBC20...
13/08/2026
Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), a leading European provider of media services, system integration and product development, will demonstrate an end-to-end sove...
13/08/2026
Clear-Com is returning to IBC 2026, taking place September 11-14 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. At Stand 10.D29, Clear-Com will spotlight the award-winning FreeSpe...
13/08/2026
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, will showcase its comprehensive portfolio of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement ...
13/08/2026
KRK Brings Advanced Wireless Control to Professional Monitoring With New V Serie...
13/08/2026
Anthony Noack Captures Artist's Journey in Estonia with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 12, 2026
0 Comments
Solo filmmaker documents concept...
13/08/2026
ARRI Image Science makes its mobile debut in the HONOR Robot Phone
Brie Clayton August 12, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays the HONOR Robot Phone, ...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/08/2026
Suitest's Test Automation Platform Simplifies Video Quality Assurance, Monitoring, and Device Certification Across the OTT Ecosystem
At IBC2026, Suitest, a...
13/08/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will have its key software solutions ready to demonstrate at SET Expo 2026 (18 20...
13/08/2026
Scripps Research has established the Peter K. Vogt Endowed Chair, a new faculty ...
13/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-A vaccine's molecular structure plays a key role in determining how the immune system responds and prepares to protect the body from future exp...
13/08/2026
GeForce NOW is giving cloud gaming an extra-credit upgrade just in time for back-to-school season.
The native Linux app for GeForce NOW is officially out of be...
12/08/2026
Traditional live sports production has focused on creating the best possible pro...
12/08/2026
FOR-A will showcase a range of broadcast and production products at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B53, Amsterdam RAI, September 11-14), including software-based switching, A...
12/08/2026
The Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and EBU will host live demonstrations of NMOS BCP-008 Minimum Status Reporting at IBC2026 (September 11-14) on th...
12/08/2026
Dalet has announced Dalet Solution Suites, a portfolio of cloud-native solutions...
12/08/2026
Net Insight has announced that DMC Production Norway has selected its Open Live ...
12/08/2026
Zixi has appointed Alyson Stewart as Senior Director of Sales. Stewart will be responsible for direct sales and partnerships, with a focus on broadcasters, medi...
12/08/2026
LiveU's LU900Q intelligent production unit was deployed as part of the host broadcast operation for the Games in Glasgow (July 23-August 2, 2026). Host broa...
12/08/2026
Disney , ESPN, and Formula E have announced a multi-year deal bringing all Formula E races to Disney and ESPN in the U.S. and to Disney in most international...
12/08/2026
PSSI has launched X-LIVE, a managed service offering dedicated engineering resources and Appear encoding infrastructure for live event signal processing and tra...
12/08/2026
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League Summer Season reached 18.3 million unique live viewers across three stops on ABC and ESPN, a 78.5% increase compared to the...
12/08/2026
BBright will showcase an expanded IP-Gateway at IBC2026, adding support for all RIST profiles to its existing support for MPEG Transport Stream over IP with SMP...
12/08/2026
BBright will demonstrate EBU OGraf animated graphics support in its software-bas...
12/08/2026
Interra Systems will demonstrate its ORION, BATON, BATON Captions, and VEGA solutions at SET Expo 2026 (August 17-20, Distrito Anhembi, S o Paulo) at partner Li...
12/08/2026
DPA Microphones has appointed Raul Contreras as West Coast Regional Sales Manager. In the role, Contreras will oversee sales and customer relationships througho...
12/08/2026
Live spectacles ranging from the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup to the Oscars and...
12/08/2026
Writer-Director Andrius Bla evi ius and crew attend the premiere of How to Divorce During the War at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park City, UT. (P...
12/08/2026
Nielsen is cementing Digital Ad Intel as the new go-to currency for digital ad intelligence in Brazil-now with streaming monitoring in the mix.
S o Paulo, Augu...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
As Matrox Video celebrates 50 years of trusted innovation, the company will showcase its portfolio of interoperable IP technologies and software-defined innovat...
12/08/2026
SMPTE, the home of media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced a program of expert-led sessions, professional workshops and networking eve...
12/08/2026
Berklee Announces Full Details for Inaugural Block Party, a Music Festival Next ...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/08/2026
Matthews Studio Equipment introduces T-Go Mounting Solutions extreme camera rigging systems, engineered for the most demanding environments in motion picture pr...
12/08/2026
Anton/Bauer, a Videndum brand and the industry leader in mobile power solutions for broadcast and cinematic production, announces that the EDEN Mobile Power Sta...