College football season officially kicks off Aug. 23, and the dominant force in the sport amps up its preseason preparation this week.
Over a period of more than 13 hours Tuesday and Wednesday members of ESPN’s college football contingent — some 200 people who serve play-by-play personnel, analysts, reporters and members of the production teams — will meet for the network’s annual college football seminar.
Everyone from those working games on ESPN+ to those who work prime-time matchups watched by millions on Saturday nights has been invited. Talent from the SEC Network and ESPN Radio will participate, as well as those from college football studio shows.
It’s clearly a team approach to prepare and share relevant information — which will include everything from the opinions of conference commissioners to information about the rollout of an updated graphics package for everything but SEC games (which were updated last season).
Last year the seminar was in person, and this year it’s virtual (the team will be using Teams). The two-day meeting had long been an in-person event at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn., but like many such meetings in the post-pandemic world, the approach changed a bit in recent years.
What remains consistent is ESPN’s commitment and quality.
It’s the best at college football, top to bottom, year to year, because of efforts like this. Yes, top teams at CBS and NBC do what they do well, and their work should be appreciated and lauded, but the breadth and depth of ESPN’s college football content sets it apart.
This year’s challenge/theme for those attending the seminar might set it apart as well.
“Think like a viewer.”
That’s the mindset ESPN senior vice president of production Amanda Gifford hopes to encourage and establish during the two-day seminar, and throughout the season. And the possibilities of such an approach are endless.
From consistently discussing in-game strategy and acknowledging game results, along with reminders about what’s to come on a specific Saturday or even bigger picture college football topics (NIL, the transfer portal, revenue sharing), it all matters to a viewer. Of course, the sport’s pageantry and traditions matter as well, so there’s a lot to consider when you think like a viewer.
That means there’s a lot to cover during the seminar.
Each of the four major college football commissioners will participate. Yes, that includes the Big Ten’s Tony Petitti. Even though ESPN does not have the rights to conference games, it’s focused on college football overall, not just its portion of the sport.
That’s certainly thinking like a viewer.
The seminar also includes sessions with ESPN executives in charge of programming, the executive director of the College Football Playoff (Rich Clark) and the national coordinator of officials (Steve Shaw).
There will be breakout sessions for each of the groups (event production, play-by-play, analyst, reporter) that’ll allow time for specific mentoring, sharing and tips among colleagues.
For example, Greg McElroy, the analyst for ESPN’s SEC package, not long ago worked many games where he was onsite, but the production team was not. Those games can be challenging for the on-air talent because what’s on their monitors lags a bit from the live action. So, McElroy’s in a good position to share expertise about how he handled those games with those who’ll draw such assignments this season.
Many similar potential interactions exist in each of the breakout sessions.
In addition, ESPN’s audience insights team will present on the second day, sharing research about what viewers want — especially regarding off-field topics. That information will certainly play a role as the think-like-a-viewer approach plays out during the season.
Some sessions in the seminar might be a little more one-way than others, but organizers hope for an interactive two-day session. They’ll encourage discussions, and prompt and prod by tossing out topics for opinion or reaction. Realistically, in a room full of ESPN talent (even a virtual room), there should be plenty of expertise and insights to share.
Especially if they think like a viewer.
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