Behind The Scenes

See hours of changes on the Bristol SportsCenter set in less than a minute; preview SC’s 2014 new home

When most people hear “ESPN,” they probably think of SportsCenter. A lot of people probably can hum the theme song.

But what most fans know little about is all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into ESPN’s flagship news and information program. The time-lapse video above should shed some light on that.

It chronicles a day in the life on the SportsCenter set — inside Studio F on ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., campus.

This one studio is the home of up to 17 hours of live SportsCenter each day from 9 a.m. ET (or 8 a.m. on weekends) until the 1 a.m. ET edition airs from the Los Angeles Production Center.

A typical day on-set starts about two hours prior to the first show. During the initial 120 minutes, the producer, director and other control room staffers prep for the show, anchors write and review their scripts, and the on-stage crew tests equipment and preps the studio.

As the day progresses, the crew changes — including anchors, control room team and studio staffs. Shows can change in seconds depending on the events of a specific day. The set pieces, cameras and people often move just as frequently.

“Communication and preparation are the keys to success,” said director Becky Coole. “If we are prepared for any scenario and communicate well, we can be successful in delivering a clean and well-executed show, no matter what curveballs come our way.”

Top video produced by Brad Faison

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