NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships: ESPN Deploys On-Screen Data Markers, Extra Robos to Deliver Deeper Coverage Event will make first-ever live appearance on broadcast TV when Championship Final airs on ABC on Saturday afternoon By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, April 16, 2021 - 11:58 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
It's a big weekend in the gymnastics world as the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships makes its first ever live appearance on broadcast television.
An ESPN crew of more than 50 people is on-site at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX to deliver live coverage of the event which begins Friday with Semifinal I at 1 p.m. ET and Semifinal II at 6 p.m. ET (ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN App). However, it's the Championship Final which will be live on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC that has the teams visiting the North Texas region buzzing.
At the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships, a jib is one of the tools being used to deliver access to the viewers at a time where social-distancing guidelines make it tough to get up close to the athletes for the ESPN production crew. (Photo Courtesy Maria Soares, ESPN)
It's so exciting, says senior coordinating producer Maria Soares, a 29-year veteran of ESPN who is overseeing her first NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship. And not only is the production team really excited about it, but every coach and gymnast, everyone that we talked to, it really is such a highlight for them. I think for them, it just represents the level of where the sport is, and really just how much the sport has grown. It's probably the second thing, if not the first thing, that everyone mentions as we walk around Fort Worth. So, yeah, it's a really big deal for everyone.
While COVID protocols are still very much in place, the ESPN operations team is overcoming various restrictions and access limitations with acquisition gear positioned to get the viewer closer to the action. That means more strategically placed robotic cameras and POVs, as well as a jib that will do its best to reposition itself throughout the competition.
There are approximately 17 cameras in the building with POVs locked off on each individual apparatus, as well as six cameras run by human operators, seven Marshall POVs, and the jib. Those unmanned units are mostly placed in backstage areas to capture athletes, surrounding events, and, ultimately, the trophy presentation on Saturday.
Director Dan McVan (left) and producer Cara Lagana rehearse the trophy presentation earlier this week. The Championship Final will air on ABC beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET. (Photo Courtesy Maria Soares, ESPN)
By nature of the sport itself, Soares says, we like to tell the story by being up close to the gymnasts that are on the floor. Given a lot of the protocols that we're working with this year, we had to just find new ways of telling those stories. We just had to be a little bit creative in how we get as close to the story and the gymnasts.
The producer-director team of Cara Lagana and Dan McVan will anchor the front bench in the production truck. This is Lagana's first NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship in the producer's chair after spending the last two regular seasons overseeing the network's coverage of the sport. She was slated to produce last year's championship before it was canceled by the NCAA following the COVID-19 outbreak. Soares, meanwhile, gave McVan kudos for playing a key role in shaping of the network's coverage in face of the on-site restrictions.
[Dan] has so much to do with how we're going to visually depict the sport, Soares says. He really has had to reimagine it with where we're going to have the different cameras.
The production team will also been implementing some fresh graphical elements to help tell the story of the tremendous athleticism of the student athletes. Included are height and distance markers on the vault, protractors for body angle and a height grid on the bars, and a split-o-meter on the balance beam. These aren't new elements for ESPN's college gymnastics coverage as it was utilized in the 2019 SEC season, but it's the first time the network has been able to utilize them this year due to the nature in which events needed to be produced. Naturally, Soares is excited to have them back.
Added graphical elements use unique measurements to display the athleticism of the competitors. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN PR; example from 2019)
It's cool for us to get to bring them back, she says, We've got our own truck on site and we're back with our ESPN production folks on site. We're really able to and enhance the sport the way we love to do it.
Anyone who has worked on a gymnastics event will tell you how challenging it can be to tell a live linear story for the audience at home. With so many things happening simultaneously, building to a dramatic championship moment doesn't come as easy as working to the end of a timed game might. Additionally, there's a higher likelihood for casual viewers with the Championship Final on broadcast on Saturday. These are all factors that the front bench is prioritizing in their storytelling heading into the weekend.
When you have four apparatuses going at the same time, your brain functions differently. Your producer functionality is different. I think that's what's unique, says Soares, who has experience working Olympics and Pan-Am Games in her years working at ESPN International. Basically, [the challenge is] how you manage the flow and how you prioritize between all these different things going on.
Senior coordinating producer Maria Soares (left) in the primary of two mobile production units on site with assistant director Robin Segreti (center) and producer Cara Lagana (right).
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships: ESPN Deploys On-Screen Data Markers, Extra Robos to Deliver Deeper Coverage Event will make first-ever live appearance on broadcast TV when Championship Final airs on ABC on Saturday afternoon By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
