Tagged: ‘Mark Gross’

posted by on December 26, 2012 12:30 PM

Forward/Rewind: SportsCenter and ESPN Audio

ESPN AUDIO

Traug Keller

Traug Keller

Traug Keller, Senior Vice President, Production, Business Divisions

#Hashtags of the year for 2012:
#NY987FM and #ESPNDeportesNuevaYork. Both new stations added extensively to our reach in the country’s No.1 market. And the ability to have New York Mets games in Spanish is a great thing for baseball fans.

#Hashtag of the year for 2013:
#Multiscreen. Whether it’s Watch ESPN Deportes or ESPN Audio on XM Sirius, Tune-in, Slacker or a new one I can’t mention yet, our content will be reaching more eyes and ears in the new year.

A big prediction for your property in 2013:
The Knicks, heard on ESPN New York 98.7 FM, will make it to Eastern Conference Finals. Likewise, our growth in Hispanic Audio, TV and Digital will reach new heights.

FrontRowDesign_FinalEditor’s Note: With this two-week series — the Front Row Forward/Rewind, 2013/2012 — ESPN’s Communications Department takes the pulse of content executives throughout ESPN for their views on what’s ahead across ESPN for 2013 and some of what transpired in 2012. The snapshots provide a look at where ESPN has been, where it’s going and how it plans on getting there.

SportsCenter

Mark Gross, ESPN Sr. Vice President & Executive Producer

Best off camera moment:
That would have to be our reaction to Hurricane Sandy. There were certainly no lights or cameras capturing our people helping each other through the storm that impacted so many in Connecticut. Families took in families who lost power or whose houses were damaged. While everyone knows how important work is, people here always find the time to help out those they work with.

Mark Gross

Mark Gross

Favorite segment or interview:
That’s like asking who your favorite child is — I was proud of so many things we accomplished in 2012. There were so many memorable moments — analysis and interviews, story-telling and breaking news — that originated from our studio shows and game coverage that it’s impossible to single one out.

#Hashtag of the year for 2013: continue reading…

Filed in: Forward/Rewind 2012-13

posted by on November 30, 2012 8:00 AM

Fan Central Mailbag: How fans can watch the FCS playoffs; The overall depth of ESPN’s offerings

Welcome to another edition of the Fan Central Mailbag. Remember, if you have an ESPN-related question, follow us @ESPN_FanCentral and use #FanCentralMB to tweet your questions. You can also e-mail them to FanCentral@ESPN.com.

We’ll start off this week by addressing an issue that has been the subject of fan emails and tweets over the past week or so: ESPN’s coverage plans for the 2012 NCAA FCS playoffs (formerly Division I-AA).

To start, every first, second and quarterfinal round game of the FCS playoffs will be shown exclusively on ESPN3, which is available at no additional cost to fans who receive their Internet or video subscription from an affiliated provider (see full list of providers). To accommodate fans who are not with these affiliated providers, the following second round games are available on GamePlan tomorrow:

• South Dakota State vs. North Dakota State, 4 p.m. ET
• Stony Brook vs. Montana State, 7 p.m.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will televise quarterfinal and semifinal games beginning a week from today (click for full schedule). Finally, the 2012 NCAA FCS Championship game will be on ESPN2 on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 1 p.m.

Why does ESPN focus so much on debate these days? – Kige continue reading…

Filed in: ESPN Fan Central

posted by on September 5, 2012 12:00 PM

SportsCenter’s executive producer, Mark Gross, discusses SC FAQs

SportsCenter Set (Rich Arden/ESPN)

Editor’s Note: As SportsCenter approaches its 50,000th episode (expected to be Thursday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. ET), Front Row will present content related to the show and the milestone.

ESPN Senior Vice President and Executive Producer Mark Gross joined ESPN in 1988 and has played an integral role in the growth of SportsCenter since. Currently, he oversees the strategic direction for SportsCenter (among other assignments) and he recently addressed some of the most common SportsCenter-related topics and questions with Front Row.

On the SportsCenter mission and definition:
SportsCenter is a sports news and information program that serves sports fans through reporting, highlights and context. It shows the most interesting stories and highlights for the biggest audience and when you get through everything else, the most important thing SportsCenter does is document the day and night in sports just like a game telecast would document a game.

On potentially excessive coverage of select players or teams:
We cover the stories that resonate with the widest number of people. That’s what drives our editorial decisions every single day. We can’t do everything for everybody all at the same time, yet we do try to broaden our coverage when we can to cover teams that may have relatively smaller followings. Ultimately, there is no mistaking what our research and ratings tell us about what we cover. While we are aware of the pockets of feedback about coverage fatigue relative to certain players or teams, those same teams and players have wide appeal.

Mark Gross

On repetition of stories throughout multiple shows:
When people comment about the SportsCenter repetition, I completely understand that argument, especially since I watch more SportsCenter than most. What you have to remember though is that the average viewer is watching SportsCenter for limited portions at a time. So what may seem like repetition to those who watch it all, to most it’s primarily new material. Another factor is given our role as a 24-hour sports news source, we are defined in many ways by big sports stories. Sports fans rely on us in those situations more than any other time. It’s similar to how news networks cover election campaigns around the clock or how viewers turn to the Weather Channel for comprehensive coverage of a hurricane. Viewers expect wall-to-wall coverage from every angle; that’s why they tune in, and that’s what networks deliver.

On SportsCenter covering leagues/players/teams that ESPN, Inc. has a business relationship with: continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes