For my old friend and former producing partner Jed Drake, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa is both his biggest challenge and a labor of love. As senior vice president and executive producer of event production for ESPN, his task will be as big as handling the Olympics.
Starting Friday and continuing through July 12, ESPN will present comprehensive coverage of the World Cup from stadiums in nine cities across South Africa. All 64 matches will be aired live in high definition on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, with extensive coverage also on ESPN3.com, ESPN Radio and ESPN Mobile TV. In addition, 2010 FIFA World Cup studio programs, including prematch, halftime and postmatch segments, will be presented in high definition.
Univision Communications has the Spanish-language broadcasting rights in the United States, and it, too, will have games available on Univision.com and Univision Mobil.
I spoke to Drake, who is in South Africa, about this huge event and the undertaking for the network.
Drake on the manpower that will be on hand » We will have a group of over 300 people, many of whom we have brought from the United States and Europe, here to handle all aspects of the broadcasts. We have left nothing to chance in getting ready for these games. We will even have our own generators at each site to make sure there are no power issues. This is twice the size of our effort in Germany at the last World Cup, and we have brought state-of-the-art high-definition equipment and trucks by boat from the States and Europe here to make sure the product meets and exceeds the standards that we have set at ESPN for all our big event programming.
Drake on ESPN making legendary British soccer commentator Martin Tyler the lead announcer » Martin Tyler is one of the top English-language soccer commentators in the world. His experience, authentic style and in-depth knowledge of the game will help elevate ESPN’s presentation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, informing and entertaining our viewers in the United States. As for the rest of our broadcast team, they present the sport at its highest level, and their first-hand knowledge of the players who will compete in the FIFA World Cup will greatly inform fans and enhance how we present this global event in the United States.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!
