By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Tuesday, January 21, 2025 – 10:30 am
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In an era when sports production is evolving faster than ever, a new generation of leaders is beginning to make its mark on the industry. Our new SVG All-Stars series explores the journey of the industry’s rising executives, showcasing their experiences and career highlights in the business, overarching philosophy and leadership strategy, technological and creative innovation, and where they see the industry headed. Join us as we uncover the story behind their ascent and the impact they are having in an ever-evolving industry.
Innovation is the name of the game in today’s hyper-competitive world of live sports production. Each year, major championship events inspire new levels of technology, storytelling tools, and programming initiatives designed to drive tune-in and develop a deeper engagement with audiences.
In live sports production and operations, you have to be ready for anything. On even the biggest, most successful remote live productions, things can — and will — go wrong. When those unforeseen challenges do arise, you want a cool customer like Danny Kopilnick.
Kopilnick started his journey in the industry in 2015 with stints at Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball Advanced Media before becoming a media-asset manager for CBS Sports Network. At CBS Sports, he quickly climbed the ranks, filling such roles as broadcast associate, operations coordinator, unit manager, and production manager. He ascended to his current role as director of remote operations in 2022. These days, he’s a critical member of the broadcaster’s golf team, managing operations behind the scenes of events as big as The Masters, the PGA Championship, and other major PGA TOUR stops.
In this week’s edition of SVG All-Stars, Kopilnick shares the journey of his career, stresses why it’s important to remain “calm in chaos” in operations, and gives his advice for making an impact in one’s first jobs in this industry.
Daniel Kopilnick, here at last year’s Masters Tournament, has been a fixture behind the scenes at CBS Sports since 2016.
What are the key responsibilities of your current role?
As one of our directors of remote operations, I oversee the pre-planning, onsite, and post-event logistics of all our golf events, including The Masters, the PGA Championship, and the PGA TOUR. I also oversee some specialty NFL projects, including the Nickelodeon simulcasts.
I work directly with our production and technical teams to ensure our broadcasts have all the aspects of what make them look great. Essentially, our team is charged with making sure everyone has what they need onsite to produce the shows at the highest level. Those aspects include credentials, parking, catering, travel, personnel onsite, camera positions and structures, compound integration with vendors and other networks, and many more. I work with incredible people to help manage all these shows; they are the best at what they do.
What one key industry trend do you believe is having a major impact on your organization right now?
One challenge that every industry faces is rising costs. Everyone wants to put forth the best product within the scope of their budget. The product is the most important thing, and finding solutions that are budget-friendly yet won’t negatively impact the product can be difficult. The operations, production, and technical teams at CBS Sports all do an incredible job working together to ensure we have the highest-quality broadcasts while finding the best solutions that meet our budget requirements.
Kopilnick oversees the remote-operations teams for CBS Sports’ golf coverage. Here he’s at the 2023 TOUR Championship with lead golf producer Sellers Shy.
What is one core philosophy you try to live by when managing your team/operation?
Calm in chaos. We work in live events, and things are going to go wrong, and things are going to be hectic. But, as a leader on the operations team, where most problems land at your feet, being able to be calm, process information, and act accordingly is of the utmost importance. People will react better to your decisions, and you’ll be better able to articulate what needs to happen, if you remain calm in those moments.
What is your favorite event(s) you’ve ever worked?
My favorite event all-time that I’ve worked must be the 2019 Masters. It was my first year working The Masters, Tiger’s incredible comeback to winning his fifth green jacket, and my first real opportunity to work one of CBS’s major events. I was a small part of a huge broadcast, but it felt great to be a part of that team, and I knew I wanted to work in Augusta every year for the rest of my career.
Other highlights must be the Nickelodeon NFL games, including last year’s Super Bowl; PGA Championships; and my favorite stops on the PGA TOUR: Farmers Insurance Open (La Jolla, CA), Genesis Invitational (Pacific Palisades, CA), and RBC Heritage (Hilton Head, SC).
Kopilnick works on special projects during the NFL season, including the Nickelodeon alternative broadcast of this month’s AFC Wildcard game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans. Here, he’s onsite with colleagues (from left) Emily Sandor, Jill Calandra, Meaghan McConnell, and Jessica Van Valkenburg.
How did you get started in sports production? What was your first real job in the business?
I was an intern in the remote-production department for CBS Sports Network the summer after my sophomore year of college. I knew how much I wanted to be in the sports-TV business, and it led me to work as a PA on CBS Sports Network remotes and studio shows while I was home from college the following two years before graduating.
Once I graduated, I worked as a logger at Major League Soccer and as a PA at MLB Advanced Media before getting my first full-time job at CBS in the Media Asset Management department. Working overnights from New York for the first couple of months, including during Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco, reaffirmed how much I wanted to be in this field. I met so many great people in my time working in MAM, many of whom I still work with today.
Kopilnick helped support the Nickelodeon alternative broadcast during the Super Bowl in Las Vegas last year. Here, he’s in the truck with (from left) Andy Freedman, Alanna Campbell, Ken Mack, Jenn Bryson, Shawn Robbins, Ashley Kaplan, Mario Calero, DJ Driscoll, Jeremy Thelen, and (front center) Brian Seeling.
What one piece of advice do you have for someone just starting their career in this industry?
Listen to what everyone around you is saying and understand the full scope of what you are working on. These are two things that I have tried to prioritize and pride myself on in my career. A lot of the time, when starting out or starting a new role, people can think they have all the answers, but sometimes the best way to get started is to just listen. Listen to those who have been there before you, understand what they know, and then take that information and try to improve the product you are working on. TV broadcasts are a team, and, if one person comes in and tells everyone else on the team that they know better, the team won’t respond well. I learned so much from the people I work with, and those who have shared their knowledge of the golf world have been immense in my career growth.
The other side of that is understanding the full scope of the project. In operations, we work with all the other departments, so understanding why a camera position is in a certain place or what type of camera or audio equipment is being used in the field can help you do your job better. You don’t need to know how to run a piece of fiber or operate a camera to be successful in operations, but knowing why they are there or what is being used will help immensely in the planning, onsite-troubleshooting, and post-event–budgeting aspects of the job.
To read more of the SVG All-Stars series, CLICK HERE.
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