2009 World Series | Sports Technology Blog

Fox World Series Ratings Soar Out of the Park

The 2009 World Series featured two of the East Coast’s largest media markets, and the television ratings scaled accordingly, notching some of the highest viewership baseball has enjoyed in five years.

An average of more than 19 million U.S. viewers tuned in for the six games of this year’s Fall Classic between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, the most since an average of 25.4 million people saw the Red Sox sweep the Cardinals in 2004. Game 4 of the series was also the most-watched single World Series game since 2004 (22.5 million viewers).

This year’s ratings represent a 39 percent increase over the record lows set last year for the Phillies-Tampa Bay Rays series. Fox said last week that the improvement was the biggest one-year increase ever.

Much of that success has been attributed to the power of the pinstripes, as the Yankees returned to the World Series for the first time since 2003 – also the last year that the Series produced a Game 6.

“Having large markets involved certainly doesn’t hurt, but the ratings have everything to do with the intensity of the competition throughout the playoffs,” Tim Brosnan, MLB executive vice president of business, told Sports Business Journal. “When you get good games, people pay attention and they stick around.”

ESPN’s Levy Looks to 2010 Baseball Season

With the World Series behind us the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies can finally join the rest of the league in gearing up for the 2010 season but they won’t be alone. Jay Levy, ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer, and the rest of the ESPN team that covers baseball will be hard at work in the offseason gearing up for better coverage and new technologies. The goal? Continue to meet the growing expectations of baseball fans for solid, in-depth coverage.

“We keep looking for new ways to take the data and information and take the fan to a place they can’t get themselves,” says Levy. “It’s easy for fans in the ballpark to be able to see how fast pitches are as radar gun data is on the big screen but for us it’s segments like ‘That’s Nasty’ that features the nastiest pitch of the night. And next year we want to take that data and combine it with virtual technology.”

The Virtual Pitch Technology made its debut late this season on “Baseball Tonight” but Levy promises that ESPN has not even scratched the surface of how that technology will transform the viewer experience. “We will use virtual technology to take the fan and put them in the batter’s box so they can see how a pitch looks as it crosses home plate,” he says.

A near-term goal is to continue to work on turning data around more quickly so that, for example, something can be turned around for viewers in a couple of hours for baseball tonight instead of having to wait until the next night’s broadcast. And with technology development taking place in house it’s easier than ever to overcome those challenges.

“When I first came to ESPN we would farm out those projects and we could enhance them but we weren’t designing them,” he says. “It’s incredible what the emerging technology group at ESPN has figured out, especially in the realm of virtual graphics.”

Of course all that virtual technology will still have to enhance solid commentary and analysis. For ESPN that means having editorial boots on the ground at the biggest events like the World Series along with technical facilities to ensure content returns to ESPN in top-notch form. For example, at this year’s World Series ESPN, for the first time ever, delivered HD coverage from the ballparks back to ESPN headquarters. And some of the limitations, like the lack of parking at Yankee Stadium, led to some creative solutions.

“We figured out how to fiber signals to Bristol and cut the show off of a rudimentary switcher in the compound,” says Levy. “That gave us a cleaner product going back to Bristol so they didn’t need to worry about cutting it up there.” Graphics, replays, and other elements were all inserted at ESPN in Bristol.

More than ever 2010 will be the year of statistics for baseball fans. New technologies that track pitches and players with greater accuracy will open up a new level of analysis for things like fielding range, throwing range, and more. But Levy has something different on top of his wish list.

“More than defensive metrics I would love to see a good metrics for relief pitching,” he says. “What’s the value of a middle reliever?”

With that gauntlet thrown it’s important to note that anyone looking to tackle that challenge needs to get moving. After all, there are less than 95 days until the start of spring training for the 2010 season.

Rogers Sportsnet Offers Alternative World Series Coverage for Canadians

Baseball fans in Canada have a choice of where to turn for World Series coverage – Fox, which also provides the U.S. coverage, or Rogers Sportsnet, the Canadian rights holder for the Fall Classic.

“Running the World Feed provides viewers with an alternative in Canada, because we all receive Fox in Canada,” explains Jennifer Chamberlain, acting resource manager, for Rogers Sportsnet. “The main advantage is it allows us to insert or own ads; that’s the first reason to take it.”

Rogers Sportsnet sends an ENG crew of five to the States to cover the Series. They take the game feed, provided by MLB International, and add their own flavor to the coverage through a 30-minute pregame show that leads into every game, as well as post-game content, all in high definition.

“We do a live hit from the field before every game,” Chamberlain says. “MLB International has helped us with that technically speaking; they set us up with the equipment.”

MLB International also makes their transmission path available to the world rights holders for their unilateral feeds. Beauty shots are also available for the rights holders to use, provided by aerial coverage from a blimp.

Chamberlain’s team relies on two Sony ASI encoders for their HD coverage.

“They are small portable units that allow you to transmit an HD signal as long as you can connect to an ASI circuit,” Chamberlain says. “If there’s ASI connectivity at the venue that you happen to be at, then you can pretty much make HD happen.”

Chamberlain also uses a Panasonic AG-PHG10 P2 encoder.

“I act as a producer slash runner slash technical setup person,” Chamberlain smiles.” At the end of the game, I’ll grab the card from the guys on the field after they shoot their interview, pop it in here, call our assignment desk, feed it down the line, and away we go.”

TrackMan Radar Tries Yankee Stadium on for Size

The TrackMan radar system brought a new statistical dimension to Fox’s World Series broadcasts, but the first game played in Yankee Stadium was a bit low on the numbers.

“There’s an electrical signal in here that we didn’t expect,” explains John Olshan, general manager of TrackMan baseball. “We’re not sure what it’s from, but it might be the HD scoreboard. We’ve seen electrical interference in other stadiums and we get around it, but we set up here the first day and there was so much noise, it was like someone was jamming the radar.”

John Olshan, general manager of TrackMan baseball, at the 2009 World Series

Olshan’s TrackMan team spent the entirety of Game 1 analyzing the radar signal, testing different parameters, and eventually got to the point where their data became reliable enough to use on air. Then, it became a matter of selling that data to Fox’s producer. The radar box hangs below the announce booth, plugs into a the stadium’s fiber line, and runs into the Game Creek Fox D truck, where members of Olshan’s team review the files for each pitch, looking for extraneous signals, and validating the data.

“I’m in the [Game Creek Yankee Clipper B] truck on a headset, trying to sell the data,” Olshan explains. “If there’s a home run, we’ll look at it, se how far we tracked it. If we tracked it all the way, I’ll just say, ‘we’re good,’ and we’ll call up the slate they use, which shows distance, height, and speed.”

The producer is constantly being bombarded with statistical information that he can choose to incorporate or not – from historical facts and dates to the fielder’s reaction time on the last play – so Olshan has to be persuasive and his numbers have to be right.

“On the Fox Box we have something that tells us what percent of the hit we’ve tracked, so that’s the first line of defense to make sure we’re accurate,” Olshan says. “But if something doesn’t seem right, I can pull up the actual radar signal of the hit and verify that we did track it all the way, or there was some sort of noise interference and I don’t trust it.”

The biggest potential for the TrackMan system, Olshan says, is on the regional level.

“For the commentator who really understands pitching, you can take these numbers to a new level.”

NHK Masters World Series Coverage

MLB action is a hot property in Japan, and for Japanese broadcaster NHK that means delivering tons of regular season action plus the playoffs and World Series. The challenge is making sure the broadcast meets the discerning eye of the Japanese baseball fan and for Go Egawa, NHK Enterprises America, producer, and his team that means a separate production that uses MLB International camera signals but also relies on five of unilateral cameras.

NHK has three hard cameras located in centerfield, low third, and high first as well as a handheld camera and a camera in the booth. Tonight all of those camera signals will be delivered to NHK’s own production truck that is on hand all season long to produce New York Yankee games (while in Philadelphia it was Metrovision that provided the home away from home for the network).

Metrovision provided remote facilities for NHK during the games in Philadelphia.

An EVS unit is also on board as well as a graphics scorebug with all additional graphics inserted back in Tokyo. Games are broadcast live and Japan is 13 hours ahead so games air during the mid morning.

Egawa says the reason for the unilateral production is to ensure the images delivered to viewers in Japan match the storyline being told by the announcers. There are also some subtle differences in coverage.

“It’s the NHK way,” says Egawa. “For example, we must show the runner crossing home plate. Also MLB International may have a lot of fast shots between the pitcher and batter and we want to create different storylines that don’t always use tight shots.”

More importantly, NHK announcers may want to talk about a hitter when the world feed is showing the pitcher. “During those situations we use our own cameras,” says Egawa, adding that about 70% of the time NHK relies on its own feeds. During replays, however, it will rely heavily on the MLB International feed as it often provides multiple looks of a play.

Another subtle difference in coverage will be the use of the camera at the lower third position. In the U.S. that position will be used to shoot the batter at home plate and often the cameraman follows the runner to first base. But Egawa says NHK cameramen are more apt to not follow the batter and instead zoom into the dugout for reaction shots.

“We focus on capturing the dramatic emotions,” adds Egawa. “We don’t just want to run a lot of replays because when you do that you kill the live story. We will wait until we see an emotional reaction.”

New xMo Shines Under Stadium Lighting Conditions

The latest version of Inertia Unlimited’s xMo super slo-motion camera system made its World Series debut this year, giving Fox Sports a more integrated product that can simultaneously be used to capture both a live signal for air and a recorded signal for instantaneous replay needs.

Jeff Silverman, Inertia Unlimited owner, says the latest system has been a big hit with both Fox Sports and NFL Films and recent improvements to

Jeff Silverman, owner of Inrertia Unlimited, says the new xMo delivers the goods.

firmware and color issues are making for happy customers. But most importantly, he says, the new system delivers the goods in terms of performance during events under the big lights.

“We’re shooting at 540 frames per second and we’re at minus gain and aren’t wide open on the lens,” says Silverman. “All of those things are amazing considering that we are under normal stadium lighting conditions.”

With a typical X-mo package, video is sent back to the TV truck over two strands of fiber or can be recorded locally. Telecast Rattlers utilize one strand for video that is sent to a HD frame synch. The second strand is used for data control/shading of the camera.

The camera contains 6Gb of flash memory that acts like a buffer. At 720p resolution approximately 6,500 frames of video are available. Replays work from the camera by pressing a trigger switch either at the camera or the computer at the out point of an event. The practical length of what replay time is available determines the number of frames in the replay. Typically this length is or 18 to 30 seconds including head and tail. Upon triggering, normal output is interrupted and a replay is substituted. When the replay is complete, the camera returns on its own to capturing pictures.

One new feature that Fox Sports isn’t using during the World Series (but it did use during this past Sunday during Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau Field) is the ability for EVS operators to directly control the replays recorded on the hard drive. During the World Series, however, the cameraman is marking the replays.

NEP “Super B” Unit a Home Run for MLB International Needs

NEP’s “Super B” was all the buzz in the World Series compound at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The 53-foot unit was making its East Coast debut for MLB International, housing personnel and operations for some of MLB International’s top clients. “Super B” is exactly what it’s name implies: a B unit without a matching A unit that can be used to meet the demands of clients who need more physical workspace but cannot book one of NEP’s twin production units.

Mike Werteen says NEP's "Super B" fills a growing market need.

Many of the larger shows handled by NEP require two mobile production units: an A unit that provides the primary production area and a second B unit that features additional replay, graphics, and audio operations. But the twin units tend to travel together, leaving clients scrambling for a second unit. “It’s tough when we run out of the twin units to accommodate our clients who need more physical space,” says Mike Werteen, NEP Supershooters, SVP of Sales and Client Services. “Super B can be tethered to one of our other larger HD trucks and deliver the firepower and seats needed.”

Consider Super B a relatively blank slate with its own router so that equipment can be swapped in and out to meet a client’s specific needs. There is also tremendous flexibility of the physical space. For example, an area that could potentially be a tape replay either can be configured with replay operators working back to back, facing each other, or in two rows behind each other.

“With [NEP CTO] George Hoover’s sandbox technology we have the space and can put whatever toys our clients want inside,” says Werteen. “Empty racks can be built up as needed with EVS units, graphics, or even 3D.”

Super B is already booked for the next major professional championship: the Super Bowl in Miami.

Comcast SportsNet Serves Up Super Sunday for Eagles, Phillies Fans

The Philadelphia/New York sports rivalry is at its nadir today as the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles will battle this afternoon during an NFL broadcast and the World Series takes the rivalry up a notch tonight. And for many Philadelphia sports fans Comcast SportsNet, located in the Wachovia Center (home of the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers), will be at the center of the action. The network will broadcast an Eagles pre-game, post-game, Phillies pre-game, and post-game wrap up during a very busy and intense 12-13 hours.

Making production life a little easier is that both Lincoln Financial Field (home to the Eagles) and Citizens Bank Park (home to the Phillies) are both connected via fiber to the Comcast production facility.

Scott Faccenda, Comcast SportsNet, VP of operations, says Comcast SportsNet currently has three fiber feeds from Lincoln Financial Field and four from Citizens Bank. Sony HD XDCAM cameras are used in the field for interviews and reports but the encoders and transmission gear has not made the leap to HD, something Faccenda hopes will happen in 2010.

“We did some tests with a Sony HD encoder that we can attach to the back of the camera and deliver signals [wirelessly] up to 900 feet to our fiber connections without any problems,” says Faccenda. “We would then need to switch out some SD cards for HD cards on each side.”

Harris Nexio servers and Harris Velocity editing systems are on hand in the Wachovia production center and the studio show control room includes EVS servers, an SSL audio console, and a Sony MVS-8000A production switcher. An event control room is also on hand to produce all of the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers games as well as Phillies games, courtesy of 72 strands of fiber that connect the production control room to Citizens Bank Park.

“All the signals come back and we can produce events just like we were in a truck,” says Faccenda.

Getting signals back from Yankee Stadium in New York, however, is not quite as easy. Given the limitations for satellite vehicles around the stadium fiber is the only option. “We secured a fiber line from the field that takes us to the interconnect at Yankee Stadium and then via fiber to Ascent Media, then to Waterfront, and then down to us,” says Faccenda.

Fox Sports MLB Director Bill Webb Says Emotions Rule During World Series

Baseball is considered one of the most difficult sports to direct, as the ball can go in a myriad of directions and plays on the field can develop in multiple points at the same time. So when it comes to defining a directing philosophy Bill Webb, Fox Sports baseball director, keeps it simple. “Video always follows audio,” says Webb. “All I am doing is backing up what our announce team of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are saying and enhancing it.”

Fox Sports MLB Director Bill Webb says the key to a solid broadcast is delivering images that follow the story being told by Joe Buck (left) and Tim McCarver (right).

With approximately 20 cameras at his disposal and top-quality audio Webb says sometimes the best shots can simply be a matter of luck, like last night’s homerun by Alex Rodriguez that hit the camera located in the left field corner. “You can have a camera set up that doesn’t get any great shots for a couple of games and then all of a sudden it will have five great replays.”

The xMo super slow-motion system is a perfect example of a tool whose effectiveness is slave to where it can be put. Some stadiums do not have room behind home plate so the system can often find itself along the first base line. “Sometimes we luck out and sometimes we don’t,” says Webb.

During the ALCS Championship Series that luck struck during game three in Anaheim. “We happened to be in the right place at the right time,” recalls Webb.

With a wealth of bells and whistles at his disposal Webb cautions that sometimes those toys can get in the way of telling the story. “Viewers may like them the first time but then the toys become redundant,” he says. “The best way to cover baseball is to cover the baseball game. And the only real difference between a regular season game and the World Series is it’s more emotional. You need to make sure the technology never gets in the way of showing that emotion.”

But Webb does have one toy on his wish list. “I would love to have the ability to zoom in on something like the foot touching first base without having the video quality deteriorate,” says Webb.

MLB Network’s BallPark Cam Delivers

MLB Network’s Ballpark Cam system is running on all cylinders in Philadelphia for the World Series as the system at the stadium includes three robotic cameras that are fully controllable by the MLB Network and also available to the other MLB broadcast partners (but minus the control). The three cameras are located in centerfield, the Phillies dugout, and the bullpen.

The system also includes fiber connectivity back to Secaucus and, coupled with Vyvx fiber circuits, gives the Network what it needs in terms of transmission services. Each Ballpark Cam system at the parks is based on a Canon BU-45H remote-control pan-tilt HD camera system (able to pan 340 degrees and tilt 30 degrees up and 50 down) mounted on a Telemetrics Televator robotic system that can be raised from 4ft to 12ft. The centerfield camera is a Panasonic AK-HC1500C box camera.

This allows the camera to be adjusted for field-level interviews and above the lip of the dugout for seating-area shots. Telemetrics also created interface and custom software for MLB’s Canon BU-45H implementation.

The Canon BU-45H camera system consists of a Canon HD camera equipped with three 1/3-inch CCDs, a 20X HD zoom lens and a remote-control ND (neutral density) filter, encased inside a weather-proof housing (complete with a

By next season Ballpark Camera systems, built by Canon, are expected to be in every MLB stadium.

“windshield-wiper” blade). The Canon remote-control pan-tilt HD camera system is powered by 12V DC current and includes Auto Focus and Image Stabilizer technology. It also has HD-SDI and SD-SDI outputs with embedded audio (it can output HD-SDI and NTSC for simultaneous HD recording and SD monitoring) and genlock inputs for synchronizing the different video sources within the park.