Pulling off a flawless live draft show is a massive undertaking. Pulling off two completely different style draft shows in just four days? That deserves a special spotlight.
This month, the production crew at Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) pulled double duty, delivering back-to-back draft specials for the Utah Jazz and Mammoth fanbases. Same crew, entirely different playbooks, and they absolutely crushed both.
Here is how they transitioned from an interactive live watch party to a broadcast-quality studio stream in a single week.
Tuesday: The Utah Jazz Draft Party
With the No. 2 overall pick on the board, the energy in Salt Lake City was electric. The SEG crew leaned heavily into that excitement, building an interactive, fan-fueled show tailored for both the in-person watch party and viewers streaming on SEGplus.com.
Jazz Nation Integration: The team expertly blended the live, in-venue crowd with online audiences, pulling in photos and comments from Jazz Nation in real time. It was a great way to visualize the energy of the day in addition to the live audience, and as a reward for their participation the team was collecting email addresses for an exclusive merchandise giveaway.
Pre-Pick Polls: To capture fan sentiment, the team ran live polling on who the Jazz should draft. When Darryn Peterson won nearly 50% of the vote and was ultimately selected, the production then brought on executives and the head coach to break down the selection with exclusive interviews for their loyal fans. This is where team streams really thrive: by leaning into exclusive access outside media companies don’t have and bringing fans instant, insider reactions.
Friday: The Utah Mammoth Draft
Just three days later, the exact same production crew brought the broadcast inside the Utah Mammoth Ice Center streaming a marathon four-hour NHL Draft special on segplus.com and YouTube. Because the team was selecting later in the first round at No. 17, the crew shifted gears from a fans in attendance watch party, to a sleek studio show.
Broadcast-Quality Graphics: This production was more graphics heavy than the Jazz show with a blend of fullscreen infographics, stat showcases for draftees, breaking news displays, and all branded to capture those iconic rock black, mountain blue, and salt white colors.
Instant Breaking News: Draft shows can be filled with breaking news as picks get traded and players are drafted, and this one was no different. The production team managed it seamlessly, bringing on all breaking news via a social to screen integration that got the information on-air as it was breaking.
The Mammoth Moment: The broadcast peaked as the Mammoth selected Ethan Belchetz with the 17th overall pick. The crew seamlessly coordinated a live look-in at the team’s war room, instantly followed by deep-dive stat analysis and live fan reactions pulled directly from the YouTube chat. It was a flawless execution of the moment all fans were waiting for, perfectly capturing the stream’s ultimate goal of bringing Mammoth fans together to celebrate adding new impact players to the team.
The Takeaway: From interactive fan parties to a broadcast-quality studio show, the SEG production team proved they can do it all. Huge shoutout to the crew behind the glass for pulling double duty and giving both fanbases a draft day stream built uniquely for them