Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

ESPN Navigates Ops Madness for Coast-to-Coast Productions of NCAA Women's Basketball Tourney

21/03/2025

ESPN Navigates Ops Madness for Coast-to-Coast Productions of NCAA Women's Basketball Tourney A trio of production models are deployed to cover 16 opening-round sites By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.

Friday, March 21, 2025 - 2:07 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

Few events personify the diversity of ESPN's remote-production methods more than the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. Each March, ESPN's remote-production operations team is tasked with assembling a jigsaw puzzle of solutions to produce more than 60 games around the country in less than three weeks. It all begins with the First Round for which - unlike with the men's tournament - the sites are not predetermined. The games take place at the home courts of the top four seeds in each regional.

ESPN director Jimmy Platt (center) along with producer Kaitlin Urka (left) during an opening round game at the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball tournament.

To cover the 16 First Round sites this year, ESPN has deployed a mix of three production models: for A sites, traditional mobile units onsite; for B sites, REMI productions from control rooms at its Bristol, CT, and Charlotte, NC, facilities; and, for C sites, productions handled out of on-campus control rooms at SEC, ACC, and Big 12 schools.

Pulling off this tournament is the ultimate form of teamwork and collaboration, says Catherine Chalfant, manager, remote production operations, ESPN. Our success would not be possible without our partnership with production and the hard work of our functional teams - crewing, mobile units, remote traffic, REMI, our non-traditional-production operations teams, and many others who make this tournament the high-profile event that it is.

All About Preparation: Planning Pays Off for the Ops Team Chalfant, Operations Specialist Brock Wetherbee, Senior Operations Coordinators Abby Hurlbert and David Quintanilla, and Operations Coordinator Renee Greenwood started scenario planning for the tournament in January and gradually built a comprehensive package in the ensuing weeks.

To cover the 16 First Round locations, ESPN has a full mobile unit onsite in four cities, six REMI productions (three out of Bristol control rooms, three out of its Charlotte facility), and six productions out of ACC, SEC, and Big 12 on-campus control rooms.

NEP EN1 is parked at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC, for this afternoon's game between South Carolina and Tennessee Tech.

Making matters even more complex is the fact that Chalfant's team also handles operations for the NIT and supports ESPN's international coverage of the NCAA men's tournament. Thankfully, there were no overlapping sites for the NIT and the women's tourney this year, unlike in multiple cities last March.

We started working with our partners early on to put people and resources on hold so that, when it all hits on Selection Sunday, it's just executing our plan and we're not just figuring it out on the fly, says Chalfant. We don't know where we're going until the very last minute, so preparation is the key. Thankfully, since we had all these pieces in place, Sunday night wasn't that stressful.

ESPN frames BTG Marshall cameras for tomorrow night's Women's Basketball First Round game at the University of Texas at Austin.

In terms of mobile units onsite (for both traditional and REMI productions), ESPN is deploying NEP EN1 (at South Carolina), M14 (UCLA), and NCP10 (USC); F&F GTX 16 (Notre Dame); Game Creek Video Varsity (UConn); LMG MU3 (TCU), MU4 (Ohio State), and MU22 (Texas); and Raycom's HD1 (Oklahoma).

Our mobile-unit group did a great job of working with our vendors to position trucks across the country based on where we expected to need a full truck vs. a REMI, says Chalfant. We also spent a lot of time in the preparation stage evaluating the AP poll and the committee rankings, which helps us project and guesstimate where these resources may go.

Although different levels of equipment are deployed across the 16 opening-round sites, the operations team worked closely with ESPN production leaders - Senior VP Meg Aronowitz, Coordinating Producer Matt Leach, and Senior Director, Production, Integration, and Editorial Graphic Production Kate Leonard - to ensure that the broadcasts maintain the same level of production quality across the board.

Our key goal with production was to keep image quality consistent, says Chalfant. There was no reason that one site should look significantly different from the others, because all these games are equal and of the same value. Even though we are doing 16 sites, we need to give them each the level of coverage they deserve and make them look consistent across the First and Second Rounds. And we carry that same goal on to the regionals but with a beefed-up [camera complement].

In addition to the standard complement of game, tight, slash, and handheld cameras, ESPN will have at least one super-slo-mo on each game and deploy several Fletcher ATR (above the rim) robos and Marshal BTG (below the goal) PTZs across the various sites. In addition, the broadcaster is deploying the Dream Chip Atom One mini PTZ camera (provided by Fletcher), which allows the crew to color-correct the shot and frame up the ref on official replay calls.

Looking Ahead: Big Plans for Regionals and Final Four Sweet 16 and Elite 8 productions will add two super-slo-mos, a mid-court handheld, and a Sony FX6 cine camera to provide a shallow-depth-of-field look. The A game will also feature a Sony HDC-4800 4K super-slo-mo to capture dramatic high-speed shots for director Jimmy Platt. Other key adds include RF boom mics to capture sounds from the huddle, Viz Libero telestration system (operated remotely from Bristol), robust file-transfer capabilities with CMSI, and virtual shot
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/03/21/espn-navigates-ops-madness-for-...
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 ...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

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...

11/06/2026

HBSs Johannes Franken on Digital Innovations, the Role of the Influencer at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...

11/06/2026

Nielsen: Soccer Fandom in North America Tops 136 Million, Up 10.9% in Five Years

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...

11/06/2026

Telemundo Announces All-Day Opening Day Coverage for FIFA World Cup 2026 on June 11

Telemundo will launch its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on Thursday, June 11 with...

11/06/2026

Fubo Announces Distribution Agreement With NBCUniversal

FuboTV Inc. has announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. Fubo customers can now stream Telemundo and Universo, with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC...

11/06/2026

DAZN Announces In-App Features for FIFA World Cup 2026 Coverage in Spain, Italy, and Japan

DAZN has announced its in-app features for FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage in Spain...

11/06/2026

Roblox Report: Sports Engagement on Platform Drives Real-World Fandom and Purchases

Roblox has released the 2026 Roblox Digital Expression Report: Wave 4 - Sports D...

11/06/2026

Andrea Bocelli, David Guetta, Megan Thee Stallion, and EJAE Release Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem DNA'

FIFA has unveiled DNA, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem, performed by A...

11/06/2026

ESPN Announces Extensive English- and Spanish-Language World Cup 2026 Coverage

ESPN will provide English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 across its U.S. media platforms from June 11 through July 1...

11/06/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Teddy Batkin, Rochester Institute of Technology

The latest product of the outstanding RIT Sports Network program, this recent grad from Long Island is carving out a promising path in broadcast engineering In...

11/06/2026

DAZN and DSPORTS Announce Distribution Agreement Across Five Latin American Countries

DAZN has announced a multi-year agreement to make DSPORTS channels available to ...

11/06/2026

Resource Actors Throughout the Years at Sundance Institute's Directors Lab

Laura Dern at the 1986 Sundance Institute Directors Lab (Photo by Eric Edwards) By Lucy Spicer It takes a village to bring together the Sundance Institute lab...

11/06/2026

Introducing a New Standard for Podcast Plays and Upgraded Creator Analytics Experience

As podcast formats evolve in the streaming era, podcasting needs updated, transp...

11/06/2026

RADAR Italia Unveils 6 New Artists and a New Approach for 2026

As Spotify's global RADAR program enters its sixth year in Italy, a new class of artists is stepping into the spotlight. Today, we're announcing the six...

11/06/2026

5 Audiobooks that Amplify and Celebrate Queer Voices

Pride Month is a time for celebration, reflection, and amplifying the diverse stories and perspectives from the LGBTQIA+ community that enrich our world. To hel...

11/06/2026

VSL introduce Synchron Solo Violin 1 & Cello (sordino)

First in new line of muted string libraries VSL have just announced the launch of two new string libraries that represent the first two instalments in a new...

11/06/2026

Novation reveal the Launchkey 61 MK4 White

New colour option for 61-key Launchkey MK4 At Superbooth 2025, Novation introduced the Launchkey Mini 37 White and Launchkey 49 White, bringing an additiona...

11/06/2026

Arturia announce the MiniLab 37

Larger, but still compact! Arturia's popular compact MIDI controller keyboard is now available in a, well, slightly less compact version! The new MiniLa...

11/06/2026

Eurosatory 2026: Rohde & Schwarz shapes the new-generation battlefield

Eurosatory 2026: Rohde & Schwarz shapes the new-generation battlefield Rohde & Schwarz unveils next generation SIGINT/EW and CUAS solutions on uncrewed system...

11/06/2026

Rohde & Schwarz unveils NEMACS - Directional, ultra secure connectivity for the future battlefield

Rohde & Schwarz unveils NEMACS - Directional, ultra secure connectivity for the ...

11/06/2026

MTI FILM acquires Mango/New Edit

MTI FILM acquires Mango/New Edit Posted by MTI Film on June 10, 2026 LOS ANGELES, CA - June 2026 - MTI FILM, the multiple Emmy Award winning Hollywood post-p...

11/06/2026

Ungrounded LLM Fabricates Every Detail for Nearly 1 in 5 Movie and TV Titles Tested, New Gracenote Report Finds

Study underscores the need for authoritative content intelligence to build trust...

11/06/2026

PTZOptics, LayerJot Partner on AI-Powered PTZ at InfoComm 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/06/2026

Chyron Unveils PAINT 10.4

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/06/2026

Maxon Brings Real-Time Architectural Visualization to AIA26 With New Redshift for Revit and Archicad Integration Beta

Maxon Brings Real-Time Architectural Visualization to AIA26 With New Redshift fo...

11/06/2026

ABC Kid's Caper Crew Shoots Australian Adventure with Blackmagic Design

ABC Kid's Caper Crew Shoots Australian Adventure with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton June 11, 2026 0 Comments DP Judd Overton and team bring Wes A...

11/06/2026

PTZOptics and LayerJot demo Visual Reasoning at InfoComm...

PTZOptics, and LayerJot today announced live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how prompt-based AI, robotic camera control, and high-performance computing...

11/06/2026

Lightware launches GPIO Button to deliver simplified hard...

Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, announces the release of GPIO-Button-10S, a dedicated control interface enabling straightforward press-to-a...

11/06/2026

NABs LeGeyt Urges Congress to Limit NFL's Antitrust Exemption

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/06/2026

Fubo Inks New Distribution Agreement with NBCUniversal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/06/2026

Kiloview to Showcase Broadcast-Grade AV-over-IP Solutions...

Kiloview, a leading innovator in AV-over-IP video solutions, will return to InfoComm 2026 (Booth# N8327) with broadcast-grade AV-over-IP solutions designed for ...

11/06/2026

Australian Games Industry Glossary of Terms

Australian Games Industry Glossary of Terms 10 June 2026 From DAU and EULA to COT and QADE, here's a list of game industry terms, industry jargon and their...

11/06/2026

Berklee's Tonya Butler Named Music Business Educator of the Year

Berklee's Tonya Butler Named Music Business Educator of the Year The Music Business Association honored Butler at its annual Bizzy Awards. June 10, 2026 ...

11/06/2026

Ann Mincieli to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee NYC Graduate Commencement

Ann Mincieli to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee NYC Graduate Commencement The five-time Grammy-winning engineer and producer, known for her longstanding...

11/06/2026

Daisy May Cooper rallies the nation ahead of ICC Womens T20 World Cup

Thursday 11 June 2026 Daisy May Cooper rallies the nation ahead of ICC Women's T20 World CupTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy options and...

11/06/2026

Hadewych Minis and Geert van Rampelberg to Star in New Netflix Series Directed by Paula van der Oest

Back to All News Hadewych Minis and Geert van Rampelberg to Star in New Netflix...

11/06/2026

Official Trailer for Anime Adaptation of Thunder 3' Unveiled Ahead of July 9 Premiere

Back to All News Official Trailer for Anime Adaptation of Thunder 3' Unvei...

11/06/2026

RT Radio 1 and Irish Lights mark RT 100 with special broadcasts from Ireland's Lighthouses

Summer solstice shows from C il House and Late Date from 9pm on Saturday 20 Jun...

11/06/2026

Save Big and Play Bigger: GeForce NOW Summer Sale Brings Major Membership Savings

The GeForce NOW summer sale kicked off today with limited-time savings of up to ...

10/06/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Team Whistle's Joe Caporoso on Building World Cup Content Around Fans, Culture, IRL Experiences

DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...

10/06/2026

Clear-Com Appoints Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager

Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...

10/06/2026

Caretta Research: 2026 World Cup Revenue Growth Due to More Matches; Rights Revenue Up 32%

An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...

10/06/2026

Women Without Boundaries Awards Are Back!

The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...

10/06/2026

On Eve of World Cup Kickoff, FIFA and HBS Offer Deep Dive into IBC Operations, Commentary, and Ref Cam

Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...

10/06/2026

SES Supporting World's Biggest Soccer Tournament Broadcast Distribution Worldwide

SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...

10/06/2026

BirdDog Achieves Full NDI 6.3 Compatibility Across Entire Product Line

NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...

10/06/2026

Emmy Award-Winning Audio Team To Present at SVG Audio Symposium

Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...