ESPN will offer a WNBA Finals-level production arsenal — more than a dozen cameras — to document Brittney Griner’s first two games this season. richarddeitsch details the planning that goes behind the production:
When ESPN first learned the date of Griner’s return game, Gaiero said ESPN’s programming department immediately started working with the WNBA to ensure the game would air on ESPN. The company worked internally to figure out where to slot the game given a very busy stretch of properties during the month. The WNBA ended up modifying the start time for ESPN to make things work. Said Gaiero: “We knew right away this was a game we needed to produce.
“The focus that we talked about is celebrating her return,” Gaiero said. “This is a circumstance that we’ve never faced before. The best part about what we’re challenged to do is focus on Brittney is back playing basketball, and that’s where she belongs, and that’s what she is great at. What I’ve challenged and talked with our production team about is, let’s document that. Let’s document her being back playing basketball. We’re not going to get deep into the past and the detainment.
“As far as her play on the court, I think people will be giving her the grace she deserves after being out so long. Many people will be watching the game just because of BG and may be watching the WNBA for the first time. We understand our audience dynamic may be different than usual, but I don’t think that will impact how we call the game.
“I think the momentum coming off of our women’s college basketball coverage has laid the foundation right to what I do expect to see will be an increase of viewership of the WNBA this summer,” Gaiero said. “We saw it a little bit with the WNBA Draft. It was the second most viewed draft since 2004. It’s about storylines and particularly with women viewers and casual viewers, what the research has proven is they are here for the range of quality storytelling.
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