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High-Tech
Lab Provides Opportunity to Develop Progressive On-Air
Elements for Fans
ESPN
Innovation Lab at ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney
World Resort
The ESPN
Innovation Lab officially opened on October 16, 2009, at ESPN
Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. The
Innovation Lab provides ESPN a real-world testing ground to
continue developing new ground-breaking on-air products.
“The ESPN Innovation Lab is an extension of ESPN’s
commitment to being a leader in technology,” said Chuck
Pagano, executive vice president, technology, ESPN. “This
cutting-edge production house will foster creativity and the
development of new tools to provide fans the best on-air
coverage of sporting events.”
The mission of ESPN’s state-of-the-art facility is to
enhance the viewer’s experience by utilizing the world-class
playing fields and the 250,000 youth and pro athletes who use
them annually to develop new products during actual game
conditions. This working research facility will also be
open at certain times of the year for visitors to view the
company’s emerging-technology staff at work and get a sneak
peak at upcoming technological advancements.
INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY: Mickey Mouse joins Ken Potrock, senior vice
president of Disney Sports Enterprises
at Walt Disney World Resort, Oct. 16, 2009, to celebrate
the opening of the ESPN Innovation Lab
at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista,
Fla. The state-of-the-art facility
provides ESPN a real-world testing ground to continue
developing new ground-breaking on-air products.
This past summer, the lab produced two innovative
production elements, Ball Track and ESPN Snap Zoom. Ball
Track is a Doppler radar hit-tracking system that has the
ability to track home runs showing the distance and height of
the ball in-flight, updating continuously during the ball’s
flight. It debuted on the 2009 “MLB Home Run Derby”
telecast on July 13. ESPN Snap Zoom debuted on “Monday
Night Football” on Sept. 28 and is a freeze-frame technology
that brings the fan closer to the play by zooming in an area
of interest and providing insight to a current action on the
field, thus giving the viewer a different view on a particular
focus of play.
The ESPN Innovation Lab is the first major piece of a
re-imagining project involving ESPN and the Disney sports
complex, which is already the leading multi-sport venue in the
nation. The project aims to create an immersive and
entertaining sports experience for athletes, coaches and fans
by incorporating the signature elements of ESPN in ways that
will connect athletes and coaches with their favorite ESPN
programs, personalities and elements. The project is
expected to be completed early next year and will provide a
one-of-a-kind experience that athletes, coaches and fans
can’t get anywhere else except Walt Disney World Resort.
SEEING
DOUBLE: Jesse Palmer, an ESPN college football analyst,
watches a virtual interview of himself and Chuck Pagano,
executive vice president of technology for ESPN, Oct. 16,
2009, as part of the opening of the ESPN Innovation Lab
at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista,
Fla. Palmer demonstrated ESPN’s Ultimate Interview
technology
used to “beam” people from the field into a studio
setting.
“The versatility of the complex and the enormous
diversity of sports events we have there make it the perfect
place for ESPN or any company to develop and test their latest
product innovations,” said Ken Potrock, senior vice
president of Disney Sports Enterprises. “We are
thrilled to provide our athletes and coaches with the
opportunity to potentially be a part of the development of
ESPN’s newest and most exciting on-air products. It’s
just one of the many ways this ESPN re-imagining project will
help take our youth sports experience to a new level.”
The Disney sports complex has hosted more than 200
annual events in 60 different sports involving athletes from
more than 70 countries since opening in 1997. Among those
events are the Atlanta Braves spring training season, Chelsea
Football Club events, the Pop Warner Super Bowl, AAU National
Championships, Varsity All-Star Cheerleading competitions,
USSSA events, ESPN RISE Games, Old Spice Classic and the Walt
Disney World Marathon, one of the top marathons in the nation. ESPN
televised 20 sporting events from the complex in the last
year. Walt Disney World Resort and ESPN also annually
work together to host the popular ESPN The Weekend event at
Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Did
You Know?
- ESPN’s
Active Player Tracking for the Arena Football League was
first tested at the Wide World of Sports. The
technology debuted during the 2007 Arena Football season
but has also been implemented at the Summer X Games
enabling ESPN to capture heights achieved by athletes in
the BMX and Big Air event which are then displayed on the
ESPN “Huck-o-Meter.”
- The
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex was the testing bed for
ESPN’s Ball Track technology that debuted at the 2009
MLB Home Run Derby. This was the first time that
radar had been utilized to track a baseball in real-time
in a broadcast environment.
- At
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, ESPN has access to 16
baseball fields, 25 football/soccer fields, two indoor
basketball arenas, one baseball stadium and four tennis
courts for real-world testing. Just a short distance
from the facility there are lakes and golf courses also
used in testing scenarios. Over the past three
years, ESPN has taken full advantage of these facilities
testing technologies for tennis, golf, baseball,
basketball, football and even BASS fishing.
- The
Emmy-winning EA Virtual Playbook was first tested at ESPN
Wide World of Sports during the summer of 2008 in
preparation of the 2008-09 NFL season. Its
overwhelming success led the team to develop an NBA
version utilized during the 2009 NBA playoffs.
About ESPN Technology:
ESPN Technology develops the ideas and
applications that bring the fan closer to the game with new,
innovative production enhancements. ESPN’s technology
team designed and supports two of the most technologically
advanced production centers in the world, the
Digital
Center
in
Bristol
,
Conn.
, and the
Los Angeles
Production
Center
which is the first 1080p capable production facility. In
addition, the Emerging Technology Group has developed many
on-air advancements over the past 30 years, including virtual
graphics applications, “Huck-O-Meter,” and the
Emmy-winning EA Virtual Playbook.
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