‘Finebaum,’ ‘Golic and Wingo’ Full-Fledged TV Shows Return Thanks To Home Remote Productions
Here's how the respective teams have coordinated studios based in various locations around Charlotte, Bristol facilities
After two months of audio-only shows, The Paul Finebaum Show (3 – 7 p.m. ET weekdays | SEC Network) and Golic and Wingo (6–10 a.m. weekdays | ESPNEWS and after Korean Baseball Organization games on ESPN2; see sidebar below) return to TV this week from the homes of their respective hosts, thanks in large part to several ESPN employees also working from home.
Last week, the Finebaum team ran tests from home, along with a director working from the Charlotte (N.C.) Production Center. The crew powered through any potential challenges, including a tornado warning and power outages in the Charlotte area on Friday, to get the show ready for TV.
“I’ve never been more blessed to have this job,” Finebaum told Front Row. “These past few months have been the most important and rewarding of my career. Our team here has put its heart and soul into making every day’s program meaningful and memorable.”
https://twitter.com/secnetwork/status/1265683397579542528?s=11
While sports have certainly been on the minds of Finebaum callers, the show purposely hasn’t shied away from the heaviness of this time and the importance of finding hope.
“I don’t really feel comfortable just talking about sports [right now],” Finebaum told The Ringer last month. “To me, that doesn’t seem particularly important at the moment. What’s important is dealing with this every single day…..We’re in a place that we’ve never been before.”
Over the past two months, Finebaum and his production team have welcomed guests and fielded calls from all over the world. Here are a few of the Finebaum team’s favorite moments from the past two months:
“It’s got a nice lil hook to it…” –@TCUCoachP used some of the down time in his football life to explore another personal passion: Songwriting pic.twitter.com/9X398CMVLE
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) May 19, 2020
We put out a request earlier this week for truck drivers to call us … what we didn't expect was a call from a trucker in Germany! "Jeff" wanted us to hear his story, and he explained how other countries are coping with the current issues facing the world.
LISTEN: pic.twitter.com/e06m5doJBX
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) March 27, 2020
ICYMI: @PeerlessTheVol joined the show and talked through making one of the biggest plays in @Vol_Football history pic.twitter.com/HH4qAF2sac
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) May 18, 2020
Mike Golic Jr., Mike Golic and Trey Wingo broadcast from Golic’s basement studio. (Justin Craig/ESPN)
(L-R) Mike Golic Jr. and Mike Golic talk on the "Golic and Wingo" simulcast as senior director, Network Audio Content Justin Craig (unseen), monitors. (Justin Craig/ESPN)
Controller Motion Graphics Sam Gamez works from her home. (Sam Gamez/ESPN)
Josh Haskins directs the show from his home studio. (Josh Haskins/ESPN)
Lead Operations Specialist Scott Byrd has remote control of audio and vide through the Ignite System. (Scott Byrd/ESPN)
Producer Tom Roche monitors three screens. (Tom Roche/ESPN)Golic and Wingo, ESPN Radio’s four-hour (6–10 a.m. ET ESPNEWS | 8:30-10 on ESPN2 following KBO) morning drive program has been simulcast as an audio-only show on ESPN2 and ESPNEWS since mid-March. Beginning today, viewers again saw Mike Golic, Trey Wingo and Mike Golic, Jr. on camera (logos, still photos and videos had been presented) from the studio created in Golic’s basement (see photo gallery above).
(Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)
“Our team continues to create ingenious and innovative work-from-home workflows that allow us to return more content to our linear networks,” said SVP, Production Operations, Stacey Fitch. “For Golic and Wingo, we collaborated with Studio Directing, Remote Operations, Production and Transmission to introduce another new innovative model. We are now able to completely operate an automated control room on campus remotely. The production team will have access to all of the monitoring, panels and feeds they need to produce the show from their homes. We’ve also ensured the hosts will continue to social distance six feet apart.”
— Diane Lamb
