Technological Innovations Utilized on SNB
ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Taco Bell telecast showcasing the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees on April 10 delivered a 3.4 rating and 4,697,000 viewers to become the network’s highest-rated and most-viewed MLB game since August 9, 2009 (Yankees/Red Sox – 3.5 rating; 4,698,000 viewers). Sunday’s telecast, featuring the new commentator team of Dan Shulman and analysts Orel Hershiser and Bobby Valentine, along with reporters Wendi Nix and Buster Olney, incorporated the use of several technological enhancements:
- K Zone Live – an enhanced version of the Sports Emmy Award-winning technology – allowed for the strike zone and pitch location to be graphically inserted over live video; https://us.espnpressroom.com/videomultimedia/
- Ultra Mo – the super-slow-motion video provided the definitive views of the action, including Boston’s Adrian Gonzalez getting hit by a pitch and a broken-bat single by David Ortiz;
- Frame X Frame – the frame-by-frame point of view captured Josh Beckett’s pitching delivery, coupled with Hershiser’s analysis.
Baseball Tonight Presented by Chevrolet was also on the road, originating live from its set on Yawkey Way outside of Fenway Park. Host Karl Ravech and analysts John Kruk and Barry Larkin, Sunday Night Baseball’s Hershiser and Valentine, and reporters Nix and Olney previewed the game and presented highlights, news and information from around the league. The pregame show (Sundays at 7 p.m. ET) also included special segments with Kruk and Larkin:
- Larkin’s ballpark demo – each Sunday, Larkin points out some of the nuances associated with each playing field from a player’s perspective;
- Kruk’s “best seat in the house” – Kruk closes the show each week by selecting his favorite seat to watch the game at that particular venue.
Additionally, Sunday Night Baseball and Baseball Tonight commentators use Twitter to engage with fans each Sunday from 6 p.m. through the end of the game using the “#espnsnb” hashtag.
This week’s Sunday Night Baseball spotlight will be on the New York Yankees hosting the Texas Rangers on April 17 at 8 p.m. In addition to ESPN, the game will also be available via ESPN Radio (with a new commentator team of Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton), ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV. ESPN televises two editions of Baseball Tonight each Sunday – 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. – regularly from the game site.
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