ESPN3 – Page 2

Looking for college baseball? ESPN has you covered

February 10, 2014 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

Does it seem that every year college baseball is basically invisible unless you live near a school that gets coverage in the local media until the College World Series is aired at the end of the summer? Well ESPN is seeking to change that, or rather build on what it has already established in the last few years.

The network will be using its breadth and depth as a broadcaster to show a record number of games during the 2014 college baseball season, with more than 200 regular season and conference games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPNNEWS.

This is in addition to the exclusive coverage that it will provide for the NCAA Division I College Baseball Championship that starts at the conclusion of the conference championship games. It will also cover the selection of the 64 team field for the championship. The previous high in terms of number of broadcasts by ESPN is 151 games.

Both over air and digital broadcast to be available
ESPN3 will be streaming the bulk of the games with 150 exclusive broadcasts over the course of the season with all available on WatchESPN so that users that want to view the games on tablets, smartphones, Xbox, Roku and other device will have the opportunity to see the games. There are some restrictions on mobile users.

The network plans to have at least one game available every Friday, Saturday and Sunday over 14 consecutive weeks and the regular-season broadcasts starts this Friday, Feb. 14, at 4 p.m. ET with No. 5 Florida State hosting Niagara.

Not all games have been scheduled but for a quick look at what is already planned head over here.

Among the regular features for the season will be ESPNU once again carrying Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week starting March 27 as well as carrying ACC Monday broadcasts starting March 24. The ACC will apparently dominate broadcasts over the season with 111 games on the agenda. The network said that it will broadcasts games that feature every Top 10 team and 21 of the Top 25 over the course of the season. ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and ESPNEWS will combine to carry 10 conference championships.

Filed Under: Apps, Baseball, ESPN, ESPN3, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NCAA.com, Smartphone, Tablets, WatchESPN Tagged With: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, NCAA Baseball, WatchESPN

ESPN holding nothing back for tonight’s BCS broadcast

January 6, 2014 by Greg Quick 2 Comments

An era ends tonight in college football with the last of the current format championships about to be played between Florida State and Auburn. Next season will usher in a playoff format that is a major change from the current poll-based system.

The current system was introduced in 1998 and now it is gone, but when you look at the freight train of equipment and army of personnel that ESPN is bringing to the event, it will likely live on for quite a long time in the form of multiple digital recordings.

The sports channel is broadcasting the 2014 Vizio BCS National Championship game tonight with the biggest broadcast team in its history and has termed it the “BCS Megacast” with it being presented across six of its television platforms as well as its audio and digital outlets.

You can pretty much take your choice of platforms- ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Radio, ESPN3, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Goal Line and ESPN International. There will be pregame talkshows, interviews, analysis, celebrities and much more available prior to the kickoff at 8:30 ET.

Social and digital media will be strongly represented in the mix with the personalities posting thoughts and comments prior to kickoff as well during the game.

For those that are not able to watch at home or in a comfortable sporting establishment the presentations that were broadcast on the ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNEWS will be available to a range of alternative platforms via WatchESPN including online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets, through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members, on Apple TV and Roku to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

So how many people and trucks will this take? According to USA Today Sports and ESPN it will be 16 trucks, 63 cameras, 73 microphones a four-engine generator and as many as 200 employees, only a few who you will see online.

Hopefully this will make for a great broadcast, but much of that will depend on the teams. A stinker of a game will lead to fans tuning out as happened a few years ago when Alabama crushed LSU 21-0. The blowout was obvious early and fans tuned out in droves even though ESPN had added some interesting bells and whistles to its broadcast. At that time the future was 3D and ESPN had a 3D broadcast of the game as well as a more traditional broadcast.

However I am looking forward to the game and hopefully in all of the broadcasts comes something that will last to enhance future broadcasts.

Filed Under: ABC, Android, Apple, Apps, BCS, ESPN, ESPN FC, ESPN Radio, ESPN3, iPad, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NCAA Football, WatchESPN Tagged With: Android, Apps, BCS Championship, ESPN, ESPN NCAA Football Live Radio, ESPN2, ESPN3, iPad

Friday Grab Bag: New iPhones Next Week-FIFA Qualifiers this Weekend

September 6, 2013 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

The Major League Baseball Advanced Media arm has signed a multiyear deal with baseball sabermetrics research firm Baseball Prospectus that will call for the two of them to share data and analysis that will result in new features from both parties.

The relation starts immediately with Postseason Probabilities, an interactive visualization of each teams’ current standings and their chances of winning the division or wild card, or securing a postseason berth. If you have never heard on Baseball Prospectus before, it is where ESPN analyst Nate Silver got his start.

Apple having press event next week
For those waiting for the official announcement of the next generation iPhone from Apple, it looks like that wait is just about over as the company has sent out press invites for an event that is scheduled to take place Sept. 10, kudos to All Things Digital which was the first to nail the date.

If you are considering buying a new iPhone, traditionally available about two weeks after introduction, Apple and some of its partners are doing a buyback program on older phones. Now about the pending iPads — well the rumors seem to indicate that there will not be a September rollout so don’t hold your breath for one just yet.

Microsoft’s next–gen tablet details leaked
Amid all of the hubbub of new tablets this week was a rumor about the features for the next generation tablets from Microsoft, called the Surface Pro 2. According to Slash Gear it will be powered by a next generation Intel Haswell-based Core i5 processor.

Other details are that it will go from 4GB to 8GB in memory, improved battery life and will have a new kickstand. No pricing or rollout date was mentioned. Meanwhile the current Surface Pro now has a permanent $100 price cut.

Don’t bite this Kit Kat
New versions of Google’s Android operating systems have been named after candy for some time — most reading this are running a version of Jelly Bean right now. Well in the future it looks like you will be Kit Kat.

It looks like Google and Hershey, the candy bar maker, have entered into a financial relationship that allows Google to use the trademarked name.

ESPN to develop RedZone for Soccer?
Fans of the NFL know the program called RedZone, a program in the NFL Network that switches between games as teams enter the Red Zone, or inside the opponents 20 yard line for those of you not on the know, and shows the team scoring, or failing to.

Now it looks like ESPN is taking that successful format and moving it to to its broadcasts of the World Cup qualifiers this weekend. It is launching a program called “FIFA World Cup Whiparound-Quest to Qualify” for 36 matches, mostly of which are only available on ESPN3 that will feature live look-ins and highlights from all of the major matches taking place, according to Awful Announcing.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Awful Announcing, ESPN, ESPN3, FIFA, Google, Intel, iPad, iPhone, Major League Baseball, Microsoft, Soccer, Surface Tagged With: Baseball Prospectus, ESPN, ESPN3, FIFA, iPhone, Microsoft, MLBAM, Surface Pro, World Cup

MLBAM Continues to Leverage Capabilities into New Fields

August 27, 2013 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) is leveraging its huge video broadcasting and Internet infrastructure and has branched out into a very different field this week when it acquired the distribution rights to a live concert.

The concert deal was signed with the Global Poverty Project, which for the second year in a row is hosting a concert that is called the Global Citizen Festival that features Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon, Alicia Keys and John Mayer and which will be held on the Great Lawn of New York City’s Central Park on Saturday, September 28, 2013.

MLBAM will be using its back end streaming video infrastructure that currently fans may know from MLB.TV, and will be offering the event to both domestic and international broadcast partners interested in presenting the show with either live high definition broadcasts or as an on-demand service.

While it may seem odd that the interactive arm of MLB would turn to this concert license, it is already using its advanced high tech capabilities in a variety of other areas, both sports and non-sports focus. For instance it is the provider of in-flight movies on Southwest Airlines, provides ESPN3’s streaming and is the technology behind Glenn Beck’s Internet television channel, according to the NYT.

MLB has been building its infrastructure in this and related areas for some time and is a unique position in that it can undercut what might be viewed as mainstream broadcasters at providing this service. It has the infrastructure not only at a league level but increasingly at individual ball parks so that stadiums can quickly support an event such as the concert and provide broadcast and other services.

Filed Under: Apps, Baseball, DAS, ESPN3, Live sports via mobile, Major League Baseball Tagged With: ESPN3, MLB, MLBAM

ESPN introduces Major Revamp to WatchESPN App

August 19, 2013 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

WatchESPN, the mobile app for iPads, iPhones and iPod touch from the sports broadcasting giant has be upgraded with a host of new and enhanced features as the company provide mobile access to a number of its channels including to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and ESPN Goal Line/Buzzer Beater.

Among the additions is access to ESPN3 for college students and military personnel via on-campus (.edu) and on-base (.mil) Wi-Fi network. Also new is ESPN on ABC, providing access to live programming on ESPN on ABC events and will redirected users to the WATCH ABC App for access to that content

For the iPad it has added Live Toolbar, a feature that has the ability to shows stats and scores without opening an additional digital stream. It has three components in the form of tabs that reside at the bottom of the screen.

The first is on called Live TV Lineup that is just what it says, an interactive guide to all of the programming that is available on the network. The second is called Scores, and is designed to not only provide the scores that a fan might be seeking but allow them to gather pregame info on sporting events with a feature in Scores that is called Pre-Game View. The Live View function shows cores of events that are currently on-going and Post-Game View for the wrap up.

The third tab is called Top Video and is an on-demand feature that provides up-to-date news, analysis and highlights. This can be used in split screen mode so that you can continue watching an event at the same time.

The WatchESPN App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or at www.AppStore.com/WatchESPN. It should be noted that you can only use the app if you also get ESPN as part of a cable broadcast package from one of its broadcast partners.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, ESPN, ESPN3, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, WatchESPN Tagged With: Apple, ESPN, ESPN3, iPad, iPhone, WatchESPN

ESPN has Big Month of Tennis Broadcasts

May 6, 2013 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

With several important tennis events in the next few weeks ESPN will be featuring a total of 14 consecutive days of broadcasts as the tennis world ramps up for the big clay court event at the end of the month, the French Open.

The preliminaries are the ATP World Tour event, the Mutua Madrid Open that is being held in Madrid, and which started this morning and run until Sunday, May 12. Of course with the time zone difference the events will be mostly very early morning viewing for American fans who can tune into ESPN3 for the matches. The championship broadcast will start at 10:00 am ET on the 12th.

Among the top players participating in the Mutua Madrid Open are some of the top ranked men and women players in the world including Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska and Li Na.

This will be followed by the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, with some of the schedule still undecided at this time. This tournament, held in Rome, will start on May 13 and continue until the championship broadcast on Sunday, May 19 at 10 am ET.

Overall the network will feature 200 hours of tennis broadcasting from those two tournaments, and this will all naturally lead into the French Open later in the month. The outcome of these earlier tournaments helps dictate rankings of that and other Grand Slam events that will also be broadcast on ESPNs network of channels and online properties. ESPN will be broadcasting the French Open on ESPN2 starting Sunday, May 26.

Filed Under: ESPN, ESPN3, Maria Sharapova, Tennis, The French Open Tagged With: ESPN2, ESPN3, French Open, Tennis

Looking for college baseball? ESPN has you covered

ESPN holding nothing back for tonight’s BCS broadcast

Friday Grab Bag: New iPhones Next Week-FIFA Qualifiers this Weekend

MLBAM Continues to Leverage Capabilities into New Fields

ESPN introduces Major Revamp to WatchESPN App

ESPN has Big Month of Tennis Broadcasts

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