Hoop History: Inside the First Live Broadcast of the Harlem Globetrotters in 40 Years with Gray Media and Raycom Sports

Hoop History: Inside the First Live Broadcast of the Harlem Globetrotters in 40 Years with Gray Media and Raycom Sports There wasnt a script or a playbook. - Bill Stafford, VP, Engineering and Technology Operations, Raycom Sports By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Tuesday, August 27, 2024 - 12:59 pm

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A bit of sports television history was made last week when, for the first time in more than forty years, the Harlem Globetrotters had a live game broadcast on television.

In a partnership with Gray Media, a Globetrotters game from their historic residency at American Dream in New Jersey on August 18 was produced by Gray's Raycom Sports division and delivered to more than 90 local television stations owned by Gray nationwide, including Peachtree TV in Atlanta.

An iconic sports property [that hadn't been broadcast live in the modern era of television] playing in the unconventional venue of a major shopping mall: it was an exciting blank slate for the team at Raycom Sports.

Raycom Sports produced a live broadcast of a Harlem Globetrotters game at American Dream mall in New Jersey earlier this month. On the call were play-by-play man Tom Werme and analyst Brian Oliver. (Photo Courtesy Raycom Sports)

There wasn't a script or a playbook, says Bill Stafford, VP, Engineering and Technology Operations for Raycom Sports. It [wasn't] overly complicated but we learned a ton and it was fun. When you think of the history of this team; the memories made for those there. This is one of those fun things in TV.

Producing a basketball game is hardly anything new for Raycom Sports. The organization has nearly five decades worth of experience producing more than 10,000 live sporting events, including a legacy of college basketball. This, however, was not just any basketball game. This was the entertainment-focused Globetrotters with no pre-established graphics package, theme music, announce team, etc. playing in the tightly-packed atrium of a mall not built with live television in mind.

To meet the challenge, the operations team of Stafford, Executive Producer Rob Reichley, and Tech Manager Mike Zukowski parked Raycom Sports' production truck RHD3 in the American Dream parking deck and ran a healthy deployment of fiber from Fiber Transport Systems to lay the broadcast's nervous system. From there, it was a strategic placement of cameras on the baskets, on the floor, and on the upper levels of the atrium towering above the court to get the proper angles for the live show. The camera lineup relied heavily on robotics from Fletcher and RFs from 3G Wireless. A graphics package was built for Ross Xpression and a clock and scorebug system were executed through TV Graphics.

Fletcher robotic cameras were placed high atop each backboard to capture unique angles of the action.

In addition, audio was a major point of focus in the broadcast. Not only was it a challenging space to reduce echo in, the entertainment factor of the Globetrotters meant that audio needed to be captured from more than just the game. A Globetrotters showman is regularly on a microphone for in-venue entertainment and a significant amount of interactive with the live crowd takes place. Raycom utilized a strong complement of wireless microphones, including placing microphones on four players, a ref, and, of course, any on-air talent.

The Raycom production team worked closely with Bronwen O'Keefe, the Globetrotter's Head of Brand Marketing and Content to ensure everything about the experience of attending a Harlem Globetrotters game was captured for the TV audience.

You're trying to cover a basketball game that has its own entertainment; not all of the content is on the court, notes Stafford. It goes into the crowd. You've got to cover the entertainment also. That's what we found the most unique is this is a basketball game that we have to cover as a basketball game, but then we also have to cover the entertainment parts of it, as well.

The broadcast featured producer Scott Snyder and director Ken Neal at the front bench with play-by-play Tom Werme, analyst Brian Oliver, and reporter Maxwell serving as the on-air talent.

The game was a key piece of what was being called the first-ever sports residency. The Harlem Globetrotters spent ten days performing at American Dream in a multi-faceted experience for fans that combined clinics, interactive experiences for fans, live games, retail sales, and this historic live broadcast. The club is hopeful that this is the start of something new and big for the legendary sports property.

Our history-making residency continues to attract partners who want to help amplify the moment, said Keith Dawkins, President, Harlem Globetrotters and Herschend Entertainment Studios. It's been over 40 years since audiences have seen the Globetrotters LIVE on TV, and we are thankful that Gray Media is helping us revitalize our brand for an entirely new generation.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/08/27/hoop-history-inside-the-first-l...
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