Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

WNBA Tip-Off 2024: With All Eyes on The W, ESPN Ups Its Game To Spotlight Class of New Stars, League's Increased Popularity

14/05/2024

WNBA Tip-Off 2024: With All Eyes on The W, ESPN Ups Its Game To Spotlight Class of New Stars, League's Increased Popularity Disney+ will simulcast coverage of tonight's season opener By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 12:02 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

Nearly three decades of the WNBA have been broadcast by ESPN, and no other season in those 30 years has felt as energized as the one tipping off tonight. From the introduction of legit star power and chartered flights for all 12 clubs to the integration of more tech workflows and personnel on the production side, the broadcaster is taking yet another step forward to showcase the best professional women's basketball players.

We're coming out strong with enhanced coverage of our games from a technical standpoint, says Sara Gaiero, VP, production, ESPN. We will continue with REMI productions for a majority of the season, but we're looking for ways to supplement some of our top-level broadcasts to document the terrific athletes that we have.

Basketball Fever: Preparations for Caitlin Clark Debut, Las Vegas Aces Ring Ceremony The league is holding nothing back for its opening-night doubleheader on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, and, for the first time, Disney+.

ESPN begins the 2024 WNBA season with Fever-Sun at 7:30 p.m. ET and Mercury-Aces at 10 p.m.

In Game 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Connecticut Sun will face No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in her WNBA debut. It's one of the most highly anticipated games in recent memory, and rightfully so: Clark is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history and has brought the league a ton of media and fan attention. With more eyeballs on this game at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT, ESPN is increasing its camera complement to a WNBA Finals-level of production.

We're going to roll out our basic complement, which is normally a seven-camera show, but will also add above-the-rim and below-the-rim robos and a shallow-depth-of-field RF handheld [from Faction Media], says Gaiero. [We'll] focus on Caitlin when she comes onto the court as well as on what she's doing during pregame. We've had conversations with the venue, and we understand that they're at capacity, so we feel that it's important to document everything we can.

In addition, the crew is enhancing the coverage with super-slo-mo cameras for cinematic replays, more player and coach mics, live player interviews during quarter breaks, and an uptick of 75 onsite staffers from the typical 30 for the onsite game production and an onsite edition of the broadcaster's premiere pregame show, WNBA Countdown, in its second full season. From an operations perspective, the high-end production will be easier to do because ESPN's facility in Bristol, CT, is only 65 miles from the Suns' home arena.

Having opening night in Connecticut has helped us throughout the planning process, notes Catherine Chalfant, remote production operations supervisor, ESPN. It's easy for us to get to the venue for planning visits. On Tuesday, with both venues having AT&T as their primary form of transmission and our enhanced coverage in Connecticut, we have had to get creative with how and when we are sending paths back to Bristol to accommodate both shows.

In Game 2 at 10 p.m., the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces will host the Phoenix Mercury at Michelob ULTRA Arena. It'll be a special night in Sin City, with the players receiving their championship rings and raising their second banner to the rafters. For ESPN, Tuesday night's doubleheader will be the first of two in a five-day span. The second, on Saturday, May 18, will feature the Fever vs. the New York Liberty at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, at 1 p.m. and the Los Angeles Sparks vs. the Aces at 3 p.m., both on ABC. There are challenges in producing multiple primetime games in Week 1, but there are positives in working from the same production facility.

With two games during opening week in Las Vegas, Chalfant explains, we're able to efficiently secure and keep resources in place for both games. Our teams are ready, and we've been working since March to put resources in place to bring us the best coverage.

When the Fever and Aces meet in their second matchup of the 2024 campaign, the game will take place at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday, July 2, airing at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. The change in venue represents a 50% increase in seats to match the ticket demands from fans.

The Ops Piece of the Puzzle: REMI Workflows, Bolstered Technology Throughout the season, ESPN is opting for a hybrid production approach. The crew responsible for WNBA broadcasts will mostly deploy REMI to maximize time and resources, but, for a handful of games, upgrading production quality requires an onsite operation. That will be the case for Fever-Liberty this Saturday.

To be able to do these productions in somewhat of an old-school way, says Gaiero, it speaks to the level of enhancements we made and the internal support we've had behind the scenes. We'll be thinking about other opportunities for broadcasts as the season progresses.

WNBA Countdown has become a staple in ESPN's programming, including an onsite edition during the 2024 WNBA Draft.

As part of the broadcaster's commitment to tech innovation, with Chalfant and her team leading the way, selected games will bump up some mid-court handheld cameras to 4X super-slo-mo via the AWS Cloud system that has been built in Bristol. Viz Libero integration is used on the graphics side, and, to efficiently work with the broadcaster's WNBA partners, Brand Brigade will be deployed for on court virtual signage and Hawkeye for official replay.

To mix more real-time data into live broadcasts, the WNBA inked a deal with
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/05/14/wnba-tip-off-2024-with-all-eyes...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

14/03/2025

Avid Appoints New CTO, Adds to Its Executive Leadership Team

BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid has expanded its executive leadership team (ELT) with the appointment of three experienced executives: Tom Sharma as chief technology off...

14/03/2025

TVU Networks Celebrates 20 Years of Innovation at 2025 NAB Show

CUPERTINO, Calif. TVU Networks, a pioneer in live video production and a leader in cloud-based media solutions, is marking its 20th anniversary at the 2025 NAB ...

13/03/2025

You Will Leave Opus Singing the Original Bops Performed by John Malkovich

(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...

13/03/2025

How Spotify Is Driving Growth, Discovery, and Innovation in the Audiobook Market

Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...

13/03/2025

Spotify Audiobooks Launches a New Publishing Program for Independent Authors

At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...

13/03/2025

Evolving EO/IR Technology For All-Domain Airborne Law Enforcement

Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...

13/03/2025

Craft Interview: Jamie McCombs, Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio

Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...

13/03/2025

Craft Interview: Paul Sandweiss, Production Sound Mixer/Audio Director

On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...

13/03/2025

Riedel To Showcase New StageLink Smart Edge Devices At 2025 NAB Show

WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...

13/03/2025

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring for VOS360 Streaming Workflows at the 2025 NAB Show

TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...

13/03/2025

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage Platform that Empowers Video Teams to Scale Effortlessly

DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...

13/03/2025

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Life at NAB 2025 Exhibition

FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...

13/03/2025

Ajit Pai Appointed President of CTIA

CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...

13/03/2025

NAB: FCC's 60 Minutes Investigation Is Unconstitutional, Invalid

he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...

13/03/2025

CBS Miami to Launch AR Coverage of Weather and Sports for March Madness

MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...

13/03/2025

Meet the co-founder and chief customer success & innovation officer

Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...

13/03/2025

FCC Chairman Carr Launches Massive Deregulation Initiative

WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...

13/03/2025

SDVI Integrates Rally With Spectra Vail

SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...

13/03/2025

FCC Approves Gray's Acquisition of KXLT

ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...

13/03/2025

NAB Show 2025 Exhibitor Insight: Blackmagic Design

TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...

13/03/2025

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice

Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions. ...

13/03/2025

Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content

Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...

13/03/2025

Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew Cross

Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...

13/03/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size on Completing Customizable Studios for All Clients

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...

13/03/2025

IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036; Add Digital Projects, Initiatives

IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...

13/03/2025

NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical Video Feed, Mascot Mode, and Popular Boss Button

NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...

13/03/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive Experience for Daytona, The PLAYERS, and March Madness

SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...

13/03/2025

Sky Business Launches Cloud Voice A New Cloud Communication Solution for UK Businesses

Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...

13/03/2025

Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark for F band applications

Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...

13/03/2025

The ICG Marketing Survey 2025

We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey. Our 2025 survey p...

13/03/2025

Harmonic Amps Up Video Streaming Efficiency with New Origin Capabilities

SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...

13/03/2025

Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025

Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025 Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...

13/03/2025

FOR-A America Theme Connecting the Present, Building the Future Comes to Life at NAB 2025 Exhibition

Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...

13/03/2025

2025-03-13

A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...

13/03/2025

Italia 90 Republic of Ireland Squad, Riverdance, Cian Ducrot & B*Witched on Friday's Late Late Show

Here is your host, Patrick Kielty! Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...

13/03/2025

RT Celebrating all things Irish this St. Patrick's Weekend

This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...

13/03/2025

GTC 2025 - Announcements and Live Updates

What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...

13/03/2025

T-Mobile, Thales and SIMPL ease IoT deployments with a flexible and secure connectivity solution

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...

13/03/2025

Relive the Magic as GeForce NOW Brings More Blizzard Gaming to the Cloud

Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library. Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...

13/03/2025

Gaming Goodness: NVIDIA Reveals Latest Neural Rendering and AI Advancements Supercharging Game Development at GDC 2025

AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...

13/03/2025

Drop It Like It's Mod: Breathing New Life Into Classic Games With AI in NVIDIA RTX Remix

PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...

12/03/2025

Como o Impacto Cultural e Financeiro da Indstria Musical Define Seu Sucesso em 2025

O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...

12/03/2025

Cmo el impacto cultural y financiero de la industria musical define su xito en 2025

Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...

12/03/2025

Nourish Mind, Body, and Soul This Ramadan With Spotify

Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...

12/03/2025

How the Music Industry's Cultural and Financial Impact Define Its Success in 2025

Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...

12/03/2025

FAST now transcends back catalog content

More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...

12/03/2025

Viamedia Adopts ShowSeeker Pilot To Streamline Ad Workflows

GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...

12/03/2025

Mediagenix Appoints Wael Yasin as Sales Director Central Europe

BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....

12/03/2025

Omdia: Global Online Consumer Expenditure to Hit $6.6 Trillion by 2029

LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...

12/03/2025

Comcast Technology Solutions Upgrades to Interra Systems BATON Version 9

CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....