Have you ever turned on ESPN or Comcast Sportsnet and just happen to catch a preview for the big game? It sparks your interest, it sounds like a pretty competitive match up and you think you may want to tune in to check it out later. You flip through your TV channel guide and discover that tip off is at seven tonight. Perfect, now you can invite your friends over for some pregame pizza at six, watch the game at seven, and kick everyone out by ten when the contest has been decided. Only a four hour ordeal, and the game was only on for three of them. Not bad.

Too often it goes unrecognized how much work the television networks do to broadcast an event like that. As I discovered last Monday night, It’s a lot more than just filming two teams pass and shoot a ball into a basket for three hours.

On Monday I had the privilege of shadowing the Philadelphia 76ers play-by-play announcer Marc Zumoff as he prepared to broadcast the Sixers hosting the Los Angeles Clippers at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia. I have always had aspirations to enter the sports broadcasting field, so this seemed like a wonderful opportunity to get a real understanding of what a career like this would entail in a game day situation.

I arrived at the Comcast Sportsnet entrance of the building to meet Marc at five o’clock. From there he took me through the newsroom of the network where most of the story writing and written game preparation took place. I asked him what time he would typically get to work to prepare for a broadcast, and much to my surprise he had arrived for this particular game at 11am, a full eight hours before tip off. “I haven’t seen the Clippers play at all in person this year, so I came into do a little research before the game.” explained Marc. This research included speaking with the players and coach, looking at individual playing statistics, and watching some game footage to get a better idea on how the team played so he could call a better game. Marc even showed me an entire spreadsheet with information on both teams. It was similar to a “cheat sheet” containing key players, their jersey numbers and other individual statistics he may want to mention over the course of the night. However it was not some intern or statistician who put this together for Marc, he made it. He made the analogy that it is like studying for a test. If he finds and puts the information together, then he will have more knowledge of the players and call a better game.

From the newsroom we went into the arena and onto the court where some of the Sixers and Clippers were working out: shooting baskets, perfecting moves, stretching. The Wells Fargo does not open to fans until six o’clock so the only people alongside the court were reporters, trainers, some select fans, and security. I sat in the sideline court seats and got to talk to some players as Marc went and took care of some business in the locker room.

Once Marc reappeared, he took me to the production truck. But what is the production truck? Essentially, its a television studio on wheels. On the outside it appears as any other trailer from a 16 wheeler big rig would. However, upon opening the door the inside studio looks similar to a NASA control room. The far side is wall to wall covered with monitors, each individual one displaying a different shot of the court from different cameras scattered through the arena. In front of that wall sits a long desk from one end of the truck to the other, where the producers and directors sit and conduct the live television broadcast during the game. Behind the producers and directors sit the people who are responsible for instant replay, graphics, and advertisements.

“It’s very hectic,” one producer told me. “I am constantly talking in Marc’s ear as he calls the game.” The crew uses about 15 cameras to film one game. Each of these cameras has a different responsibility; whether it is staying with a certain player, consistently maintaining a wide short of the court, or even capturing fans reactions in the crowd. Obviously the director cannot tell each camera what to do all the time. Afterall, it is a live sporting event where the course of play is unpredictable. A camera person can not completely miss the game winning shot and simply ask for a “take-two”. They have to constantly be on their A-game and obtain the shots that the people at home will want to see. Then it is up the the producers and directors back in the truck to make sure that that camera is the one being shown to the viewers at home. If they don’t make the correct calls, the camera person’s work will be for nothing.  

After experiencing the chaos that was the production truck, Marc took me back onto the court so I could see how he formally sets up before a broadcast just before the game begins. It’s hard for people to understand how many pieces have to be put together to make a televised event look good. Have you ever watched a pre game show where the commentators are talking about certain players? And then a video of that specific player is shown? Well that has to be set up ahead of time. For example Marc was going to be doing a segment on the threatening play-making ability of Clippers player Blake Griffin. So before the game, a camera man went over to speak to Blake about getting some shots of him warming up so that the network would have some footage to show over Marc’s analysis. This enables the television viewer to recognize what player is being talked about and who to watch out for during the game.

Being a member of North Penn Television, I do understand how much extra work goes into a television production that  isn’t recognized typically by the viewer. However my experience with Marc and observing the work that goes into broadcasting a full NBA game opened up a whole new appreciation of TV for me. Filming, interviewing, directing, producing, announcing, researching, advertising; there are so many time consuming elements that go into a three hour broadcast. So the next time you turn on a basketball, football, baseball, or hockey match, step back and realize how much work went into that broadcast. Afterall, it is all so that you can enjoy the game.