ESPN Unveils New SportsCenter Studios

ESPN has given its flagship program a high-tech makeover, as the "worldwide leader in sports" unveiled the new home of SportsCenter, according to THR.

Taking up 194,000 square feet with five studios and 25,000 square feet of production space, Digital Center 2 (DC-2) is the most technologically advanced studio in the U.S. and has been built to accommodate 18 hours of live broadcasts a day along with 24/7 programming.

"It is a big statement of where we are in terms of fans and sports media," ESPN president John Skipper told reporters on Thursday during a behind-the-scenes look at the state-of-the-art studio in Bristol, Conn., which will debut in mid-June. "This facility is future-proofed," he revealed, explaining that it was designed to not only showcase the latest digital developments -- but also accommodate those to come in the next decade.



"The idea was to come up with the ideas that other people don't have. It's all about being more interactive and asking: 'What is the coolest toy out there? We want it,'" he explained of the multimillion-dollar project.
Among those 'cool toys' are:

• A total of 114 monitors, as opposed to the previous 15.
• A 56 LED multidimensional monitor wall that can air live and preproduced segments simultaneously.
• A platform that can be raised up from the floor and have desks and chairs added, or be used as a standup area for talent. "The anchors will learn to interact in a much bigger space, like a theater actor with the audience," said Kevin Stolworthy, senior vp, content and information technology.
• Everything is a light box that changes color, depending on time of day, mood or the teams being reported on -- Green Bay Packers fans can expect to see green-and-yellow hues, while the set can morph into scarlet and grey for Ohio State.
• 3-dimensional monitors so that the action "can actually look like it's coming at you as a fan," explained Stolworthy.
• A touchscreen that can separate into six different monitors, with a "catwalk" in front of it that analysts can walk down (or fall off!) to interact with the content.
• Two separate studios -- 6,200 square foot Studio X and 3,500 square foot Studio XA -- divided by a giant glass wall so that hosts can rehearse during filming.

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