Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

WNBA Tip-Off 2024: Scripps Sports Constructs New Studio for Second Season of WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION

17/05/2024

WNBA Tip-Off 2024: Scripps Sports Constructs New Studio for Second Season of WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION Rush Media, a production partner of the WNBA, will handle live game coverage By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor

Friday, May 17, 2024 - 1:08 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

The WNBA season rolls along with the State Farm WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION, which begins tonight with Washington Mystics vs. Connecticut Sun at 7:30 p.m. ET and Seattle Storm vs. Minnesota Lynx at 9:30 p.m. ET. Scripps Sports, who will be producing a total of 43 regular-season games in their second year of coverage, is supplementing their live studio programming with a brand-new space within their facility in Atlanta.

We decided to put all of our financial and operational resources into our new studio and doing that well, says Brian Lawlor, president, Scripps Sports. With new talent and five hours on Friday night, we're really excited to get it launched.

A Home for Programming: New Studio Ties Friday Night Broadcasts Together From 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET, sports fans will be locked into all things WNBA on ION. For those first 30 minutes, the new studio space will highlight the night's doubleheader matchups and other topics that are circulating around the league. On the tangible front, this studio space is geared purely for sports programming, including the integration of multiple monitor walls and ample touchpoints for real-time telestration. These elements will not only allow for in-depth previews, but also become a destination for fans to enjoy content at halftime and in between both games. When it comes to understanding pacing and timing, the biggest challenge will be readying the crew for long nights or diversions from the schedule if either game goes into overtime.

It's the beauty of sports because everything looks great on paper when we start the night, but anything can change, says Nicole Denne, executive producer, Scripps Sports. That's what makes [this industry] so fun because you're figuring out how to keep these fans invested into each game if the first one runs over.

As for the live games, the WNBA has contracted the services of Rush Media to produce these broadcasts on ION. Lawlor and his team, which also includes VP, Broadcast Operations, Quinn Pacini; Director, Sports Content Management, Alystia; VP, Revenue and Sponsorships, Tony Lamerato; and Senior Director, Revenue, Jim Spadafore, conduct pre-production meetings with the live-services provider to iron out what they'd like to see every week. The two entities will continue a similar workflow that was seen last season. These broadcasts will also include a new graphics package that was developed during the offseason.

President Brian Lawlor and Executive Producer Nicole Denne are leading Scripps Sports' coverage of the WNBA.

Players' Off-the-Court Stories: Space Allows for Original Storytelling, Expert Analysis The biggest positive of building a new studio is the possibility of showcasing the original storytelling that has been put together. Many followers of the league understand the utter dominance and engaging personalities of stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, and others, but this space could be reserved for telling more human-interest stories about the other 141 athletes. Scripps Sports' storytelling muscles have already been flexed during their first two months of National Women's Soccer League coverage. Some examples from the NWSL include the special bond between Racing Louisville defender Carson Pickett and a young fan, North Carolina Courage midfielder Victoria Pickett and her connection with her late brother, and a ton more.

These are the types of beautiful stories that we're trying to tell, says Lawlor. Scripps is a 145-year-old media company, so we want to show our ability to bring the same passion and craft that we've had with newspaper, radio, and television to professional women's sports.

The production strategy should feed increased viewership on both ends: coming for live games will allow fans to learn more about these players' off-the-court lives and learning these compelling stories will persuade casual fans to stay for the live game.

When you see a story about a player and then watch them play the sport, you're more invested and want to cheer them on, adds Denne. We're interested in introducing the viewers to all of the players and not just the headliners.

Aside from creative storytelling, the studio will become a hub for breakdowns and intriguing insights. For top-tier commentary, the network has brought in high-quality voices to complement their coverage. The trio in the studio, which includes host Larry Smith and analysts Autumn Johnson and Meghan McKeown, brings their own broadcast experience and pedigree. Smith is a longtime veteran of the industry with a resume that includes 12 Final Fours, seven NBA Finals, six Super Bowls, and four Olympics as well as hosting duties for NBATV's Gametime, and the MLB postseason with Turner Sports. Johnson has contributed to women's college basketball on ESPN and Big Ten Network throughout her career. McKeown is seasoned to the television spotlight as the current analyst for the Connecticut Sun, a former analyst for the Indiana Fever, a former color commentator for the Chicago Sky, and has been seen on NBC Sports/Peacock, Big Ten Network ESPN, and FOX Sports. For this brand-new studio show, Scripps Sports' creative liberty will allow this programming to embody the spirit of their talent and mix it with their analysis.

We're looking at an audience that includes die hard basketball fans and a new group of fans that are coming in, so it's really about the ability to talk to both, adds Denne. You can already feel the energy and th
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/05/17/wnba-tip-off-2024-scripps-sport...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 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...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

25/04/2026

Mediagenix Sweeps 2026 NAB Awards With Wins for Product of the Year and Best of Show for Scheduling Optimization

Mediagenix Sweeps 2026 NAB Awards With Wins for Product of the Year and Best of ...

25/04/2026

SCHOEPS Microphones Announces Desert Island Boom Set for NAB 2026

SCHOEPS Microphones Announces Desert Island Boom Set for NAB 2026 Brie Clayton April 24, 2026 0 Comments Compact modular set ideal for location sound ...

25/04/2026

Berklee Africana Studies Hosts Gospel Extravaganza 2026

Berklee Africana Studies Hosts Gospel Extravaganza 2026 The Signature Series event will honor three new inductees to the Berklee Gospel Hall of Fame and celeb...

25/04/2026

Student Spotlight: Siva

Student Spotlight: Siva Maja Gierszewska, who performs under the artist name Siva, shares how she found her songwriting confidence at Berklee. April 24, 2026...

25/04/2026

WNBA Offers Free Streaming of all Preseason Games

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

24/04/2026

Churchill Downs Inc. Acquires Preakness Stakes for $85 Million

Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire the intellectual property of the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes from 1/...

24/04/2026

Inter Miami CF Opens Miami Freedom Park with 26 LED Displays From Daktronics, DCL

Daktronics has partnered with DCL (Design Communications, Ltd.) to design, manuf...

24/04/2026

NAB 2026: Chyron Launches PRIME Translate for Multi-Language Live Production

Chyron has announced PRIME Translate, a workflow solution that produces live content simultaneously in multiple languages within the PRIME platform. The system ...

24/04/2026

Eutelsat Supports Co-op Cable in Launching Expanded DTH Offering Across the Caribbean

Eutelsat has announced a new partnership with Co-op Cable, introducing an expand...

24/04/2026

Pitch Dublin Deploys Panasonic Laser LCD Projectors for Indoor Golf and Hospitality Venue

Pitch Dublin, an indoor golf simulation and hospitality venue on Dawson Street i...

24/04/2026

G&D and VuWall Appoint Mirko Aubel as EVP Sales EMEA/APAC, Eric Hnique as Chief Revenue Officer

G&D and VuWall have announced two senior leadership appointments, effective Apri...

24/04/2026

Victory+ Becomes Exclusive Local Streaming Home for Minnesota Lynx

Victory , the free sports streaming service from A Parent Media Co. Inc. (APMC), has announced a multi-year agreement to become the exclusive local streaming ho...

24/04/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Jason Weitz, University of South Florida

The former business major from Massachusetts has found his home in graphics and bug operation while contributing to live ESPN productions In the live-sports-vi...

24/04/2026

MASN and Spectrum Announce Multiyear Carriage Agreement

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) and Spectrum have announced a multiyear carriage agreement making MASN available to Spectrum customers in areas of southe...

24/04/2026

Case Study: 4Wall Entertainment Powers 2026 NFL Draft on NETGEAR AV Line Network

The NFL Draft is rebuilt from the ground up in a new city every year. The three-day fan festival is expected to draw 500,000 or more attendees, with millions fo...

24/04/2026

Diversified Continues Live Sports Expansion, Supports Mobile TV Group Ops Center Buildout

Diversified has continued expansion of its sports and media capabilities to supp...

24/04/2026

NAB Show 2026 Is In The Books! Our Coverage Continues at SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog

NAB reports that the 2026 NAB Show wrapped with more than 58,000 registered atte...

24/04/2026

NAB 2026: Clear-Com Announces Updates to Arcadia Central Station and Eclipse HX with New ARC Architecture

Clear-Com has announced significant updates to its Arcadia Central Station and E...

24/04/2026

NAB Reports 58,000+ Registered Attendees at 2026 NAB Show, Up From 2025 but Down From 2024

NAB reports that the 2026 NAB Show wrapped with more than 58,000 registered atte...

24/04/2026

Ratings Roundup: NHL Sees Best Regular Season Average Since 2013; CBS Sports Secures Most Watched Final Round Masters

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

24/04/2026

Bleacher Reports Live NFL Draft Stream Builds on Record-Breaking Audience With Player-Driven, Interactive Production

B/R NFL Draft Live' refines the digital giant's productions around footb...

24/04/2026

Sportradar Report: The Viewing Experience Is the Product' as Sports Media Enters New Era of Personalization, Data-Driven Storytelling

Study highlights five pillars shaping modern fan engagement as broadcasters reth...

24/04/2026

ESPN/ABC, NFL Network Prepare for Record-Setting NFL Draft Presentation From Pittsburgh

The 2026 event, the first Draft with NFL Network under the ESPN umbrella, will b...

24/04/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 12: Detroit Lions' Jessica Shlemon - Motor City Football at Ford Field

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

24/04/2026

Van Wagner Brings Warhol-Inspired Pop Art Vision to NFL Draft Videoboard Production

Integral to the Draft production for three almost decades, the company tells the...

24/04/2026

Film Festival Watch: 17 Sundance Institute-Supported Films to Screen at the 2026 Hot Docs Festival

Championing documentaries that illuminate and expand the artform is at the core ...

24/04/2026

Audiobooks About Climate, Conservation, and the Stories They Inspire

Earth Day is a chance to reflect on our connection to the natural world. To mark the 57th Earth Day on April 22, Spotify's editors have pulled together a co...

24/04/2026

From Page to Stage: Spotify Celebrates Storytelling at the LA Times Festival of Books

This past weekend, Spotify was at the heart of the largest literary event in the...

24/04/2026

What 20 Years of Spotify Data Reveals About Our Listeners

All data tells a story, and in our case, that story is written by you. To celebrate 20 years of Spotify, we're sharing bite sized moments that capture how t...

24/04/2026

The Look Behind the Sound

Over the past 20 years, Spotify's look and feel has evolved with the way people use our platform, while ensuring we preserve an intuitive, personal, and fam...

24/04/2026

Spotify at 20: The Most Streamed Music, Podcasts, and Audiobooks of All Time

It's been 20 years since Spotify began, but the real story is what the world chose to play. For the first time, we're unveiling the most streamed artist...

24/04/2026

Spotify Brings Music and Podcast Recommendations to Claude

Whether you're relaxing at home or on the go, Spotify is there across more than 2,000 devices, ready with your favorites or something new to discover. Now, ...

24/04/2026

Nintendo and Spotify Bring Nostalgia with New Super Mario Galaxy' Playlists

Nintendo and Spotify are welcoming fans to the Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary and the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie with new playlists and a speci...

24/04/2026

AES Show moves to Nashville

30 October - 1 November 2026 The Audio Engineering Society (AES) have announced that the AES Show 2026 will be held on Halloween weekend - Friday 30 October...

24/04/2026

Sennheiser introduce the HD 480 Pro

New closed-back design promises honest' low end Sennheiser have just announced the launch of a new pair of flagship closed-back headphones which they s...

24/04/2026

Cre8audio unveil the Programm

Powerful 12-channel hardware sequencer announced Cre8audio are renowned for their innovative, and often visually striking designs, and although their latest...

24/04/2026

IK Multimedia ARC X Immersive arrives

Room correction now supports full 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos setups The software element of IK Multimedia's room-correction system has just received an update th...

24/04/2026

VSL announce free Big Bang Orchestra expansions

New content for BBO Tutti & BBO Riffs VSL have recently introduced some new free content expansions for two of their most popular Big Bang Orchestra Packs: ...

24/04/2026

Rohde & Schwarz to highlight its R&S EVSD1000 UAV-based navigation analyzer at IFIS 2026

Rohde & Schwarz to highlight its R&S EVSD1000 UAV-based navigation analyzer at I...

24/04/2026

Call for NFVF funding applications to attend Film Festivals and Markets taking place from 01 30 June 2026

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...

24/04/2026

Andrea Riseborough & Ashley Walters To Star In ITV Thriller First Woman' About Race To Find Missing Astronaut

ITV's Director of Drama Polly Hill has commissioned six part propulsive, lun...

24/04/2026

NASA Receives L3Harris' Modified Next-Generation Research Aircraft

The NASA 777 aircraft departs the L3Harris facility in Waco, Texas....

24/04/2026

L3Harris Closes $1B Investment from Department of War in Missile Solutions Business

WASHINGTON, April 23, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) has closed a $1 b...