International Women's Day 2024: ESPN To Spotlight All-Women REMI Production During Timberwolves-Cavaliers Broadcast

International Women's Day 2024: ESPN To Spotlight All-Women REMI Production During Timberwolves-Cavaliers Broadcast A total of 175 women will provide their skills in both production and operations By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor

Friday, March 8, 2024 - 10:34 am

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When the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Minnesota Timberwolves at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse tonight, the ESPN broadcast of the NBA regular-season contest will have an all-women crew in front of and behind the camera. Marking International Women's Day, it will be the network's fifth time deploying an all-women crew in the 2023-24 season, but for the third consecutive year, the game will be produced via a REMI production from Bristol, CT.

We worked with the NBA's production team - as well as with our partners in operations, directing, and creative services - to coordinate and schedule all positions in Bristol and onsite, says Tara Shea, remote operations supervisor, ESPN, a 14-year veteran with the broadcaster. What's exciting about this game is that every woman regularly works on REMI events and the NBA, so it's an opportunity to spotlight the talented women we have working behind the scenes on our live events.

Inside the Ops: Bristol To Power Game Production; Los Angeles To Handle Studio Shows Deanna Benjamin (left) and Tara Shea will serve as supervisors for ESPN's REMI production from Bristol tonight.

From production and operations to transmissions and graphics, a total of 175 women will contribute to the coverage. The live game production will be handled by PCR (Production Control Room) D70 and Media T inside Bristol's Digital Center 1. The crew will include a technical director, A1, comms operator, four replay operators, and a Viz Libero telestration operator.

On the talent side, the main game broadcast will feature play-by-play commentator Beth Mowins, analyst Monica McNutt, and reporter Katie George. In ESPN's Los Angeles Production Center, two shows - NBA Today at 3-4 p.m. ET and NBA Countdown at 7-7:30 p.m. - will deploy an all-women crew. Both shows will be hosted by Malika Andrews and will feature analysts Chiney Ogwumike and Becky Hammon and senior writer Ramona Shelburne.

Fueling More Interest: A Push To Make All-Women Teams a Normal Occurrence Occasions like National Girls and Women in Sports Day in February and International Women's Day in March serve as opportunities to raise awareness about women's roles in the industry, but the goal is to shift the community's thinking and make all-women crews a normal sight in control rooms.

We can expect more female-led shows in the future because we finally have the personnel and interests in the industry to fill certain roles, says Deanna Benjamin, remote operations supervisor, ESPN, who will join Shea as the lead REMI supervisors for tonight's game. It's a new generation coming out of college in an industry that has always been male-dominated. With a greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion, the industry is actively seeking out and developing projects or opportunities that include women.

Alisha Fonseca, who has been with ESPN for five years, will be lead replay operator.

At a grassroots level, interest can be increased by opening these doors to women at a younger age. The initiative is cyclical: a broadcast highlights an all-women crew, women of all ages watch the game, and they will ultimately create a future all-women crew. When they get to college and choose a major or future career path, they will hopefully be influenced to go down the road to a behind-the-scenes position.

I love seeing women in college learning replay, says Alisha Fonseca, senior media replay operator, ESPN. I want to get to a place where it's normal to see women in these roles in the control room.

Without knowledge of the chances for employment behind the camera, it's not clear how critical such positions are to any given production. But it is hoped that young women, with four years of time and experience with the equipment and working in a control room, will enter the professional ranks respected and accepted.

I hope that they are welcomed into this industry with an open mindset and that they give themselves the time to learn and make connections, says Kayla Foster, audio comms specialist, ESPN. As always, there's something to be mindful of when you are the only person that looks like you in the room, so stand tall.

Momentous Day at Work: The Impact of the Effort on the Crew Attracting the next generation of highly trained women into the workforce is a main priority, but, for those already in the industry, it's important to bring their skills to the forefront. Some in the industry believe that women should produce only women-centric sports, such as the WNBA, the NWSL, and the women's side of collegiate sports. But, to truly make progress, it's imperative that experienced women produce men-centric sports as well.

After shadowing the main A1 in ESPN's second all-women broadcast in 2023, Kayla Foster will serve as audio operator this year.

Whether it's men's or women's, basketball is basketball, says Fonseca. It's important to show that women pay the same attention to detail and have the same passion and knowledge for the game.

With equal opportunities to work on every sport, many professionals are driven to learn new skills. Because of the work that ESPN has done to promote equality over the past three seasons, Foster felt compelled to join the broadcast in any way she could. An ESPN employee for two years and a regular audio operator for NBA on ESPN games on Fridays, she has been training to become a full-fledged A1 since November.

It was important to me to learn the audio console for our NBA all-women's b

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/03/08/international-womens-day-2024-e...
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