Stepping Stones: Sunset+Vine’s Rachel Higgins, junior production coordinator, talks about Channel 4 training schemes and amazing opportunities

Sunset+Vine junior production coordinator, Rachel Higgins, working at Wimbledon

Sunset+Vine junior production coordinator, Rachel Higgins, got into sports broadcasting after joining the Channel 4 Paralympics Production Training Scheme, which was created to get young people with no TV experience into the field. She is now thriving at Sunset+Vine and has set her goals on staying in sports broadcasting forever. Stepping Stones articles are here to showcase young talent in sports broadcasting. Read on for more!

What is your job role today and what do you love about it?

I work as a junior production coordinator at Sunset+Vine. The thing I love most about my role here is the people I get to work with, everyone at the company is lovely and I have learnt a lot about the sports broadcasting industry as well as all the opportunities I regularly get given. I would say I have the best manager in the world, Tracy, who since my first day has been an incredible mentor to have and a woman I definitely look up to.

What does your current job entail on a day to day basis?

I put together the logistics side of productions before they happen, so sorting accreditation for those onsite and booking any crew travel or accommodation that is needed. I also handle overhead matters so raising invoices, generating POs and inputting charges into cost managers so the seniors can keep to budget. I also work on postproduction projects such as Albert sustainability data input and crew invoices, music cue sheets and script time coding.

Can you talk us through your relevant education that helped you break into the sports broadcasting industry?

I had never worked in TV or even heard of my role before discovering the Paralympics Production Training Scheme (PTS) run by Channel 4, that was set up to get young people into TV despite having no experience. I have always wanted to work in sport and it is definitely helpful being knowledgeable about current affairs when working on production.

How did you get your first job in sports broadcasting, what was the role, and when?

As mentioned, the Channel 4 scheme was an amazing opportunity to spend a year training with an independent production company, whilst getting monthly training days at Channel 4 HQ. I was in a cohort of about 16 other trainees, so I was able to form new connections along the way. We had talks from industry experts, and my first live production experience was onsite production coordinator at Brighton FC for the Premier League December 2023 matches on Amazon Prime.

Sunset+Vine’s Rachel Higgins got into sports broadcasting through the Paralympics Production Training Scheme (PTS) run by Channel 4. Here she is at the Emirates stadium working on an EPL match

What happened next to get you where you are today?

Through the year, I was given amazing opportunities by Sunset+Vine to work across different productions and improve my production skills both onsite and in the office. I moved onto Crufts in March, then helped out the content team with their digital shows such as Mobil 1 the Grid, FEI Ride and World Sailing.

I had my first solo experience as a coordinator working at Twickenham in June for a World Rugby double header, then got a chance to work at Wimbledon. Shortly after, my year of training with Channel 4 culminated in my trip to Paris to work on the 2024 Paralympics. This was an incredible time spent with the swimming team alongside Claire Balding and Rose Ailing-Ellis, where I got to watch 18 gold medals won for Team GB.

Following this, Sunset+Vine have kept me on the work on Amazon Prime’s football coverage and that is where I am today!

Where would you like to be in in five or 10 years time? What are your career goals?

I want to work in sport for the rest of my life. I love the thrill of being onsite and getting to be a part of all the action, however I don’t know what exactly role that would be. I am still in the process of learning about all the possible roles in broadcasting, therefore in the next 5 years I just want to experience as much variety as possible. I want to experience sport abroad as much as I can and my ultimate career goal would be to work on women’s boxing one day.

Can you give us some top tips that really helped you get where you are today? 

Always come with a positive mental attitude and be as kind and helpful to everyone you meet. TV is a small world and the sports broadcasting industry even smaller, so any connections you make early on could be useful down the line! I would also say put as much effort as you can to learn the unfamiliar, when I first started it was all completely new but I embraced that and wanted to learn as much as possible.

Can you give us some tips on things not to do or to avoid when trying to get a role you really want?

Don’t be someone you’re not as broadcasting can often be long days and hours onsite. I don’t have much to say on this one but from my interview the team could see my passion for sport so if you truly want it enough, the interviewers will pick up on that.

What would you say are the barriers to getting a job in the broadcast industry?

Experience seems to be the most important theme in broadcast jobs. I think that and getting your first role go hand in hand, it is an industry that seems hard to get into. That is why I would recommend schemes like the Channel 4 PTS I was apart of, as they covered so much, and it was a great opportunity to become part of a company from scratch, to learn on the job.

A lot is being done to break down barriers for those with disability or ethnic minority and low-income backgrounds, but I think this needs to be a more active approach with mechanisms put in place by broadcast organisations that oversee productions, for it to make the progress needed. A major part of why I love my company is because of all the amazing women that work here

What would you recommend to other people thinking of working in the broadcast industry?

I would recommend the Channel 4 Scheme as you might get to work on LA 2026! But in general, I would say for live broadcast sport, you’d want to secure various runner roles so you can experience being onsite and see the different jobs in action. From there you can work out what area of the industry interests you the most.

There are always camera operators, sound engineers, tech producers and floor managers willing to show you how they work, so take advantage when you can to talk to experts. Make sure the industry is right for you; it is very fast paced with short turnaround times, but so rewarding at the same time.