College Football Kickoff 2023: In 10th Season, SEC Network Continues To Travel Staple Shows With Week 1 Visit to Nashville On Aug. 31, SEC Nation, Marty & McGee, Paul Finebaum Show were onsite for Missouri-South Dakota By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Friday, September 1, 2023 - 1:00 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
There's nothing quite like college football in the South. As the hub for all things Southeastern Conference (SEC) for the past decade, ESPN's SEC Network will once again connect the conference's 14 institutions with onsite productions of SEC Nation, Marty & McGee, and The Paul Finebaum Show every Friday and Saturday during the 2023 regular season.
I don't take each week for granted, says Baron Miller, coordinating producer, SEC Network. It never gets old watching Marty & McGee on a campus. I couldn't be more excited about what we're going to bring and surprise people with this year.
Studio Team Descends on Nashville Prior to Tennessee-UVa at Nissan Stadium To begin the new season, the SEC Network embarked on four productions - two of SEC Nation, two of Marty & McGee - in two separate locations in three days. On Thursday, Aug. 31, the team's first official trip was to the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia for its Week 1 tilt vs. the University of South Dakota. On SEC Nation's first college-football Saturday, the team will be located at the heart of Nashville's Lower Broadway between Fourth Avenue and Rep. John Lewis Way.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey (center) joins SEC Network talent (from left) Marty Smith, Roman Harper, Jordan Rodgers, and Tim Tebow at the University of Missouri on Thursday night.
Since the turnaround time is extremely small, each site has a different host. Marty & McGee host Marty Smith pulled double duty as the host of SEC Nation in Missouri, and Laura Rutledge, in her seventh season hosting and eighth overall, will take the lead in Nashville on Saturday. Each will be joined by analysts Tim Tebow, Roman Harper, Jordan Rodgers, and Paul Finebaum.
Logistically, a big blowout in Nashville in Week 1 is easier to do since site surveys were done during the offseason. A lot of coordination with city officials was necessary to obtain the appropriate permits and spacing in Nashville, but the more run-and-gun style of deciding where to go each week is where the real challenges lie.
I think where it gets tricky, says Miller, is those decisions when Team A gets blown out and we were planning on going there but Team B has a great game and now we really need to go there. On the other hand, the campuses know our footprint, and we know who to talk to.
This stage of the process takes a lot of trust, planning, and communication between SEC Network Senior Operations Producer Brett Ward and the schools' contacts in their respective facilities, security, and operations departments. As with live production, elements of a college campus change all the time. For example, the show's usual location at the University of Kentucky is closed due to construction this season.
The operations team and our director had to go out there during the summer, says Miller. Sometimes, there's something going on that weekend and we can't take up their parking spots. Obstacles pop up.
As for production at each site, Thursday night's show was produced via REMI from SEC Network's headquarters in Charlotte, NC, with Coordinating Producer Pete Watters and Associate Director Jill Krebs at the helm. As for Saturday morning's festivities in Music City, Live Media Group HDX-2 Lucie is at the center of efforts; in previous seasons, HDX-2 Gracie handled these shows. Working from the truck, Miller and Supervising Director Brian Hegner will handle SEC Nation, and Producer Randy Heritage and Hegner will handle Marty & McGee.
Major Priority: Keep Content Fresh for Fans in Attendance The SEC has a deep and undying connection to the sport of football as well as to its individual campuses. Over the past three years, SEC Nation and Marty & McGee have captivated fanbases but face a major challenge: to not churn out the same content over and over. The goal is to give students reasons to wake up early on Saturday mornings to come out to the set.
For us to ask a student or a family member to come out at 8:00 a.m., it's very important that we entertain them and make it worth their while, says Miller. We're putting out a lot of energy during our commercial breaks to get close to the fans, and that's something that we want to do more of. We don't take it lightly that we're coming to a campus and expecting people to show up; we have to offer them something.
The SEC Network bus parked in front of the famous Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.
The network's on-campus impact can be seen on Fridays as well. During #FinebaumFridays, the onsite Friday edition of The Paul Finebaum Show, crowds show up for those shows as well. In addition, Finebaum also has student beat reporters join him on the show for a more localized take.
Two factors contribute significantly to SEC Network's success: the on-air studio team interacts with the crowd, and the talent genuinely get along well. For a hyper-focused show dedicated to diehard college-football fans, it's key that the talent know the game, but. more important, their chemistry makes each show authentic.
You won't find a group [of talent] that's warmer to a production and operations crew, notes Miller. Decisions need to be made, but there isn't a hierarchy on ideas or how we treat people. That's not always the case on a lot of crews.
Additional Broadcast Tech: Live Drone, LED Screen for Remote Interviews If highlighting the diverse campuses of every SEC school weren't enough, each show has a hefty arsenal of
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
02/06/2024
AE add 3D motion to still photographs
Brie Clayton June 2, 2024
0 Comments
AE add 3D motion to still photographs
May 30, 2024COW Featured Resume: Pa...
01/06/2024
Dustee Jenkins, Chief Public Affairs Officer, Spotify
With billions of people from over 50 countries heading to the polls to cast their vote, 2024 is shaping u...
01/06/2024
Busy this week catching up from the Memorial Day holiday? Our TV Tech weekly wrap-up of all our coverage of new products, services and deployments will get you ...
01/06/2024
Young Sherlock, with Guy Ritchie directing and executive producing, is a go at Prime Video. Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays Sherlock. Prime Video calls it the origin...
01/06/2024
The Los Angeles Sparks-Indiana Fever game on Friday featuring the top two WNBA draft picks, Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink, was the most watched WNBA game on I...
01/06/2024
Lionsgate, which increased its majority stake in 3 Arts Entertainment in January, said it named Brian Weinstein co-CEO of 3 Arts....
01/06/2024
Netflix is launching four video games based on unscripted series this year. They...
01/06/2024
ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates switched from their regular programming to carry live coverage of the verdicts in the porn star hush-money trial of former Pres...
31/05/2024
A U.S. Marine fires an FIM-92 Stinger missile during a training exercise in Yuma...
31/05/2024
NEW YORK The global body that sets technical standards for digital advertising h...
31/05/2024
In a new analysis of what services might make up a good bundle and what services might benefit the most from bundling, Antenna has released new data that highli...
31/05/2024
Global SVOD revenues will increase by $116.6 billion by 2031, a growth rate of 13.3% per year over the next eight years, according to a new report from MIDiA Re...
31/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The FCC Media Bureau has announced that effective August 1, 2024 the Commission's TVStudy software will incorporate the most recent U.S. Ce...
31/05/2024
NBCUniversal has announced that its FAST channel TNBC will be rebranding to NBC Comedy Vault on June 1 and that the free streaming service will officially launc...
31/05/2024
PARIS Ateme has announced that the Indonesian public broadcaster TVRI is making the transition to 4K UHD OTT streaming using Ateme technologies....
31/05/2024
The proposal had received support from James Cameron, Andy Serkis, Paul Greengrass, Richard Curtis, and Jeremy Irons
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 31, 2...
31/05/2024
According to multiple reports, the new bid from Skydance offers a better deal to Paramounts Class B shareholders, who were said to be unhappy with the companys ...
31/05/2024
The awards recognise women and companies who are stand-out performers, innovators and leaders in the broadcast media technology industry
By Matthew Corrigan
...
31/05/2024
NEW YORK The global body that sets technical standards for digital advertising has expanded the reach of its measurement software development kit to include Sam...
31/05/2024
The rise of digital platforms is fundamentally changing the broadcast newsroom and its investment in technology according to Jon Roberts, director of technology...
31/05/2024
In a new analysis of what services might make up a good bundle and what services might benefit the most from bundling, Antenna has released new data that highli...
31/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Fifty state broadcasters associations, including the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, have sent a letter to Congressio...
31/05/2024
EVS has announced the appointment of Richard Katz as senior vice president of operations for the North and Latin American (NALA) region. This appointment is par...
31/05/2024
CommScope has announced that it was selected by Casa Systems, Inc. as the highest to acquire Casa's cable business assets and that the two companies have en...
31/05/2024
Robert De Niro won't be receiving the Service to America Leadership Award from the NAB Leadership Foundation after all....
31/05/2024
Viant Technology said it formed an integration with Google Cloud's BigQuery data clean rooms...
31/05/2024
The CW said it will broadcast the 2024 Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop Last year, The CW aired the game when it was called Bar...
31/05/2024
Allen Media Group said it made a deal with Amazon's Fire TV Channel that will make content from several of Allen's outlet available via Fire TV and Echo...
31/05/2024
Robert De Niro, announced as the winner of the NAB's Leadership Foundation's Service to America Leadership Award on May 28, will not get the award. The ...
31/05/2024
Comcast Technology Solutions was selected by AccuWeather to create, manage and distribute linear and over-the-top video channels....
31/05/2024
Connected TV is becoming a bigger deal for consumers and advertisers, according to a new report from TVision....
31/05/2024
By Craig Anderton
Let's get right to what this sounds like. It's not quite feedback or tape reverse, it's well, listen to what it does in this blue...
31/05/2024
31 May 2024
VEON discloses April YTD trading update at its AGM Amsterdam, 31 May 2024 07:00 CEST -
VEON April YTD 2024 Highlights
Total revenue of USD 1,278 ...
31/05/2024
31 May 2024
VEON Announces Its New Board, Names Founder Augie Fabela as Chairman Amsterdam, 31 May 2024, 16.00 CET: VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam...
31/05/2024
May 31st, 2024
TRIBECA FESTIVAL AND OPEN AI ANNOUNCE SORA SHORTS'
Five Commissioned Short Films Created Using Sora Debut at 2024 Tribeca Festival
New ...
31/05/2024
In-Venue Technology Wrap-Up: How 4K, IP, and More are Changing the Game Pres Gam...
31/05/2024
UEFA Champions League Final 2024: The host broadcast facts and figures for Real ...
31/05/2024
UEFA Europa Conference League Final 2024: Bringing the broadcast to global TV sc...
31/05/2024
Willow Offers Free 2024 ICC T20 Cricket World Cup Preview via DirecTV, Verizon, ...
31/05/2024
Women's College World Series: ESPN Brings Live Drone, Two-Point Cabled, and ...
31/05/2024
SVG College Summit Brings Video-Production Industry Together in Atlanta in the M...
31/05/2024
UEFA Champions League Final 2024: CBS Sports' UCL Today Studio Show Is Pitch...
31/05/2024
Back to All News
Master of the House' Unveils a Scandalous Tale of Power and Greed on July 18
Entertainment
31 May 2024
GlobalThailand
Link copied to ...
31/05/2024
Back to All News
JEEtu Bhaiya is Back: Kota Factory' Season 3 Arrives on Netflix June 20
Entertainment
31 May 2024
GlobalIndia
Link copied to clipboar...
31/05/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
With around 9,000 employees, Ground Transportation Systems is a global leader in Rail Signaling and Train Control Systems, Telec...
31/05/2024
RT 2FM is the home of music this summer, entertaining listeners across the day and night, with the best music, chat and interviews providing the soundtrack to ...
31/05/2024
After the 2008 financial crisis and increased risk-management regulations that f...
College Football Kickoff 2023: In 10th Season, SEC Network Continues To Travel Staple Shows With Week 1 Visit to Nashville On Aug. 31, SEC Nation, Marty & McGee, Paul Finebaum Show were onsite for Missouri-South Dakota By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor 
