Of all the talented and gifted people I have had the pleasure to work with, ESPN anchor extraordinaire Bob Ley is at the top of the list. Ley is a brilliant writer, works well under pressure and truly cares about soccer.
He will serve as the studio host for the network’s coverage of the 2010 World Cup live from the International Broadcast Center in Johannesburg, South Africa. We spoke by phone about his role and the network’s coverage:
Ley on the efforts made by ESPN to make World Cup 2010 a success » Three months ago I came to South Africa to do some stories for “Outside the Lines” and at that point I was told that an area that looked like a parking lot was where our International Broadcast Center was going to be located. As I speak to you today, I am sitting in a state-of-the-art, full-blown, amazing center that will be our home for the next month and I can tell you it is simply amazing the work that has been done to make these games a success. We are busy. I am doing some preview shows, Chris Fowler is working on some SportsCenter inserts and we are constantly doing something here. It is a 24-hour production content factory and we have not even begun the massive game coverage yet. In all, I think before the World Cup is over we will offer 250-300 hours of coverage area.
Ley on South Africa being the backdrop for the World Cup » The country has only been a democracy for 16 years. We know that is plenty for us to cover off the pitch with regard to the nation’s politics, the nation’s pride in hosting the games and the nation’s true love of the sport. Look, the World Cup is a true feast for those of us who love to tell stories and we will have plenty to tell. But once we turn our attention to soccer, that will take center stage. We will tell many stories before we leave South Africa, but our first order of business to make sure we deliver a first-class product to our soccer fans and I really think we have the dedicated and talented people to do that on all of our many platforms.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!
