NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – WGNO goes behind the scenes at the Superdome to see why ESPN’s Monday Night Football remains the leader in sports broadcasting for the past forty-four seasons.
“We got robotics on the goal line. We got robotics on the sideline,” says Senior Operations Manager Steve Carter with more than thirty years in sports TV. “We got robotics on the goal post. Plus our show is the only 1080p show.”
Click on the video above to see Tyler Wing’s behind the scenes assignment from the November 24, 2014 Ravens vs Saints ESPN telecast.
ABC was rolling the dice back in 1970 broadcasting football ball games on Monday night.
But along with the big gamble airing NFL in prime time, came innovation, “We’re testing new technologies today that we can’t even talk about,” says Carter.
Since the start, Monday Night Football’s technological advances pioneer how the game is now televised.
“The behind the scenes is really where it happens and where it’s at,” says play-by-play man Mike Tirico. “It takes far more people than who you see on TV. Without the people behind the scenes there’s absolutely no way the show gets on.”
MNF is one of the longest running and highest rated prime time TV shows ever.
Carter says combining state of the art technology with an experienced crew pushing that technology, keeps MNF on the cutting edge of sports TV, “The biggest difference today is there’s more of everything.”
“High definition changed the way sports is viewed on TV, says Tirico. “That’s been the game changer in televising pro sports.”