Legends Behind the Lens: Bill Fitts The sports television production pioneer shaped the industry for more than half a century By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Wednesday, July 15, 2020 - 12:00 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The story of American sports television is engrained in the history of this nation, rising on the achievements of countless incredible men and women who never once appeared on our screens. During this pause in live sports, SVG is proud to present a celebration of this great industry. Legends Behind the Lens is a look at how we got here seen through the people who willed it to be. Each weekday, we will share with you the story of a person whose impact on the sports-television industry is indelible.
Legends Behind the Lens is presented in association with the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund. In these trying times - with so many video-production professionals out of work - we hope that you will consider (if you are able) donating to the Sports Broadcasting Fund. Do so by visiting sportsbroadcastfund.org.
___________________________
By Ken Kerschbaumer
When your broadcasting career includes producing the first Super Bowl, launching The NFL Today for CBS, and then jumping aboard ESPN in its formative years, it's easy to think that ego could take over. But that didn't happen to Bill Fitts, a long-time production professional who credits those around him and takes more pride in their success than his own.
I was very fortunate to have unbelievable acolytes, he says of those he worked with, especially those at ESPN. Their talent is obvious today. We had all-star people coming in to ESPN although we didn't know it at the time. We all had an opportunity to do something that hadn't really been done and to do sports that a lot of networks didn't cover.
Graduating from Swarthmore College in 1953, Fitts began his career at WHUM-TV Reading, PA. He soon went to WCAU-TV Philadelphia (at the time, a CBS station), where he had a chance to wear multiple hats while creating children's programming. Moving to New York City in 1962, he played a key role in national sports programming and was able to draw on his athletic and children's-programming experience.
My background helped a lot, he notes. I lettered in five sports in high school and college, so I could grasp what the core of the sport was. Children's programming is a lot like sports: there is something different every 10 seconds, and reacting to what is happening on the field is what sports TV is all about.
During his career at CBS, Fitts was executive producer on five Super Bowls, including Super Bowl I from the Los Angeles Coliseum. It was there that some of the genius of then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle was on display. The field wasn't centered in the stadium, which thus looked half empty from certain camera positions. Rozelle moved fans around to make sure the camera shots had better backdrops full of fans.
Even after the Jets won Super Bowl III, the AFL was still doing very poorly on NBC, and NBC was thinking of dropping football, Fitts recalls of the NFL's early days. Rozelle, in his normal bright thinking, came up with the idea of a doubleheader, where NBC would get a game unopposed. CBS had to agree to that, and it saved NBC, and, gradually, the AFL became a competitor.
Fitts was involved with another important first in sports-TV history: the use of videotape at the 1963 Army-Navy game. Navy quarterback Roger Staubach was a mobile quarterback and would run all over the field, and the production team didn't want to miss any of the action.
Says Fitts, We had a huge tape truck because the machines were enormous.
He was also involved with Countdown to Kickoff, a production with NFL Films that took isolated coverage to a new level by focusing on linebackers and tight ends.
It was another show that was considered impossible when it was first suggested, says Fitts. But it really helped us in terms of how to approach using isolated cameras and also helped our relationship with NFL Films.
And then there was NFL Today, a franchise that Fitts created in 1973. While there, he hired a young Brent Musburger to host and also brought in Phyllis George to give the show a unique dynamic. The show also led to Fitts's being noticed by Chet Simmons, then head of NBC Sports. Simmons hired Fitts to help studio operations.
When ESPN became a reality, Simmons joined as president and soon called Fitts.
By the time ESPN started, says Fitts, there wasn't much in sports that I hadn't done. I was even thinking about moving into news. ESPN was a huge opportunity for me because I knew I would be able to teach as well as do it.
Those early days gave him a chance to both impart wisdom and influence a generation of talent at ESPN (and beyond) and also to enjoy the process of figuring out how to televise sports that might never have been on TV before. It was a network created by risktakers for risktakers.
There were so many creative people at ESPN, Fitts says, adding, The main reason many people don't move forward is fear and not liking to fail. And the same goes for management: they don't want to try new things until they know it will work.
At ESPN, he served as production architect for many of its signature programs, including the NFL Draft, flag-to-flag NASCAR races, Top Rank Boxing, and whip-around coverage of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. He also found John Colby to compose its music themes, including the popular SportsCenter Da-da-da song, and to build a music library.
It is not an understatement to say that Fitts is among the truly influential figures in modern sports TV, says Colby. In addition to his CBS and NBC achievements, he built the production department
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Grass Valley has entered into a three-year enterprise agreement with Phoenix Broadcast Solutions as the Singapore-based company expands its live production oper...
19/05/2026
Clear-Com supported Musikal Perahu Kertas, a large-scale musical theater production in Indonesia adapted from the acclaimed novel by Dee Lestari, through the d...
19/05/2026
Actus Digital, a LiveU company, and a leading provider of intelligent media monitoring and broadcast compliance platforms, announced today that METEO CONSULT ha...
19/05/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of managed services for the broadcast and media industry, today announced the completion of a major renovation of its Singapore fa...
19/05/2026
Following a major upgrade to its Connecticut remote production centre with the installation of three 60-fader Argo S consoles in 2023, RPS has switched one of t...
19/05/2026
PlayBox Technology today announced the launch of Celebro Play, a browser-based media orchestration platform designed specifically for broadcast facilities and p...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions for broadcast, post, and professional AV will showcase its latest signal processing solutions at B...
19/05/2026
Media Links, a leading developer and manufacturer of IP media transport solutions, has announced the integration of its Xscend platform with Skyline Communicat...
19/05/2026
Collaboration expands regional partner ecosystem as Media Links showcases IP media transport solutions on stand 4M4-4 and alongside Clearcast Asia on stand
Me...
19/05/2026
Company Highlights Labor-Saving Control and Custom Branding Opportunities Designed to Increase Integrator Profitability
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of ele...
19/05/2026
Mago Studio Moves AI Video Beyond Prompts with New Production-Focused Tools
Brie Clayton May 18, 2026
0 Comments
New Capabilities Bring Controllable, ...
19/05/2026
It May be Time to Stop and Take an AI Breather
Brie Clayton May 19, 2026
0 Comments
If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean. Or you'll...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Agentic AI inference at one-tenth the cost per token with NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL7...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Legends Behind the Lens: Bill Fitts The sports television production pioneer shaped the industry for more than half a century By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
