Wednesday, ESPN.com launched Kenny Mayne’s Wider World of Sports, an homage to ABC’s classic Wide World of Sports.
Mayne and his crew visited six countries on five continents to chronicle offbeat sports.
The new video series will feature one country per week over the next six weeks with four to five segments exploring the sports most important and unique to the indigenous people of each country.
At least, that’s the plan for now.
“I hope this is the start of something big,” said Mayne, a former SportsCenter anchor and star of ESPN.com’s Mayne Street video series.
“I’m talking space travel. Other planets. I liked my crew that much.”
Matt Doyle is the producer of the series.
He tells Front Row some of what you will see, some of what you won’t see — it involves a surprised lion — and what’s on the list of possible future destinations.
FR: How did Kenny Mayne’s Wider World Of Sports come to be, and how did you choose what parts of the Wider World to go to?
Doyle: Our show happened because many high-ranking executives at our network wanted to get Kenny out of their hair for an extended period of time. Wider World of Sports provided them with this opportunity. Green light. Simple as that. No, in reality Kenny had been kicking this idea around for years and for some reason it just seemed to fit everyone’s schedule this summer/fall. John Skipper and Rob King gave the go-ahead this spring and we literally left for England the very next week. As for choosing the countries, a lot of it depended on scheduling. We tried to have one large event as the centerpiece for each of our shoots. For example, the King’s Cup Elephant Polo tournament in Thailand was taking place in early September, so we locked that shoot in and planned others around it. We tried to shoot events/sports that we thought viewers would watch and say, “Man, I want to go do that.” Although next season Kenny wants to throw darts at a map to select the six countries. We’ll see.
FR: What’s your role in the production? Are you Roone Arledge to Kenny’s Jim McKay?
Doyle: Ha! I’m sure Mr. Arledge and Mr. McKay would be thrilled to be mentioned in the same breath as Kenny and me. Just kidding. My role in the production is fairly extensive. I come up with all of our planned segments and handle the logistics of setting up the international shoots with Aaron Frutman and Mike Andrus, our camera guys. On location, I’m a full-time producer/part-time photographer and all-day Kenny wrangler (he’s a known diva). When we get back from location, I work with Kenny on writing scripts before finally sitting in edit to produce the final features.
FR: You went to six countries on five continents. Which was your favorite and why?
Doyle: Kenny recently said that whenever we traveled to a new country, it instantly became our new favorite. That’s not far from the truth. Honestly, every country we traveled to had amazing aspects and provided us with experiences we’ll never forget. But if I’m forced to pick one spot, it would have to be Queenstown, New Zealand, aka “The Adventure Capital of the World.” It’s on the southern island of New Zealand, just a four-hour flight from Antarctica. We shot a segment where Kenny jumped off the Kawarau River Bridge, which is the birthplace of commercial bungy jumping. In order to keep bragging rights with the crew, I had to pull off a jump as well, and since I grabbed the water on my jump, it was ruled better than Kenny’s. That memory will last a lifetime and it’s why Queenstown was my favorite spot.
FR: What’s on the cutting room floor that you wish you could fit in?
Doyle: There are definitely a few things on the cutting room floor that we couldn’t fit in for a multitude of reasons (mostly because Kenny said too many swear words while shooting). One segment that didn’t make the initial run involved a safari at Johannesburg Lion Park. Our lion-handling friend Alex took us in a van to an open lion park, where he proceeded to get out of the van and grab a male lion in a “tender area.” It was complete insanity and great video, but it just didn’t fit in our tour of South Africa. When this series takes over the world, we’ll put it and other “bonus materials” on the DVD.
FR: Where would you like to go next and what sports would you like to try?
Doyle: We’ve already started looking at potential places to go for next year. Antarctica is high on my list.They run the Antarctic Ice Marathon in November, and that seems like a pretty epic shoot that we’d be able to bring to life. Also, the Palio di Siena in Italy is a horse race that barrels through the streets of Siena, Italy, with racers representing the different wards within the city. That’s another wild event, and it could technically count as one of Kenny’s contractually-mandated horse race appearances for next year. Book it. Two birds with one stone.
FR: Is there anywhere you and Kenny won’t go?
Doyle: No. Write it down. You name a place that has an interesting, fun or unique sport, we will be there. It’s our duty. As long as there is a five-star hotel with a spa for Mr. Mayne within two miles of the shoot (as well as a hostel for the crew to stay in), we will bring the Wider World of Sports team to your country.
FR: How do you get a job like this?
Doyle: Bribery and blackmail mostly. And if that doesn’t work, just come to ESPN and grind out 11 years in the system. I’ve been lucky enough to work with a lot of smart and helpful people during my time here, and they’ve all played a part in getting me to the position I’m in today. The great part about this place is if you work hard and have big ideas, ESPN has the resources to let you bring those ideas to fruition. But it also helps if Kenny thinks you’re funny.
