Marc Herklotz

When it comes to television production, a technical director is very much behind the scenes. Manning the production switcher in the production truck and turning the vision of the director and producer into reality, the TD is never in the stadium or arena during the event. But, from that position (usually in a parking lot outside the venue), they ensure that tens of millions of fans tuning in feel like they are in the venue, driving the production switcher to cut cameras, visual effects, graphics, replays, and much more.

For those who, like Marc Herklotz, take the role to new heights, it’s a mixture of not only technical chops but creativity and, ultimately, trust.

“There’s a symbiosis between the director and TD that is a relationship unlike anything else on the crew,” he says. “The director has to be comfortable with the TD as if there’s not a lot of things that can go haywire.”

Herklotz was at the center of some of ESPN’s biggest moments for nearly 30 years, technical-directing Sunday Night Baseball (1994-2019), Sunday Night Football (1996-2005), Monday Night Football (2006-18), Home Run Derbies (1993-2019). And he also was able to TD outside ESPN, working on the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics on NBC, the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics on CBS, the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics on NBC, and similar events.

Being a successful TD is not only a combination of physical and technical skills but also a bit of ESP-like magic.

“I just loved that, sometimes, I could mind-read a director because he was so clear in his verbal commands,” says Herklotz. “I could almost guess what he wanted next, with [former HBO director] Marc [Payton] being a primary example of that. I was able to know where he was going because he had a rhythm and was such a remarkable sports fan. He was looking at the production not only technically from camera cuts but also from the sports viewer’s standpoint, and that’s really important because we’re there to serve the viewer.”

During his career, Herklotz was honored with four national Emmy Awards: two in 1992 for ESPN’s America’s Cup coverage (technical team remote) and the NBC Summer Olympics (technical team studio), one in 1994 for CBS Winter Olympics (technical team remote), and one in 1996 for NBC Summer Olympics (technical team studio). And some key moments in sports history that Herklotz was technical-directing on are remembered by sports fans and non-fans alike because they were transformative.

“I worked consistently for ESPN/ABC from 1989 through 2019 and was on at least 2,000 events,” says Herklotz. “I was the technical director for many of the biggest remote-production shows at the network for 30+ years [between 20 and 40 cameras on a weekly basis], performing at the highest level. I missed two days due to illness in those 30+ years, and I TDed every ESPN NFL broadcast from 1996 through the 2019 Pro Bowl and didn’t take a single game or event off.” It’s worth noting that only two directors worked all of those shows with no substitutions: Payton from 1996 through 2000 and Chip Dean from 2001 through the 2019 Pro Bowl.

Herklotz notes some of the best memories of his career:

The reopening of the New Orleans Superdome in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina, working alongside director Chip Dean and producer Jay Rothman: “The stadium underwent extensive renovations,” he says, “and, on Sept. 25, 2006, hosted its first regular-season game since the hurricane. Its reopening served as a visible reminder of the city’s ability to recover. TDing for [British director] Hamish Hamilton for the pregame Green Day/U2 performance was particularly special because it symbolized the resilience of New Orleans and the Saints. The event drew a massive television audience, with ESPN reporting its largest audience at the time. It was more than just a football game; it was a powerful symbol of hope and a testament to the spirit of New Orleans.”

Cal Ripken Jr.’s breaking Lou Gehrig’s MLB consecutive-game record, working alongside Marc Payton and producer Phil Orlins: “As he left the field in the middle of the fifth inning on Sept. 6, 1995, no one would have been able to tell that he was breaking a record that many thought was unbreakable. His head was down as he casually jogged toward the Baltimore Orioles dugout, without so much as a wave to the crowd. But what was happening on the field nearby was a very different story.

“The moment Manny Alexander caught Damion Easley’s pop fly to end the top of the inning, Camden Yards erupted into applause. The 0 in 2,130 hanging on the B&O Warehouse aptly dropped to show 2,131 as the night air became flooded with black and orange balloons.

“Ripken said in an interview that it just kept going and going, and after one handshake, two handshakes, two looks in the face, all of a sudden, it became a whole lot more intimate celebration.”

Speed skating at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games, highlighted by Dan Jansen’s emotional victory and Bonnie Blair’s dominance, working alongside director Mike Arnold and producer Mark Wolfe; Josh Hamilton’s hitting 28 home runs in the first round at the 2008 Home Run Derby in Yankee Stadium (directed by Jimmy Moore); the Music City Miracle, which is still featured in NFL commercials 25 years after it occurred and was directed by Marc Payton and produced by Fred Gaudelli: “The Music City Miracle was an American football play that took place on Jan. 8, 2000, during the NFL Playoffs and occurred at the end of the AFC Wild Card Playoff game between the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills at Adelphia Coliseum [now Nissan Stadium] in Nashville. After the Bills had taken a 16–15 lead on a field goal with 16 seconds remaining in the game, on the ensuing kickoff return, Titans tight end Frank Wycheck threw a lateral pass across the field to Kevin Dyson, who ran 75 yards to score the winning touchdown to earn a 22–16 victory. Marc and Fred were very excited about it, but I was just sitting there, calmly doing my gig. That’s my job: to not get emotional because it can be really detrimental for a TD.”

Herklotz’s journey to those big-time moments began in a very small (yet urban) town called Bellevue in Kentucky, located about five minutes from downtown Cincinnati.

With three older sisters and two younger brothers, he grew up in what he describes as a close-knit family with a Brady Bunch vibe. His father was an accountant, his mother a registered nurse, and his maternal grandfather a pharmacist and a talented painter and musician.

“That musical thread is still a common strain through my life and extends to the broadcast medium,” he says, noting, “I was a music major for my first two years at Morehead State University. During one of our breaks, my oldest sister’s roommate, who worked at WCET Cincinnati, invited us for a tour of the studios. I saw a video switcher and realized that is what I wanted to do. I changed my major to radio, TV, and journalism and, in my remaining time at school, worked at the NPR station, WMKY, and worked the audio board on things like All Things Considered and local shows.”

After graduation and being initially rejected by the four local Cincinnati over-the-air TV stations, he sought help from a sister’s friend who was a cultural reporter at WLWT Cincinnati to at least land an interview.

“She got me an interview with the production manager, and they hired me into the prop and floor department,” he recalls. “I learned everything from moving flats around to stage-managing and running prompter. I also got to go down to Riverfront Stadium [where the Reds played] and stage-manage baseball games, where we supplied the crew for all the visiting feeds.”

With the Reds and Bengals playing well, Herklotz says, there were lots of opportunities to work alongside greats like Tim McCarver, Harry Kalas, John Gonzalez, Harry Coyle, Bucky Gunts, and Ted Nathanson. “It was right place, right time,” he says.

In 1985, he took his next step working vacation relief for the Engineering Department. It was then that he had a chance to do everything from working camera to loading cart machines and more.

“I got to learn all the different jobs and perspectives, doing one job for two hours and then moving to another one,” he recalls. “I would stay after work because I was self-motivated and hyper-curious about how things worked in the patch bays and the infrastructure of the station. That’s also when I got to watch Ronnie Whitacre TD while I was running camera and doing tape. Eventually, I started to TD for baseball games, and, in 1989, I got a call from ESPN to do a college basketball game in Columbus, OH, with the director Kenny Fouts.”

Fouts enjoyed working with Herklotz, and that begat more opportunities.

“In the ’80s,” he explains, “you had a still store and DVE, and you had the switcher, and the TD would build the look. For the last preseason SNF game, we would roll the truck over to the other side of the parking lot and work on building the look of the regular-season show, everything from replay wipes to effects and transitions. I created a replay wipe for ESPN that was used across the network until the Creative Services Department started building standalone replay wipes and transitions for each show.

“That’s an example of something I was proud of being able to do creatively,” he continues. “I wasn’t there just as a technician. I would sell ideas to the director and producer; if they bought, it was the greatest feeling in the world. More often than not, they would be buying what I was selling.”

In 1990, ESPN landed its first MLB package, and Fouts asked Herklotz to TD Wednesday baseball.

“I would do those games while working at the station,” he says. “I was working seven days a week and trading days off so I could work more.”

More happenstance occurred while Herklotz was in Pittsburgh for a Pirates game. Jimmy Moore, who would direct weekday baseball and TD for ESPN baseball’s Sunday-night game, was in town and asked Herklotz if he would like to fill in for him on Sunday Night Baseball because they both worked similarly.

“That’s when I met Marc,” adds Herklotz. “We hit it off immediately and had this incredible trust. I’m still in awe of Marc, and it was a real pleasure to do Sunday Night Baseball and Sunday Night Football with him.”

SNF also afforded Herklotz a chance to work with Gaudelli, again forming a strong bond. “Fred, in my estimation, is the greatest football producer who has ever lived,” Herklotz says.

By this point, Herklotz’s reputation was well-established, and nearly all the big ESPN shows came calling, along with the opportunity to work with other legends like Dean and Rothman on SNF for 18 years.

“Chip was an incredible director and a magnificent organizer and general who was beloved by his crews,” says Herklotz.

He maintains that the key to relationships for a TD, who takes the audible cues to “cut to Camera 1” and physically presses the button to put that camera on-air, is the ability to communicate. “I know that sounds simplistic, but I worked with some local directors who didn’t communicate that well, and it wasn’t easy. If the director and TD have a tight bond, the director trusts that you will wait a beat before making a cut.

“For example,” he continues, “in baseball, the pitcher might fake a throwover, and the director will call the pick-off camera. I would wait a beat because, if you make the cut and the pitcher doesn’t throw over, it looks wrong. So, if I saw the pitcher deking, I would just lay off the button.”

Herklotz also worked with director Doug Holmes on baseball and on two America’s Cups and describes those shows as a joy. “On shows like the Home Run Derby,” Herklotz says, “he was always looking for a better way to do the broadcast. The same was true of Chip and Marc and Jimmy: they always wanted to find a better way to do the show. They all pushed the envelope.”

Herklotz will be the first to admit that being a TD is a bit of a high-wire act. “There’s advertising going through your fingers,” he notes. “If you perform a gaffe, you can lose the network money. If the TD makes a mistake, everybody notices. So you need to be hyper-aware and accurate. Always.”

But, of course, things do go wrong, and the key for a TD is to be ready with a backup plan.

“You’d lose a DVE, or you’d lose a channel or something,” he says. “There were times when I’ve lost two MEs and even had a couple of shows where the switcher crashed entirely. Then I’m switching on a transmission router or a small backup switcher.”