Behind
the TV: A week in the life of Cadle & Co.
Britball ventures behind the scenes
with the crew of Sky Sports basketball to find out the secrets that lurk
behind Daniel Routledge's microphone...
Lights, camera, tip off. If you're a regular
view of Sky Sports' British basketball 
coverage, you probably appreciate just how slick the two hour show hosted
by Kevin Cadle actually looks. Funky titles, cute graphics, cameras from
every angle and a bit of chat thrown in. Easy right ? Take a look behind
the two kilometres worth of cable, nine cameras, over 40 people and enough
trucks for a Leyland DAF convention and you only begin to scratch the top
of the cathode ray tube of an average Saturday evening broadcast.
On the day we took our peek around the
show, things hadn't yet gone to plan. The usual director was taken ill
at the last minute, nothing to do with the staff party the night before
so we're assured. A late replacement is being flown in to take over. The
sort of thing directors thrive on according to Production Assistant Gideon
Bard.
"Some people like the buzz of live television,
some don't. Directors love it. It can get stressful especially with a sport
like basketball, where there isn't much time to get replays ready. You
need to move fast before the game moves on. It's a quick deep breath and
get on with it."
Like any successful process, preparation
is key for the team headed by Executive Producer Sue Ashworth. The build
up to a live broadcast commences long before 7.00 on game night. Tuesday
morning: the ideas start flowing. What's the game of the week ? Who are
the personalities ? Where are the stories behind the teams ? Just how do
you get to the Arena ? From that point on the compass, the scripts, the
features strike out. By Friday, the editing wheels are in motion for those
high speed inserts in the show. The following morning, the trucks carrying
a mass of broadcast electronics will already have put down their anchor
at the venue of choice, joined by the crew after a spot of lunch. Then
the countdown to air time really ticks down.
Hanging out with the Sky posse, you really
get a feel for the team effort required to make the programme a success.
Between camera operators, production staff, director, vision mixer, sound
mixers, video tape operators and floor managers, there needs to be a seamless
line through the front of house personnel to reach you, the viewer.
"It can get stressful if problems happen
like the trucks blowing up but generally things run smoothly," explains
Ashworth, a producer of many years' experience on a variety of sports.
"There's not a lot of difference between the large and smaller arenas except
of course for Wembley. However when we started, there were only five places
we could do matches from whereas now only Derby, Chester, Thames Valley,
Worthing and Milton Keynes remain unavailable which is a positive sign."
Out in the car park, the fleet of lorries
contain the ultra-sophisticated equipment 
for tasks like editing, replays and captions. Suzanne Dando walks by. (And
yes, she is just as attractive in real life). I sit quietly as she does
a voice over for the pre-game team profiles in front of a bank of video
tape and television monitors. By contrast with the potential here to re-do
a fluffed word, at the show's end, the former gymnast has just a few moments
to digest the final result and devise the questions to put to the successful
team. Something to give your average punter nightmares but she carries
it off with aplomb.
5.30 pm: MC Cadle is putting his feet up,
having a chat about old times with his former assistant-in-chief Andre
Alleyne, the guest for the evening's show. Since taking a complete hiatus
from being Britain's most successful coach, Cadle has managed to bring
an insider's view to the show, able to spot the nuances and argue the points
raised. How is he coping with life off the bench?
"I'm really enjoying it and I certainly
don't miss the coaching, still being involved in basketball but not emotionally.
Doing games where I don't have to go home and worry because someone missed
a shot. I needed a mental and physical break away from the game.
"The one thing is trying to sit up there
and trying to remember what question I asked last week or five weeks ago,
so I don't repeat myself. I think where I'm having the problem adjusting
is trying to get coaches to tell the truth, to call it like it is. A lot
of them are afraid to say what the real deal is. For me, I've always enjoyed
talking about basketball so there's not much of an adjustment.
Adds Cadle: "I could definitely see myself
as a presenter rather than as a coach and at this point in my career, I
need to look at the possibility of going with that Plan B."
Some have criticised Sky for dominating
the sport and I put it to Ashworth that there was disappointment in some
quarters within the game that a "terrestrial" broadcaster did not pick
up the rights for Budweiser League when they were up for renewal last summer.
The Producer presents the case for the defense.
"I think you have to ask if any other channel
would divert two hours of peak time to show basketball and I think the
answer would be no. I believe the sport is pretty fortunate in that it's
one of only a few sports which get air time on Sky, BBC and ITV.
"I don't think we have any particular influence
over the game. We don't decide the teams, the times, the results. All we
do is move a tip off time from 7 o'clock to five past. I genuinely believe
we help to promote basketball and we enjoy being a part of its success.
It looks good televisually and I think the sport still appreciates us so
we get a lot of help to put it together."
Ashworth does however express a wish for
more seamless co-operation between media and sport: "We could still use
more information from the clubs, real stories rather than the habitual
news of someone being unlikely to play at the weekend who you know very
well will be OK. I believe that we need to create stars in this game, both
guys who are liked and disliked."
It's 6.58, the previous show has finished
and Cadle is doing a brief trailer for the evening's basketball. Two minutes
later, we're on air for 117 minutes (minus ad breaks) of hoop-casting.
Around the court, the crew seem calm. It's as smooth as a Jordan lay up
throughout and by the time Cadle utters those now slightly cheesy words
about style in basketball, everyone seems to agree that the night has been
a success. I'd find it hard to disagree. It's a wrap.
