College Hoops Tip-Off 2023: Even With Colossal Slate of Games, ESPN Finds New Ways to Innovate

College Hoops Tip-Off 2023: Even With Colossal Slate of Games, ESPN Finds New Ways to Innovate More 1080p HDR and SDR shows planned for this season By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.

Monday, November 13, 2023 - 3:00 pm

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When it comes to sheer volume in the live-sports-production business, it simply doesn't get much bigger than ESPN's college basketball slate. With more than 4,200 regular season men's games and 3,400 women's games on ESPN's linear and digital platforms over the next four-plus months, the network's operations team has once again been tasked with an undertaking unlike anything else in the industry. However, it's nothing new for Catherine Carroon and her team.

It definitely takes a village and we have a very strong village so we know what to expect, ESPN's Remote Operations Supervisor says. Our team is filled with seasoned pros and I believe we have the best coordinator team in our entire department here at ESPN with Abby Hurlbert, David Quintanilla, and Lindsay Hayden. Also, this team is now dedicated to basketball operations year-round since we just came off of WNBA. We have a basketball mindset 365 days of the year, which I think helps keep us on our toes and always prepared.

In addition to quantity, ESPN is also focused on quality. Each week, the Saturday Prime franchise will bring a high-profile men's game to viewers in 1080p HDR (and up-converted to UHD for distribution) while the new women's hoops package will be in 1080p SDR, a format that ESPN is striving to bring to all its linear college hoops broadcasts.

A Multitude of Models: ESPN Diversifies College Hoops Productions While ESPN has partnered with third-party outfits across the country to package and produce a large chunk of these games, the in-house operations team is responsive for roughly 1,400 productions this season. As in years past, ESPN will use a plethora of production models to bring these broadcasts to life. In addition to full onsite truck-based productions, ESPN will leverage its REMI and REMCO models for hundreds of games this year. ESPN will also utilize on-campus control rooms for 500+ ACC, SEC, Big 12, and American Conference games.

We use a lot of different models, which is what makes it fun and interesting because no two days and no two games are the same, says Carroon. I think our team does a great job of utilizing all the different types of [production models] that ESPN has developed and that's what makes college basketball so special.

Within the REMI vein, ESPN will continue to increase is use of the Riedel SimplyLive Vibox system out of its Bristol, CT, and Charlotte facilities. Under this production model, all camera and audio feeds are sent back to the broadcast center but instead of using a full REMI control room, ESPN leverages a Vibox automated production system that requires fewer operators. In addition, ESPN continues to explore if end-to-end cloud-based production system that also utilizes ViBox and debuted last year on college basketball.

Since we have so many different workflows, we are able to collaborate with every single department within the company - onsite, REMI both in Bristol and Charlotte, comms, and all of our different internal departments, says Operations Specialist Michael Sullivan. That is paramount to success in this world where we have a lot of different levels of shows and ways that we produce college basketball.

Top Tier Games Go 1080p, With HDR in the Mix In terms of the A-game shows, Game Creek Video's Gridiron mobile unit will serve the men's basketball Saturday Prime 1080p HDR productions while the GCV Nitro will handle the women's primetime package, which will be produced in 1080p SDR for the first time.

Last year, we did [Saturday Prime] in native UHD HDR and that was meant as a testing ground for the entire company as we evaluated UHD internally and with our affiliates to determine plans moving forward, says Sullivan. Ultimately due to a variety of factors including UHD distribution [issues], we have decided to focus on 1080p HDR this year [on Saturday Prime] and also 1080p SDR across the board.

Last year, the men's ACC Tournament and the SEC Tournament were both produced in 1080p for the first time and Sullivan says the goal is for all Championship Week games to be in 1080p this year, along with a growing number of regular season games. Meanwhile, the men's Prime Saturday 1080p HDR feeds will be upconverted to 4K in Bristol with Dolby Atmos audio stems for UHD distribution to select MVPDs.

Sullivan adds that the Women's Final Four will also be produced in 1080p and his team is currently evaluating the possibility of producing those games in HDR.

We are definitely looking to take that next step from 720p to 1080p [SDR] and then on certain show we will look at 1080 HDR, he says. Since college basketball is such a behemoth, everything has to be looked closely at from a transmission and distribution side so we're going to pick our spots for HDR. It is not going to be across the board right now, but we are continuing to test internally to make sure that when we do make the move to HDR, our [facilities] can handle the scale of the amount of games that we do. So those two things are going to be really exciting next steps for us this year.

RF PylonCam, Shallow Depth of Field System Among New Innovations on the Hardcourt ESPN also continues to explore new cameras and technology to bring to its high profile shows like the Champions Classic, which tips off tomorrow in Chicago. At the United Center, the production team will roll out a new RF minicam that Sullivan compares to a roving PylonCam as part of its 12+ camera complement.

It's something that we've been working with on a couple differe

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