WNBA Finals 2023: ESPN Prioritizes Productions With First-Time 1080p for the League Championship

The Aces–Liberty matchup is Sara Gaiero’s first as VP of production

After a WNBA regular season that featured the return of Britney Griner and the formation of superteams in both conferences, the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty are battling it out for the title. With Sunday’s Game 3 at Barclays Center right around the corner, ESPN’s production and operations teams combine high-quality cameras, an onsite studio presence, and on-court access to players and coaches for the broadcaster’s first WNBA Finals in 1080p and the first under new VP, Production, Sara Gaiero.

“I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to do in the last four years,” she says. “I feel grateful and honored to be able to push and elevate this sport as well as the ways that we’ve been able to grow from a production standpoint.”

ESPN is using a shallow–depth-of-field camera for on-court interviews during the WNBA Finals.

Powering Productions: Shallow–Depth-of-Field Cameras, New Virtual Graphics

The onsite production team deploys a total 20 cameras for live coverage, most of them hard, handheld, and robotic cameras placed around the court. To capture the atmosphere of Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas and Barclays Center in Brooklyn, RF cameras grab shots of each team’s home crowd during the game. Added for the finals, a Sony HDC-4800 super-slow-motion camera with a cinematic lens is for dynamic angles of the action.

ESPN’s WNBA Finals animation package has a new look this season.

On the graphics front, the regular-season package has been reimagined for the WNBA Finals. A shallow–depth-of-field camera is also being paired with virtual graphic elements seen on the broadcast.

“Our graphics and animation package, which we debuted at the start of the season, has gotten a full re-skin,” notes Gaiero. “Our brand-new look is really slick and complements the rest of our coverage well.”

Virtual graphics highlight key players featured in the matchup.

Continuing its audio strategy from the regular season, ESPN is miking players and coaches for real-time sound bites throughout the broadcast. And reporter Holly Rowe is conducting on-court interviews with each team during stoppages in play.

“With the partnership that we have with this league and their athletes,” says Gaiero, “we’ve had tremendous success with our live player interviews at the end of each quarter as well as our live IFB coach interviews that we’ve done with our announce booth. Those two elements have been a unique piece of what we’ve done [this year].”

WNBA Countdown team (from left) LaChina Robinson, Chiney Ogwumike, and Carolyn Peck at the studio set at Michelob ULTRA Arena

Pre/Postgame Coverage: WNBA Countdown Analyzes the Games’ Biggest Storylines

Fans tuning in before or after the game are treated to onsite editions of studio show WNBA Countdown. Featuring host LaChina Robinson and analysts Chiney Ogwumike, Andraya Carter, and Carolyn Peck, the show harnesses the energy of each home crowd.

“Last year, we were fortunate to debut WNBA Countdown during the playoffs, so we’re thrilled to have them onsite with us this year,” adds Gaiero. “[Our talent] is delivering high-level breakdowns and analysis while also having fun since they have great chemistry.”

Player graphics, like this one for Aces superstar A’ja Wilson, have been reimagined.

On the game call, Rowe is joined by the broadcast duo of play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco and analyst Rebecca Lobo. In addition to the studio show, Carter contributes with live in-game reports.

From a production perspective, both the announce team and the studio team key in on one glaring storyline: the Las Vegas Aces are vying for consecutive titles and facing one of the league’s original franchises. Prior to the start of the WNBA Finals, Gaiero and her colleagues looked to gradually introduce the sport to casual fans in Game 1 and slowly integrate the team’s history and what it means to both clubs as the series progresses.

Players, like Aces point guard Chelsea Gray, are being miked during ESPN’s coverage of the WNBA Finals.

“We’ll take a tempered approach at the start to bring our viewers up to speed about each team,” she says. “If we get closer to New York potentially winning it, we’ll create some custom elements that will focus on that. On the other side, the Aces are going for back-to-back titles for the first time since 2002, so we’ll certainly lean into that achievement if it comes into play.”

Brand-New Role: Gaiero Sees Opportunity To Grow Women’s Basketball

In 23 years at ESPN, Gaiero has been at the helm of numerous productions, but she has had her biggest impact in the advocacy for women’s sports. After taking over ESPN’s WNBA efforts as a coordinating producer in 2020, she spearheaded broadcast coverage of the league’s “Wubble” championship during the COVID-plagued season in 2020. Her dedication and attention to detail led to her promotion to VP of production last month.

In her new position, Gaiero will also drive coverage of women’s college basketball and especially the Women’s March Madness tournament on ESPN’s airwaves. With both marquee women’s basketball properties under her guidance, her goal is to place the best women’s basketball players in the spotlight that they deserve.

“I’m extremely excited to continue using my role and platform to shepherd women’s basketball into the future,” she says. “There’s an opportunity to create synergy between the leagues, and I think that can only benefit both levels. [Moving forward,] the WNBA is going to inherit amazing athletes that are going to make this sport even more dynamic and interesting than what we’re seeing right now.”

Coverage for Game 3 of the 2023 WNBA Finals on Sunday, Oct. 15 will begin with WNBA Countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET and continue with Aces–Liberty at 3 p.m. on ABC.