Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

ESPN Streamlines Operations in Covering NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament

24/03/2023

ESPN Streamlines Operations in Covering NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament For the first time, there are just two Regional Sites for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite 8 By Brandon Costa

Friday, March 24, 2023 - 1:14 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

The NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament rolls into the Sweet Sixteen beginning today. For the production team at ESPN, in its 28th year broadcasting the entire tournament, it has already been one of the maddest of Marches.

For the first time in a quarter century, only two No. 1 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16: one, South Carolina, is gunning for a perfect season; the other, Virginia Tech, is looking to advance to the Final Four for the first time in program history. Sprinkle in megastars like Iowa's Caitlin Clark, South Carolina's Aliyah Boston, and UConn's Azzi Fudd (yes, the always dangerous Huskies are still lurking), and the race to Dallas for the Final Four is shaping up as an entertaining one.

For this year's NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, ESPN has two studios and two control rooms providing shoulder programming around game coverage. From left: Carolyn Peck, Andraya Carter, Rebecca Lobo, and Elle Duncan host coverage of the NCAA Women's Selection Special from Studio E on ESPN's Bristol, CT, campus. (All photos: Kelly Anne Backus/ESPN Images)

To meet the demands of this year's tourney, ESPN made some adjustments to its operational plans to ensure topflight coverage for every game. That included tapping into multiple flavors of production workflow to cover games from 16 sites and deploying two studios and two control rooms to keep its Bristol, CT-based shoulder programming humming.

It has been just a lot of fun, says Pat Lowry, VP, production, ESPN, and one of the leads on the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament project. Watching that Stanford-Ole Miss game and seeing the [upset] there, I was tired [the next day] because it got me all amped up and then it's time to go to sleep and do another day tomorrow.

For the busy opening weekend, there were many moving pieces for ESPN. The multiple production workflows were used to produce live games, and the multiple studios and control rooms in Bristol met the event's pregame, halftime, and between-game needs.

Analyst and Bracketologist Charlie Creme provided a breakdown of the Women's Bracket on the set of the NCAA Women's Selection Special.

For game production, six sites were produced as onsite truck shows, while four used REMI workflows. ESPN also enlisted two school control rooms - at Virginia Tech and Notre Dame - to handle game production at those campuses.

The opening week of the tournament was a logistical and operational marvel. Unlike the men's tournament, where First and Second Rounds occur at preselected neutral venues, the women's tournament plays games on the campuses of the top four seeds. Additionally, the site of the First Four in the Women's Tournament isn't determined until Selection Sunday; on the men's side, the University of Dayton has hosted the First Four since its inception in 2011 (the one exception was in 2021, when the entire NCAA Men's Tournament took place in the state of Indiana).

A streamlined operations workflow - spearheaded by Remote Operations Supervisor Catherine Carroon, Remote Operations Producer Traci Flohr, Tech Operations Manager Jim Birch, and Coordinating Producers Beth Chappell and Matt Leach - has the ESPN team in cruise control entering the Regional Round in anticipation of a big blowout at next weekend's Final Four.

We've added outdoor sets and new things [at Final Four] , says Lowry, so [the team has] had to continue to jump through hoops and make adjustments. It's terrific to work with people like them.

The lead producer/director team of Kerry Callahan and Jimmy Platt didn't work any games of the First and Second Round. Lowry says the goal was to allow them to sit back and take in the full tournament field and absorb the emerging storylines and stars. They will be working the Seattle regional site this weekend before advancing to work the Final Four in Dallas. Having Callahan and Platt focus on the big picture of the tournament and its higher-pressure later rounds allowed Lowry, as well as Chappell and Leach, to focus on executing the large scale of the overall field, especially those First and Second Round games.

ESPN's Bristol campus has been home to two separate studio shows for coverage of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. ESPN also used REMI workflows to support game production from four sites during the First and Second Rounds.

With this weekend's games, the logistics are a bit simpler for ESPN. For the first time in the tournament's history, there are just two regional sites: Greenville, SC, and Seattle.

According to Lowry, Platt and Callahan will be experimenting with some new lenses and specialty cameras in Seattle to see if those units will make their way to the Final Four in Dallas.

If I could handpick anybody in the country to direct the Final Four, I would handpick Jimmy Platt, says Lowry, because of his complete understanding of technology, his ability to work with the NCAA, and his ability to just direct the hell out of a show.

Although the Regionals are condensed into two sites, ESPN is still crewing out from the perspective of four regionals. There are four producers, four graphics producers, and four sets of talent splitting up the games at both Seattle and Greenville. There will be two sets of directors and assistant directors because those positions will work every game at their geographic site.

From a crewing perspective, it's kind of a split version of what we would normally do, says Lowry. It's our first time, so I guess we're going to see how e
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2023/03/24/espn-streamlines-operations-in-...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

01/07/2025

ITV Celebrates Best Sunday of 2025 with Code of Silence

The launch of Code of Silence, coupled with the Britains Got Talent semi final, gave ITV its best Sunday night of 2025. The first episode of the new crime dr...

01/07/2025

Romola Garai joins Shaun Evans in ITV thriller BETRAYAL, as filming begins in the North West

ITV and Mammoth Screen have announced the start of filming for Betrayal, a gripp...

01/07/2025

L3Harris Delivers Missionized Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Aircraft

L3Harris Technologies has delivered its second Bombardier Global 6500 missionize...

01/07/2025

L3Harris Sets Date for Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Release

MELBOURNE, Fla., July 1, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its second quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, Ju...

01/07/2025

Movicom Selects Clear-Com to Power Communications for Global Live Events

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......

01/07/2025

FCC Rejects License Challenges to 3 Baltimore TV Stations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has rejected license challenges to three full-power Baltimore TV stations, renewing the licenses for Chesapeake...

01/07/2025

Dalet Flex LTS Update Features Improved Content Workflow Tools

Dalet has released a new update to its Dalet Flex media workflow platform, introducing powerful new capabilities to its flagship platform....

01/07/2025

New Global Game' Summit Explores Future of Soccer, Tech and Media

NEWARK, N.J. With the FIFA Club World Cup final rapidly approaching and the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup now less than a year away, interest in soccer in th...

01/07/2025

COW Job Listing: Laser Engraved Logo

COW Job Listing: Laser Engraved Logo Brie Clayton July 1, 2025 0 Comments Laser engraved logo July 1, 2025Steffie Beltt's Mi Amor Music Video Cr...

01/07/2025

LeGrow.Studio Builds Broadcast Hub for ePro League

LeGrow.Studio Builds Broadcast Hub for ePro League Brie Clayton July 1, 2025 0 Comments TEM Constellation HD and BlackmagicURSA Broadcast G2 drive liv...

01/07/2025

Beeble launches SwitchLight 2.0, bringing AI-powered relighting to any footage

Beeble launches SwitchLight 2.0, bringing AI-powered relighting to any footage Brie Clayton July 1, 2025 0 Comments New AI model delivers full-scene p...

01/07/2025

Steffie Beltt's Mi Amor Music Video Created with Blackmagic Design

Steffie Beltt's Mi Amor Music Video Created with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton July 1, 2025 0 Comments Blackmagic PYXIS 6K digital film camera...

01/07/2025

Sinclair Pays $500,000 to Settle FCC Investigations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a consent decree with Sinclair to resolve a variety of in...

01/07/2025

LPTV Broadcasters Association to Hold Webinar on Station Sales

DENVER Low-power television (LPTV) station owners looking to navigate the complexities of selling their assets in todays dynamic media environment are invited t...

01/07/2025

Netflix to Carry Live Programming from NASA+

NASA announced today that live programming from its NASA+ channel will be available on Netflix starting sometime this summer....

01/07/2025

FCC Chair Carr Hires Katie McAuliffe as Policy Advisor

WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has appointed Katie McAuliffe to serve as policy advisor in his office....

01/07/2025

GFiber Demonstrates Network Slicing to Improve Home Internet Performance

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Alphabet's GFiber, the broadband provider formerly known as Google Fiber, has announced that it recently worked with Nokia to demonstr...

01/07/2025

DoubleVerify Debuts Attention Measurement for Social Media

NEW YORK, N.Y. DoubleVerify (DV) has announced the launch of DV Authentic Attention for Social. The product will first launch with Snap, the owner of Snapchat....

01/07/2025

FCC Rejects License Challenges to Three Baltimore TV Stations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has rejected license challenges to three full-power Baltimore TV stations and agreed to renew the license for C...

01/07/2025

Magewell Brings NDI into Conferencing Software and More w...

Compact new converter lets users capture live NDI and streaming sources into software over a USB interface Video interface and IP workflow innovator Magewell ...

01/07/2025

Disneys Hercules Brings Mosaic Visuals To Life On Stage W...

Disguise, the award-winning tech company driving visuals for Broadway and West End hits including Redwood, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Disney's Fr...

01/07/2025

KIT Plugins release NOIZ One Vox

Vocal-processing plug-in joins NOIZ Hub series Launched in 2024, KIT Plugins' NOIZ Hub series was created with the aim of providing a range of professio...

01/07/2025

7 Day Mastering: New course from Mastering.com

New self-paced learning programme announced Mastering.com have announced the availability of a new online course designed to cover the fundamentals of maste...

01/07/2025

Heather Gray Named Vice President and General Manager of WRAL and FOX 50

Historic appointment ushers in unified leadership for WRAL-TV, New Media, and Digital Solutions RALEIGH, N.C. - 6-27-25 - Capitol Broadcasting Company is prou...

01/07/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Expansion in the U.S.

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Exp...

01/07/2025

The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus Video Production

The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus...

01/07/2025

Cherry On the Cake: Inside the Technical Production of the Tour de France 2025 with EMG / Gravity Media

Cherry on the cake: Inside the technical production of the Tour de France 2025 w...

01/07/2025

NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins Fans

NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, ...

01/07/2025

TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge

TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge Production approach emphasizes creative freedom, bold storytelling, casual-fan-friendly tone B...

01/07/2025

cetecom advanced certifies Rohde & Schwarz test solution for the verification of Next Generation eCall functionality

cetecom advanced certifies Rohde & Schwarz test solution for the verification of...

01/07/2025

Watch: A Line Crossed: Netflix Drops Explosive Trailer for New Series, 'Marked'

Back to All News Watch: A Line Crossed: Netflix Drops Explosive Trailer for New...

01/07/2025

Broadcast Pix Showcases Live Production Tools at ACM 2025 in Boston

Tyngsboro, Mass. - June 30, 2025 - The 2025 ACM Annual Conference at Boston University was an energizing and inspiring gathering of community media professional...

01/07/2025

Teresa Smith Announced as Commissioning Editor for Factual Entertainment

RT has announced that Teresa Smith has been appointed Commissioning Editor with responsibility for Factual Entertainment following a public competition. This s...

01/07/2025

RT is Supporting 26 Arts and Cultural Events across Ireland this July

This July, RT is delighted to support Galway International Arts Festival, Earagail Arts Festival in Donegal, Belfast TradFest and 23 other arts and cultural ev...

01/07/2025

How AI Factories Can Help Relieve Grid Stress

In many parts of the world, including major technology hubs in the U.S., there's a yearslong wait for AI factories to come online, pending the buildout of n...

30/06/2025

Discover Weekly Turns 10: Celebrating 100 Billion+ Tracks Streamed and a Decade of Personalized Discovery

There's nothing quite like the magic of finding music that feels made just f...

30/06/2025

Spotify's Editors Pick Their Best Songs of the Year (So Far)

When it comes to new music, Spotify's team of editors across North America is always on the hunt for songs that make them feel, think, and move. They're...

30/06/2025

SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel

SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel 30 June, 2025 Media releases SBS is expanding its international news offeri...

30/06/2025

The Forsytes Season 2 Commissioned by MASTERPIECE on PBS

Star Studded Ensemble Cast Are Joined by Richard Rankin as Filming Begins on the Second Season [June 12, 2025 - Boston, MA]: The Forsytes, Debbie Horsfield...

30/06/2025

Artemis II Mission Advances with Successful RS-25 Engine Checkout Tests

The Artemis II Space Launch System core stage is integrated with the solid rocket boosters inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy S...

30/06/2025

WRAL-WRAZ Raleigh Names Heather Gray as VP and GM

RALEIGH, N.C. Capitol Broadcasting Co. has named Heather Gray vice president and general manager of WRAL-TV and WRAZ-TV here....

30/06/2025

VAB Awards JJ Freeman Engineering Award to Bill Sewell of WTKR/WGNT

The Virginia Association of Broadcasters has recognized Bill Sewell, Director of Engineering at WTKR & WGNT in Norfolk, Va. as the recipient of the 2025 J.J. Fr...

30/06/2025

SBE Recruits 49 New Members

The Society of Broadcast Engineers said its annual member drive resulted in the recruitment of 49 individual members....

30/06/2025

Avid Releases Full Integration of MediaCentral, Wolftech News

BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid today released its fully integrated news platform, uniting MediaCentral and Wolftech News in a single newsroom solution, and will demonst...

30/06/2025

FCC Fines Sinclair $500,000

WASHINGTON The Federal Communication's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a Consent Decree with Sinclair Broadcast Group to resolve a variety o...

30/06/2025

Qu-Bit announce the Bloom v2

Eurorack sequencer module reimagined California-based modular synth innovators Qu-Bit have announced the launch of a new module that offers a fresh new take...

30/06/2025

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert The celebration will be held on July 10 in Perugia, Italy. By Colette Greenstein June 30, 202...

30/06/2025

PremiumBeat Tips and Tricks

PremiumBeat Tips and Tricks Brie Clayton June 30, 2025 0 Comments When editing to impress, you'll need quality music, and if your studio happens t...