Sports TV News

Amanda Gifford: ESPN Hopes Technology Will Remain Big Part of College Football Broadcasts

Published

1 month ago

October 30, 2023

(Photo: Joe Faraoni/ ESPN Images)

As more technology enters sports broadcasts, networks will try to find any way they can to bring the viewer closer to the game. That holds true for ESPN and their college football coverage each week.

This week, Amanda Gifford, the Vice President of Production and the leader of college football/XFL productions for ESPN, was a guest on the Sports Media With Richard Deitsch Podcast. Deitsch asked Gifford where she sees the future of college football broadcasts going and the big thing she was talking about going into the year was access.

“One thing that we went into this season talking about is access and that’s something that we are really pushing with our crews this year. How are we taking our viewers behind the curtain of what happens during a typical college football game? We’ve had some success with the pregame speech from Dan Lanning at Oregon….That was a great example of access. But, what’s the next step of that?”

“It would be great to have even more access in four years. Can we hear the conversation between the coordinators and head coaches? Can we hear the conversations between the head coaches and players? Can we put a camera on the quarterback in some way? How we push for access I think will be interesting and see how that evolves over the next couple of years.”

Gifford brought up the point that technology is a big innovator for college football and one of the things she is hoping for is that the camera angles continue to evolve for the viewer.

“I think technology is always going to be a big part of our college football broadcasts. How are we innovating the main things like the pylon cam, the 1st and 10 line? How are we getting past the chains and human part of it? Camera angles, I really hope we can continue to push different camera angles. We’ve done things like the pylon cam, (and) the ref hat cam. I feel like the view of the game hopefully will continue to get even more intricate as we evolve over the next few years.”

As the network gets set for the first set of College Football Playoff Rankings to be revealed on Tuesday, the viewership of college football has been up for ESPN this year and Giffords did say that Deion Sanders has played a small part in that now that he is coaching Colorado.

“I think the first thing is probably some of the big brands of college football are doing really well. A lot of the traditional powers are having really good years. Deion Sanders can not be denied as a storyline and why there has been such an upswing of viewership especially in the PAC-12. Every game we have done of his has performed really well from a ratings perspective and he has brought a new element to college football that expands beyond the traditional college football fan.”

Ricky Keeler

Ricky Keeler is a reporter for BSM with a primary focus on sports media podcasts and national personalities. He is also an active podcaster with an interest in pursuing a career in sports media. You can find him on Twitter @Rickinator555 or reach him by email at [email protected].

Up Next

Mookie Betts Joins MLB Network for World Series Game 3

Don't Miss

Mike Breen Inks Contract Extension with ESPN

Sports TV News

SEC Commissioner Tells Pat McAfee Someone at ESPN Leaked 2024 Schedule Without Permission

“We were trying to protect it. Someone at ESPN apparently leaked it.”

Published

2 days ago

December 1, 2023

Jeff Kotuby

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey isn’t particularly thrilled that his new top broadcast partner leaked a portion of next year’s schedule a bit early.

During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, which just so happens to be an ESPN property, Sankey mentioned his displeasure at the Worldwide Leader for leaking a portion of the 2024 SEC schedule early. According to Sankey, the league and the network agreed to release the schedule together in the near future.

“We were trying to protect it,” Sankey said. “Someone at ESPN apparently leaked it,” according to Yahoo Sports college football reporter Ross Dellenger.

Greg Sankey, on Pat McAfee Show, displeased that the SEC’s own TV partner, ESPN, reported a portion of the 2024 schedule this week – two weeks before the network & league had agreed to unveil the schedules.

"We were trying to protect it. Someone at ESPN apparently leaked it."
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 1, 2023

While leaks in the media space are hardly a new phenomenon, especially when it comes to something as desirable as a football conference’s yearly schedule, a leak this early in the newly-formed ESPN-SEC relationship is less than ideal. Starting next season, ESPN will take over as the SEC’s primary broadcast partner, assuming the position CBS had long held for decades.

In the leaked portion of the schedule, the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide will play in the regular season for just the third time in the past 15 years. We also know the Bulldogs will play the debuting Texas Longhorns in Texas, while the Tide will play the other Oklahoma Sooners on the road.

Jeff Kotuby

Jeff Kotuby is a nationally-published journalist with bylines on many popular broadcasting and pop culture sites, including The Streamable, eBaum’s World, Twin Galaxies, and more. Jeff grew up in the shadows of New York City and cultivated his love for sports media with the classic broadcasting voices of the area, like Mike & The Mad Dog, Mike “Doc” Emerick, and Michael Kay. You can reach Jeff on Twitter @JeffKotu3y.

Sports TV News

Jim Boeheim Making Analyst Debut on ACC Network, Joining The CW

Published

2 days ago

December 1, 2023

BSM Staff

Courtesy: Codie Yan, The NewsHouse

Former Syracuse Orange basketball head coach Jim Boeheim will make his debut as an analyst on Saturday, Dec. 2 on the ACC Network. Boeheim will be on the broadcast for the matchup between Florida State and North Carolina at 2 PM ET featuring play-by-play announcer Wes Durham and sideline reporter Cory Alexander.

Boeheim will make his studio debut on Tuesday, Dec. 5 during halftime of the men’s prime-time doubleheader games on the day – which consists of Central Connecticut against Boston College at 6 PM ET, followed by Cornell taking on Syracuse at 8 PM ET.

On the program, he will be joined by host Kelsey Riggs and analyst Luke Hancock, and he will also remain on the air for the 10 p.m. edition of Nothing But Net, the network’s signature basketball show.

Additionally, Jim Boeheim also joined Westwood One and is reportedly set to work on The CW coverage of ACC basketball, debuting this Saturday with pre-taped segments during halftime of two conference games. News of Boeheim working with The CW was first reported by Mike Waters of Syracuse.com.

Boeheim departed Syracuse University after 47 seasons as a coach and holding an overall win-loss record of 1,015-441. He has the second-most wins at the Division I level in the history of college basketball, only being surpassed by former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

BSM Staff

Sports TV News

Dan Le Batard: I Thought Pat McAfee Would Grow College GameDay, But That Hasn’t Happened

Le Batard said McAfee is playing under a different set of rules than others at ESPN.

Published

3 days ago

December 1, 2023

Jordan Bondurant

(Photo: ESPN Images)

Pat McAfee has checked all the boxes Disney and ESPN leadership had when the former NFL punter brought his daily sports talk show into the fray, but one area where it seems like the waters aren’t so smooth for McAfee is in his reception as an analyst on College GameDay.

GameDay viewers have not shied away from making their feelings known that they don’t like seeing McAfee on the show, and Dan Le Batard has found the criticism quite interesting.

On The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Thursday, Le Batard said he thought having Pat McAfee on GameDay would continue taking the show to the next level, but it turns out he was wrong in some respects.

“And so they get McAfee and they give him a new set of rules,” Le Batard said. “But I thought that would result in College GameDay getting bigger and better. More popular. I underestimated the allegiance that the viewer has to David Pollack.”

“I’m reading him and everyone around him saying he’s a good teammate, they all love him, they’re all getting along with him,” Le Batard added. “He is effusive, he is such a positive person. He is effusive in his praise for the people on that sat. But now the numbers are coming back, and this is something that McAfee couldn’t have expected.”

Executive producer Mike Ruiz chimed in saying that a contributing factor in the changing conditions at GameDay is due to the mass layoffs and non-renewals of more expensive talent over the last couple years. He said there was going to be a natural need to switch things up after cutting ties with the likes of Pollack, Tom Rinaldi, and Chris “The Bear” Fallica.

“The format of the show when you take someone like that, you’re changing it,” Ruiz said. “You’re changing the emotional stories that made you cry in advance of a Purdue/Ohio State game. All that stuff starts going away. And now it’s not just going away, some of that stuff is going to FOX.”

Dan Le Batard responded saying he wasn’t trying to blame Pat McAfee for Big Noon Kickoff closing the gap on GameDay and negative fan feedback. But all of a sudden now that FOX can tout its pregame show continuing to grow and be a successful alternative to ESPN’s product, the narrative shifts.

“I always say perception is not reality, but when all you have is perception and fudged numbers, FOX is saying, ‘We’ve caught College GameDay. We’ve caught one of the most popular shows in the history of sports television,'” Le Batard said.

Jordan Bondurant

Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.