SVG Rewind: Producer Katie Halter, Director Amanda Smerage Reflect on PWHL Takeover Tour’s Record-Setting Day in Denver

Go inside the production and learn how the crew adjusted when travel issues kept the game's announcers from making it to site

In its second season, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is taking its show on the road. In a series of nine games hosted in “neutral site” cities, the PWHL Takeover Tour is designed to expand the new league’s reach and grow the game of women’s hockey.

On January 12, a game between the Minnesota Frost and the Montréal Victoire drew a crowd of 14,018 to Denver’s Ball Arena, making it the most attended professional women’s hockey game in the history of the United States. It was a special day for the sport that also made for great television.

In this edition of SVG Rewind, we speak with the front bench from the broadcast of that game – producer Katie Halter and director Amanda Smerage – about what goes into a PWHL broadcast, how things are different for Takeover Tour games, how they adjusted when the on-air announcers weren’t able to make it to site due to flight issues, and what it meant to them to be the first all-female producer-director tandem for a PWHL broadcast.

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NOTE: The next edition of the PWHL Takeover Tour takes place this Sunday as the Ottawa Charge face the Montréal Victoire at the Videotron Centre in Québec City at 1 p.m. ET. In addition to in-market distribution, all PWHL live game broadcasts can be watched on the league’s YouTube channel.

For more episodes of SVG Rewind, as well as access to all SVG live event panels, case studies, keynotes, and more, visit SVG PLAY.

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