College Hoops Tip-Off 2023: Even With Colossal Slate of Games, ESPN Finds New Ways to Innovate

More 1080p HDR and SDR shows planned for this season

When it comes to sheer volume in the live-sports-production business, it simply doesn’t get much bigger than ESPN’s college basketball slate. With more than 4,200 regular season men’s games and 3,400 women’s games on ESPN’s linear and digital platforms over the next four-plus months, the network’s operations team has once again been tasked with an undertaking unlike anything else in the industry. However, it’s nothing new for Catherine Carroon and her team.

“It definitely takes a village and we have a very strong village so we know what to expect,” ESPN’s Remote Operations Supervisor says. “Our team is filled with seasoned pros and I believe we have the best coordinator team in our entire department here at ESPN with Abby Hurlbert, David Quintanilla, and Lindsay Hayden. Also, this team is now dedicated to basketball operations year-round since we just came off of WNBA. We have a basketball mindset 365 days of the year, which I think helps keep us on our toes and always prepared.”

In addition to quantity, ESPN is also focused on quality. Each week, the Saturday Prime franchise will bring a high-profile men’s game to viewers in 1080p HDR (and up-converted to UHD for distribution) while the new women’s hoops package will be in 1080p SDR, a format that ESPN is striving to bring to all its linear college hoops broadcasts.

A Multitude of Models: ESPN Diversifies College Hoops Productions

While ESPN has partnered with third-party outfits across the country to package and produce a large chunk of these games, the in-house operations team is responsive for roughly 1,400 productions this season. As in years past, ESPN will use a plethora of production models to bring these broadcasts to life. In addition to full onsite truck-based productions, ESPN will leverage its REMI and REMCO models for hundreds of games this year. ESPN will also utilize on-campus control rooms for 500+ ACC, SEC, Big 12, and American Conference games.

“We use a lot of different models, which is what makes it fun and interesting because no two days and no two games are the same,” says Carroon. “I think our team does a great job of utilizing all the different types of [production models] that ESPN has developed and that’s what makes college basketball so special.”

Within the REMI vein, ESPN will continue to increase is use of the Riedel SimplyLive Vibox system out of its Bristol, CT, and Charlotte facilities. Under this production model, all camera and audio feeds are sent back to the broadcast center but instead of using a full REMI control room, ESPN leverages a Vibox automated production system that requires fewer operators. In addition, ESPN continues to explore if end-to-end cloud-based production system that also utilizes ViBox and debuted last year on college basketball.

“Since we have so many different workflows, we are able to collaborate with every single department within the company — onsite, REMI both in Bristol and Charlotte, comms, and all of our different internal departments,” says Operations Specialist Michael Sullivan. “That is paramount to success in this world where we have a lot of different levels of shows and ways that we produce college basketball.”

Top Tier Games Go 1080p, With HDR in the Mix

In terms of the A-game shows, Game Creek Video’s Gridiron mobile unit will serve the men’s basketball Saturday Prime 1080p HDR productions while the GCV Nitro will handle the women’s primetime package, which will be produced in 1080p SDR for the first time.

“Last year, we did [Saturday Prime] in native UHD HDR and that was meant as a testing ground for the entire company as we evaluated UHD internally and with our affiliates to determine plans moving forward,” says Sullivan. “Ultimately due to a variety of factors including UHD distribution [issues], we have decided to focus on 1080p HDR this year [on Saturday Prime] and also 1080p SDR across the board.”

Last year, the men’s ACC Tournament and the SEC Tournament were both produced in 1080p for the first time and Sullivan says the goal is for all Championship Week games to be in 1080p this year, along with a growing number of regular season games. Meanwhile, the men’s Prime Saturday 1080p HDR feeds will be upconverted to 4K in Bristol with Dolby Atmos audio stems for UHD distribution to select MVPDs.

Sullivan adds that the Women’s Final Four will also be produced in 1080p and his team is currently evaluating the possibility of producing those games in HDR.

“We are definitely looking to take that next step from 720p to 1080p [SDR] and then on certain show we will look at 1080 HDR,” he says. “Since college basketball is such a behemoth, everything has to be looked closely at from a transmission and distribution side so we’re going to pick our spots for HDR. It is not going to be across the board right now, but we are continuing to test internally to make sure that when we do make the move to HDR, our [facilities] can handle the scale of the amount of games that we do. So those two things are going to be really exciting next steps for us this year.”

RF PylonCam, Shallow Depth of Field System Among New Innovations on the Hardcourt

ESPN also continues to explore new cameras and technology to bring to its high profile shows like the Champions Classic, which tips off tomorrow in Chicago. At the United Center, the production team will roll out a new RF minicam that Sullivan compares to a roving PylonCam as part of its 12+ camera complement.

“It’s something that we’ve been working with on a couple different sports and so we’re excited to bring it to college basketball,” he says. “We’re going to have a lot of flexibility to move the camera around on the court and get unique perspective shots that we may have lost over the past few years because of courtside seating at the venues that brought fans closer to the court. That’s going to be really exciting.”

ESPN will also continue to up its usage of shallow-depth-of-field camera systems, including the Sony HDC-4800 with a FUJINON Duvo HZK25-1000mm box lens on a variety of men’s and women’s primetime games.

“I think just the uniqueness of that camera-lens combo is really special, especially in a college basketball setting where you can put that at a low slash [position] and get some really interesting shots with depth of field,” says Sullivan. “College basketball is perfect or shallow depth of field because it’s a smaller [venue]. Football is great, but it’s very challenging because the operator and the subject are moving so quickly over such a large [playing area] that it’s hard to keep it in focus. But in basketball, we’re working with a smaller environment, so it really allows you to capture some of those unique shallow depth of field shots and keep them in focus. That will be a big part of our [coverage] this year.”

The college hoops team is also working closely with ESPN’s NBA operations team, led by Eddie Okuno, to share knowledge and explore new technologies.

“We are trying out a new camera for Champions Classic that will could be utilized at the end of the NBA In-Season Tournament in December in Vegas,” says Sullivan. “We are really making an effort to find technology that works across all our basketball platform; we’re not just developing a college basketball or WNBA or NBA product.”

ESPN Looks to Ride Wave of Women’s Hoops Momentum

Although ESPN’s men’s schedule is once again stacked with plenty of top-tier matchups this season, the women’s side is getting more buzz than ever following record viewership for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Game last year. And ESPN is boosting its coverage plans accordingly.

“We have a full season women’s [primetime] package this year, which is great for the growth of women’s basketball,” says Carroon. “That package will be in 1080p and we will have a consistent truck and crew [led by] director Jimmy Platt all season long. So we’re really excited about the growth with that sport and you will see some new toys and technology coming down the pipe for that. We also have some things up our sleeve for the Final Four in Cleveland that we’re still working out that we’ll be able to talk about a little later down the road.”

In addition to enhanced game coverage, the traveling College GameDay onsite studio show will see more stops at women’s games this season. And, also of note, ESPN vet Sara Gaiero has been promoted to VP, Production, and is now responsible for strategic oversight and management of ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA women’s basketball, in addition to her WNBA responsibilities — helping to grow ESPN’s women’s basketball coverage by having a consistent leader on both properties.

“We have the pleasure of partnering now with Sara and having both college and WNBA under one umbrella,” says Carroon. “Sara has experience on the women’s tournament herself, so having her in that overarching leadership role is going to bring a fresh element. We’re excited to see her vision and to make it happen in order to continue the growth of women’s basketball.”