With 180 Games in 12 Days, Champ Week Tests ESPN's Production, Operational Versatility An array of production styles will be deployed to meet programming plans By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Thursday, March 14, 2019 - 3:23 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Few points on the ESPN calendar get busier - and more thrilling - than Championship Week, the pre-March Madness series of conference tournaments.
Covering both men's and women's college basketball, the ESPN family will broadcast 180 games spanning 32 tournaments (including 24 conference title games) during the span of just 12 days.
How in the world do they do it? As with anything that happens in sports-video production on a grand scale: with a lot of planning and collaboration.
Champ Week truly tests the range of capabilities of the network's basketball coverage featuring everything from the biggest productions featuring all the high-end toys, such as in-arena Spidercams at professional venues, to at-home (REMI) productions out of small mid-major gyms. According to Erin Orr, remote operations manager, ESPN, 15 tournaments will be full-fledged onsite ESPN productions, seven will be covered via at-home production workflows, and 10 will be handled by third-party packagers.
When it comes to deploying specialty production tools, the Power 6 conferences will receive the most love. The SEC men's and women's tournaments will have onsite studio coverage, aerial cameras (Spidercam at men's, Supracam at women's), and added behind-the-scenes, all-access shoots. There will also be onsite studios at the ACC and Big 12 men's tournaments, with ACC getting a Spidercam.
The Power 6 coverage will also feature what ESPN calls REMNAS (Remote Near Access Storage) for file transfer. It allows postgame press conferences and melts to be sent to both Charlotte, NC, and Bristol, CT, facilities in a quick, file-based fashion.
Orr says REMNAS is helping aid the edit process not just onsite but back in Bristol and Charlotte. Every night, feeds are archived directly to Bristol, and using this system and essentially linking Charlotte, Bristol, and all the sites enables information to be passed around quickly. It proves tremendously helpful for personnel working onsite, and they no longer need to stay late following a broadcast day to send melts to the mothership. That work can now be uploaded to staff back home.
The graphics of ESPN's college-basketball property are also receiving a refresh this week. Additional flare for the current package will be weaved in to enhance the magnitude and gravity of the games. ESPN makes it a point to use this variation of its college-hoops graphics package only during Champ Week to add to its special and rare feel. In addition, ESPN's ART and Stats systems will be on many sites, adding enhanced statistical information to feed those graphics.
When it comes to logistics, mid-major conferences present some of the greatest challenges, according to Orr. Top seeds serve as the host in many instances. In fact, tournaments like the America East (men's and women's), Atlantic Sun (men), Big South (men), and NEC (men's and women's) can have a turnaround time of just 48-72 hours between determining the site and opening tip.
Communication with crewing, travel, mobile units, production, and operations personnel is key to the overall success of Champ Week, she says, noting that at least 35 mobile units are deployed to produce tournaments across the country.
Another critical part of the overall process of Champ Week is collaborating with other broadcast partners and rightsholders on truck takeovers and/or interconnects. A truck takeover refers to when one broadcaster produces early-round games of a tournament, and ESPN comes in to produce the semis and/or final using the same mobile production facilities onsite. This year, ESPN has participated in truck takeovers with CBS Sports (Atlanta 10 women's), Pac-12 Networks (Pac-12 women's), Raycom Sports (ACC women's).
ESPN will also work side by side with Raycom for the ACC Network at the ACC men's tournament and Pac-12 Networks for the Pac-12 men's tournament. Trucks will be parked together and interconnected to share various resources.
As mentioned, at-home production will also play a key role in seven of the tournaments featured in Champ Week. On-air talent (and a small collection of below-the-line personnel will be onsite, with a majority of the production handled at REMI-capable control rooms on ESPN campuses in Bristol, Charlotte, and Orlando (Wide World of Sports).
ESPN's studio-operations teams will be plenty busy as well, supporting the live coverage coming in from all across the country while also providing high-profile coverage around the NCAA Tournament when that official bracket is announced on Sunday evening.
In the eyes of Nanci Hyburg, director, production operations, ESPN, it doesn't get bigger for the studio-operations side of the business than on Selection Sunday. The network's Bracketology show (which airs 7 9 p.m. ET, immediately following the unveiling of the NCAA Tournament field) is one of the biggest - and most-watched -studio shows that ESPN produces all year. That show will be produced out of one of Bristol's most-advanced studio spaces, Studio Y, which features some of the newest virtual technology at the company and pushes the limits in terms of in-studio augmented-reality graphics.
ESPN's Studio E in Bristol will also play a key role, having been reconfigured with a new look that launched during this Champ Week. It's bigger than the previous set used for wrap shows and is largely built around a 1080p infrastructure. Its cameras are 1080p as is the new Evertz studio support router. The studio has three fully-robotic Vinten pedestals and
North America Stories
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
15/05/2026
Daniel Roher attends the Tuner Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Theatre on January 22, 2026 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Neilson Bar...
15/05/2026
86% of media planners would move more linear TV budget to CTV if they had show-level targeting and reporting - and 65% would also shift dollars from programmati...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Clear-Com will showcase new communications solutions and major platform updates at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7005), June 17-19, in the North and Central Halls of t...
15/05/2026
Following an outstanding inaugural year in 2025, Rise AV is proud to announce the return of its flagship leadership initiative, Elevate. The programme continues...
15/05/2026
Berklee Announces Lineup for Inaugural AI Music Summit The three-day event puts musicians at the center of the future of music creation, ethics, and the indus...
15/05/2026
Lightware returns to InfoComm 2026 with a focused showcase of scalable USB-C connectivity, next-generation AV-over-IP solutions, and technologies that help over...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Delivering a live, arena-scale production of a massively popular band is no small feat. Between expansive in-arena LED walls and a global live stream fed to onl...
15/05/2026
Connection is the heartbeat of any strong community, and with live streaming becoming more accessible in the modern era, it's much easier for faith-based or...
15/05/2026
Powered by GX 3 media servers, optimised IP-VFC workflows and on-site engineering expertise, the production delivers high-performance visuals for one of the wor...
With 180 Games in 12 Days, Champ Week Tests ESPN's Production, Operational Versatility An array of production styles will be deployed to meet programming plans By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
