Taylor Swift, Sunday Night Football & Production Perspectives

This Sunday, NBC’s Sunday Night Football has an intriguing broadcast to produce. The football game is between the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets. But, there will be a bigger draw and even “game” - if Taylor Swift comes to the stadium in NY to root for her new boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. 

So, why is Elliott writing about football and Taylor Swift in his “Notes” blog?

Last night, we had the opportunity to go to an in-depth panel presentation by the sportscasters and producers of Sunday Night Football, moderated by Savanah Guthrie and the Paley Center for Broadcasting in Manhattan.

As a Learning Producer and a Broadway Theater Producer, it was amazing to hear the technical aspects of how, each week, NBC produces several hours of football and football stories with 36 cameras, six production trucks and 22 seconds between plays to decide what to show or describe.

But, last night about 1/3 of the conversation was about how they would cover the game and also highlight Taylor Swift’s presence. Savannah actually made Taylor Swift bracelets for each of the panelists and the big question she posed:

Were they Over or Under on the number of times Taylor’s image would be broadcast. 20 was the presumption with the executive producer wanting to make it less (for pure football fans) but acknowledging how many Swift fans would be watching!

It is fascinating to think about the normal challenge of covering and expanding on over 140 plays during the game - with the attention to the action on the field. Yet, this Sunday their production might be quite different.

So, will I be watching the game on Sunday night? Absolutely - even though I am not a regular football fan. The treat of watching the production team and broadcasters talk about their tasks was an honor and I will be watching. I am betting with an “over” of 25 times they turn the attention to Taylor. The big question is will new advertisers jump into the broadcast to reach the “Swifties” that might be tuning in.

Yours in learning,

Elliott
Elliott Masie
MASIE Learning Foundation
MASIE Productions
www.masie.com
emasie@masie.com