AT&T Tech Support 360
ESPN, the cable powerhouse that calls itself "Worldwide Leader in Sports," is looking to extend its domain in virtual worlds by merging video game graphics with real-life sports anchors.
The network, which is owned by Walt Disney, has spent the last year working on a new technology with Electronic Arts, the leading game publisher, that would enable ESPN commentators to interact live with realistic-looking, three-dimensional virtual players as they pontificate about coming matches during broadcasts.
"It's a way for us to remain relevant," said John Skipper, ESPN's executive vice president for content. "We want to make sure we remain connected to lots and lots of fans, and using the language that gamers understand is one way."
Boiled down, the complex technology, which will make its debut this Sunday on ESPN's popular NFL Countdown program, involves using an Electronic Arts' title--say, Madden NFL 09--with specialized digital-camera equipment in the studio. Presto: both real and virtual people move around the ESPN set to demonstrate plays and possible situations.
And the sports behemoth has more ambitious plans down the road. Instead of using the technology, called EA Sports Virtual Playbook, to tell viewers what to look for before games, ESPN wants to use it in reverse to play the ultimate Monday morning quarterback.
Using real information from a game, ESPN anchors could reprogram an actual sequence to show, for example, what would have happened, had Peyton Manning thrown right instead of left.
Much is made about how various forms of media--television, the Internet, radio--are all moving toward one another. And while television content has converged into video games, Virtual Playbook offers an example of convergence moving in the opposite direction. ESPN is bringing the look and feel of a video game to television for the sake of interactivity, flexibility, and visual aid.
Television and movie executives have struggled for years to attract young consumers who play video games to more traditional forms of entertainment. At the same time, ESPN is on a mission to tap new areas of growth as it faces challenges in its core operations.
ESPN, three decades old, remains one of the media industry's biggest gold mines, with successful magazine and Internet operations to complement its suite of cable channels. Analysts estimate that ESPN represents about a quarter of Disney's annual operating income.
But ESPN must also battle the ever-increasing number of Web sites offering sports video and maintain growth as cable operators resist paying higher subscription fees to carry its programming. ESPN charges cable companies about $3.50 a month for each subscriber; the vast majority of cable channels charge well less than $1.
