Joanne Strange isn’t a name most people would recognize, but you have undoubtedly experienced her work if you are a regular viewer of the NFL. Strange’s formal title at ESPN is music operations supervisor. She leads the group responsible for all the music on ESPN’s NFL and college football shows.
If you hear Toto’s “Hold the Line” on “Monday Night Football” this year following a nice block by an offensive lineman, that’s the work of Strange and her colleagues. When MNF came back from one commercial break during the Seattle Seahawks–Detroit Lions game on Sept. 30, ESPN producers showed an overhead shot of Detroit with “Exciting Funk,” a Motown-sounding track from the APM Music library, playing underneath. Again, the work of Strange and her team.
“I think music really helps tell the story of a game, and we want people to feel the game when they’re watching it,” said Strange, who has worked at ESPN for 18 years. “We want them to be part of the experience of the game. We all know music is very subjective, and I’ve learned over the years that you’re never going to make every person watching the game happy with your choices. You just do what’s best for your production. I want what we do to sound as great as our announcers and production crew.”
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Music has always been an integral part of NFL broadcasts and a huge source of enjoyment for the people who work in sports television. Jim Rikhoff, the lead producer for CBS’ No. 1 NFL team, is a huge old-school music fan. He holds a music meeting every Tuesday where he and CBS Sports broadcast associates Kidje Theano and Brian Maher discuss potential music options for their Sunday broadcast. Rikhoff said he particularly loved using “La Grange” by ZZ Top earlier this season after Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins scored a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders. Why that song? Well, Dobbins is from La Grange, Texas.
“Your selections can be kitschy or tongue-in-cheek, and sometimes there’s a subtle connection that viewers have to discover,” Rikhoff said. “Some people might not get the connection, but for those who do, they will think it’s cool. My goal for music on our broadcasts is I want to get a very diverse and eclectic library of music on the air. I like to do a lot of nostalgia and the younger people on the crew rip me for that all the time. But people love old stuff. If you look at commercials today, they all use ’70s music.
“We will often try to tie it into the city. Obviously, if we are in Detroit, you might do a lot of Motown or Bob Seger. For the (Pittsburgh) Steelers, we’ll use ‘Black and Yellow’ by Wiz Khalifa. I like using ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ by the BusBoys whenever we are in Dallas.”
Strange said the process for the upcoming week’s music begins on Tuesday when she connects with ESPN game and studio producers about storylines for upcoming games and shows. She has a running email with “Monday Night Football” producer Steve Ackles to discuss what specific music his program wants.
“Say we have a game in California and we want some music from either California bands or lyrics about California, I’m working during the week on those clearances to make sure that the music is cleared,” Strange said.
ESPN has a ton of production library music (music created to sound like a specific genre) that can be used for games and studio shows. Then there are the tracks that ESPN pays to use each season. Strange and her team choose 20 to 30 songs that are part of the current music moment (or some older well-known songs) to clear for a season. Some examples of songs that ESPN has clearance for the 2024 NFL season include The Who’s “Eminence Front,” “Play” by Justin Timberlake and “Illusion” by Dua Lipa.
Sometimes networks will spend money for a specific artist for use in a specific game — the money obviously varies depending on the artist’s profile — and that can get into the high four figures or low five figures depending on the artist for a one-time play. Clearances always have specific terms regarding the number of times a place can use it. Strange has a background as a paralegal, and her initial work at ESPN was in contracts and the legal department. That background helps with her current job.
Strange said her most challenging day is Friday when she and her team work on custom-made music edits they send to each production. They provide what she calls music play cards to ESPN lead audio mixer Scott Pray, who mixes all of the audio for “Monday Night Football.” When something happens during a MNF game, Pray has the ability to choose from a myriad of tracks on the play card that match the moment.
“It’s a team of people that make this work including Scott and our wonderful graphics team,” Strange said. “The music player card is our version of a coach’s play sheet during the game. It lays out every part of the show about the music. Let’s say I know I want a lyric of ‘California Dreamin” (by The Mamas & the Papas) to come in at a certain time. I work with our music assistants to make those edits so we can provide those to the production truck at the game.”
Rikhoff said some of his favorite music cuts over the years include using “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” by The Foundations for a Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski touchdown connection. He also enjoyed using “Still the One” by Orleans whenever an older Brady did something good as CBS headed to break.
Fox Sports has developed an excellent reputation for music to the commercial break, and here’s a great Billboard piece on how some music-inclined Fox Sports executives have infused its NFL broadcasts with the Grateful Dead, Phish, Goose and other bands.
Strange said she’s particularly proud of how many people have enjoyed the famed “Monday Night Football” theme through all of its different versions.
“We work with the owner of the original recording (APM) and create many custom versions,” Strange said. “We have recently completed a new modern holiday version that will be played on our games around the end of December. We also have a country version of the theme played when we are in locations when that sound makes sense. It keeps the theme current and it puts a smile on my face knowing that I’ve helped to elevate a theme that everybody knows and loves.”
(Top photo of singer/songwriter Lindsay Ell playing the national anthem before a 2022 Miami Dolphins–Tennessee Titans game: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)
