American Le Mans Series Reaches Multi-Year Broadcast, Digital Agreement With ESPN and ABC
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron announced today a ground-breaking, multi-year broadcast and digital agreement with ESPN that ALMS President/CEO Scott Atherton is calling “a game changer.” The innovative deal involves televising the world’s premier sports car series over several ESPN programming and media platforms, including ABC, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. Intersport, an award-winning media and marketing agency, represented the Series in the new television and digital agreement with ESPN.
The core of the ALMS’ new innovative broadcast and digital package will deliver television coverage either on ABC or ESPN2. ABC will feature race telecast coverage on March 20 after the 59th running of the prestigious Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida with remaining ABC broadcasts featuring Road America (August), Baltimore (September) and the season-ending Petit Le Mans (October). ESPN2 will feature the American Le Mans Series in two-hour telecasts from Long Beach (April), Lime Rock and Mosport (July), Mid-Ohio (August) and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (September). All four ABC race telecasts will receive an encore airing on ESPN2 as part of the new agreement. Read more
NCAA Men’s Final Four semifinal and Championship Games in 3-D
Live 3-D Broadcasts Available in up to 100 Cinedigm Certified(TM) Digital Cinemas Nationwide and in Indianapolis at NCAA Bracket Town(TM) and Lucas Oil Stadium
CBS Sports teams up with the NCAA, LG Electronics USA and Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. to present for the first-time ever the 2010 NCAA Men’s Final Four semifinal and national championship games in 3-D. The broadcasts will be available live in up to 100 Cinedigm Certified(TM) Digital Cinemas nationwide. Fans attending the festivities in Indianapolis also can view the games in 3-D on LG’s LCD HDTVs at locations throughout Lucas Oil Stadium and at the NCAA’s interactive fan event, Bracket Town refreshed by Coca-Cola Zero.
The games in 3-D on Saturday, April 3 (6:00-11:00 PM, ET) and Monday, April 5 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET) will be a fully-produced CBS Sports event with CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK announcers Dave Ryan and Steve Lappas calling the action. Together with LG Electronics USA, which is the Official 3-D Sponsor for CBS Sports’ NCAA Tournament broadcasts and Official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, Cinedigm is bringing the excitement of the NCAA Men’s Final Four in stunning three-dimensional realism to tens of thousands of NCAA basketball fans in theaters across the land.
“CBS Sports has always been on the forefront of new technology to enhance the viewing experience,” said Ken Aagaard, executive vice president operations and engineering, CBS Sports. “Through our partnership with the NCAA and LG, and the technological innovations of Cinedigm, we are excited to be able to present Men’s Final Four weekend in 3-D offering fans an exciting and different way to view a major sporting event.”
“Bringing the Men’s Final Four to consumers in 3-D is a prime example of how LG strives to deliver something better – superior technology combined with an unparalleled viewing experience – for consumers,” said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing, LG Electronics North America. “As the Official 3-D Sponsor, we are excited to partner with CBS Sports to bring consumers this immersive 3-D viewing experience and tap into the passion of college sports fans throughout the country.”
This unique sponsorship builds upon LG’s leadership in this emerging technology. LG Electronics, which introduced the first 3-D LCD sets in Korea last year, will be introducing this new feature in an extensive line of 3-D-enabled LED HDTVs and Blu-ray Disc players in the United Sates beginning this May.
“The theater experience is changing dramatically,” said Bud Mayo, chairman and CEO of Cinedigm. “The Men’s Final Four is a signature event, with millions of fans clamoring to be among the few who get to see it in person. Cinedigm’s experience, having brought the 2009 BCS Championship and the 2009 NBA All-Star Saturday Night events to theaters in live 3-D, has shown us that fans who attend will feel as though they have courtside seats. We’re proud to work with our technology partner SENSIO and with our growing national network of top-quality theaters to help bring fans one step closer to courtside.”
Cinedigm’s robust digital cinema network has unparalleled experience in bringing the best in LIVE 3D entertainment to the widest number of 3-D cinema screens. Audiences at the first-ever live 3-D sports broadcasts last year hailed the revolutionary impact of seeing sports in 3-D, especially when seen in a movie theater. No other cinema network has the technological infrastructure and distribution know-how to enable this kind of large-scale, nationwide, 3-D event in U.S. theaters.
CBS Sports and LG Electronics also are working with NEP and 3-D expertise will be provided by world renowned 3-D innovator, Vince Pace, to deliver the broadcast in 3-D. Pace, has worked on the blockbuster movies Avatar and Titanic.
MLB.com offers high def MLB.TV with full season of portability
Live baseball available on several platforms including Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, announced that the eighth season of MLB.TV, one of the largest subscription video offerings on the Internet, is now available at http://www.mlb.tv/ with portability for the upcoming 2010 season.
In addition to the PC-based accessibility more than two million subscribers have enjoyed over the past seven seasons, fans for the first time will be able to take a complete season of 2,430 games on MLB.TV wherever they go through a variety of interactive media platforms, including the newly unveiled Apple iPad and the MLB.com At Bat 2010 app for iPhone and iPod touch mobile devices. Additional platform offerings for live streaming are expected to be announced and available to subscribers for Opening Day.
The 2010 MLB.TV media player will deliver a fleet of enhancements in a convenient, cutting-edge Adobe Flash format, offering an unparalleled live viewing experience for every out-of-market regular season game.
In addition to portability, some of the features available in 2010 MLB.TV include:
HD Quality Picture – MLB.com’s proprietary speed detection allows high-speed users to receive live high definition video at the industry standard of 720p on any size monitor.
Home and Away Feeds - Watch or listen to either the home or away teams’ broadcasts.
Live Game DVR Functionality – Pause and rewind or fast-forward live games.
Clickable Linescores – Go directly to any half-inning to watch only that portion of the game.
Multi-Game Viewing Options - Watch up to four games simultaneously.
Picture-in-Picture – Choose one game and track another or watch in-game highlights simultaneously in a secondary window.
Live Game Highlights - Real-time highlights and player stats automatically load into the media player. With one click, the clip instantly launches in a picture-in-picture window.
Player Tracker - Customize alerts to feature entire fantasy rosters or just a list of favorite players. Subscribers will be notified any time a listed player is on deck. Click the real-time alert to watch live at-bat look-ins.
Spring Training – Watch more than 150 live games from Florida and Arizona as teams prepare for the 2010 season.
Source: MLB.com
3ality Digital’s first-ever Live 3D broadcast of an NFL game named one of Sports Illustrated’s Innovations of the Decade
Dec. 4, 2008 Broadcast Set Standard for Next Generation of Sports Viewing
A groundbreaking 3D broadcast by 3ality Digital LLC (www.3alitydigital.com) has been named one of the decade’s best innovations by Sports Illustrated magazine. The Dec. 4, 2008 live 3D broadcast of the National Football League’s Oakland Raiders versus the San Diego Chargers marked the first time a league game had been carried live in digital 3D.
The landmark event carried on a proud tradition of sports broadcast innovation by the Modell family. For years, Art Modell shaped NFL broadcast policies as the owner of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Modell’s sons, David and John – 3ality Digital’s chairman and co-founder, respectively – were instrumental in the landmark 3D broadcast.
“On behalf of everyone at 3ality Digital, we’re thrilled and honored that Sports Illustrated chose our NFL broadcast project as one of the most notable innovations of the decade,” said David Modell. “It was a pleasure to partner with the NFL to make this industry first a reality and lay the groundwork for the more comprehensive slate of live-action 3D programming now hitting the market.”
“We started development of real-time 3D production systems over ten years ago,” said Steve Schklair, CEO of 3ality Digital Systems, the technology arm of 3ality Digital. “3D for cinema is easy compared to live broadcast, yet we always knew that the right set of technologies would make live broadcasting in stereo a reality. Our live 3D broadcast of the Raiders versus Chargers was a key milestone in 3D’s migration from the cinema to the living room.”
In describing the broadcast experience, Sports Illustrated wrote in part: “If a one-sided snoozer of a game can be that engaging, one can only imagine the excitement of a postseason game or Super Bowl in three dimensions.” The magazine went on to say, “the brilliant final product is a testament to their (3D telecasts’) inevitability.”
“We approached the live 3D broadcast of Thursday Night Football as a proof of concept and came away extremely impressed with the results,” said Howard Katz, the NFL’s senior vice president of broadcasting and media operations. “The NFL has a long tradition of using emerging technologies to enhance the consumer experience, and live-action digital 3D clearly has enormous potential in this regard.”
“I’m proud and humbled to see our work included on such an exclusive and prestigious list of achievements,” said John Modell, who also serves as a 3ality Digital producer. “High-profile projects such as the NFL broadcast clearly demonstrate the value of the medium to every segment of the entertainment industry and firmly establish 3ality Digital as the premier 3D broadcast provider.”
The live 3D broadcast of the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football was shot and transmitted by 3ality Digital and shown to invited guests at theatres in Boston, Hollywood and New York City. The three-dimensional nature of the broadcast, which incorporated state-of-the-art technology built into 3ality Digital’s camera platforms, was acclaimed for conveying the sense among viewers that they were actually on the field with the players.
“This is an amazing way to close out 2009 and begin what promises to be another watershed year for 3D,” said 3ality Digital LLC CEO Sandy Climan. “I’m thrilled to see the impact this broadcast and similar 3ality Digital projects have had on the global broadcast community. From the United Kingdom to Spain to Japan, broadcasters around the world have seen the potential of live-action 3D and will be launching dedicated 3D initiatives in 2010.”
The success of the NFL broadcast led a month later to the first live 3D broadcast to consumers, when 3ality Digital produced a live 3D broadcast of college football’s national title game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the University of Florida Gators.
Source: 3ality Digital
Cowboys Stadium and HDlogix team up to premiere Live 3D Broadcast on the world’s largest high definition television
First-Ever 3D Stadium Experience during Sporting Event Fans Watch Live 3D Action on 11,520-Square-Foot Screen
The first live 3D broadcast ever to be shown on giant video screens at a major sporting event was unveiled at Cowboys Stadium, electrifying over 80,000 fans who were given 3D glasses upon entering the stadium. Beginning with the second half kickoff of the Dallas Cowboys-San Diego Chargers football game, the enormous center-hung display in the spectacular new stadium was converted from high definition 2D, enabling fans to view both live action and instant replays in 3D.
Measuring 160 feet in length and 72 feet in height on the sideline boards–the largest video board installation in the world–the four board video cluster, suspended 90 feet directly over the center of the playing surface, stretches from the 20-yard line to the 20-yard line. Its massive size allowed fans on all levels in the stadium to view the game in crisp, clear 3D images during the second half.
The technology that made the conversion from 2D to 3D possible was created by HDlogix of Edison, NJ, a leader in imaging and video-based products for the world’s consumers, entertainment companies and service providers. In addition to its technology for large public venues, the company’s new ImageIQ 3D(TM) technology–which will be shown to the public for the first time at 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas next month–will enable for the first time real-time conversion of any HDTV signal to 3D on any 3D-ready display.
“The HDlogix 3D technology experienced by the Dallas Cowboys fans today at Cowboys Stadium will soon be enjoyed by television viewers around the world,” said Jim Spinella, President and CEO of HDlogix. “Our new ImageIQ 3D(TM) technology will make it possible for anyone to enjoy 3D video of sporting events, feature movies and television shows whether they were produced in 3D or not. We believe it is the next significant evolution in television viewing.”
Source: HDlogix