Amidst Industry Challenges, Production Innovation Remains Strong at Regional Sports Networks
Executives from Bally Sports, YES Network, NESN, NBC Sports Regional Networks, and Monumental Sports Network share teir experiences
Story Highlights
No one understands the challenges of creating tons of content both cost effectively and with an eye on innovation to keep viewers tuned in better than the regional sports networks. However, its no secret the business challenges that this segment of the industry faced in 2023. Despite all of that, hard working crews didn’t miss a beat and games were produced and distributed.
At the 2023 SVG Summit, leaders from RSNs discussed some of their innovations in 2023 and what they are looking forward to in the new year.The discussion included:
- Friday Abernethy, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, GM, Network
- John J. Filippelli, YES Network, President, Production & Programming; Executive Producer
- Jon Slobotkin, NBC Sports Regional Networks, SVP, Content and Live Programming
- Howard Zalkowitz, NESN, Executive Producer
This conversation was hosted at the SVG Summit in New York City on Dec. 12 and was moderated by Mike Connelly, SVP and Executive Producer at Bally Sports.
From placing microphones on more players to adding a camera in the Boston Red Sox dugout, 2023 was another year of experimentation at NESN as the Massachusetts-based regional sports network looked to bring fans closer to the action than ever before. NESN’s Executive Producer Howard Zalkowitz shared some of his favorite tools and toys from the past year:
The YES Network in New York continues to raise the bar for what RSN broadcasts are capable of with their coverage of the New York Yankees, Brooklyn Nets, and more. John J. Filippelli, President, Production & Programming; Executive Producer for the YES Network – a Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer – shared his belief that, even as budgets tighten and teams take a controlling ownership of networks, sports production professionals need to remain committed to delivering a quality product:
Furthering the point on the team-ownership of regional sports networks, the panel answered how the broadcast maintains its integrity and deliver true analysis to the fan:
Watch the full panel discussion now on SVG PLAY:
