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
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
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...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
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 
