Forward/Rewind: Highlighting some of ESPN’s innovations in 2014
Editor’s Note: With this multi-week series — the Front Row Forward/Rewind, 2015/2014 — ESPN’s Communications Department takes the pulse of content executives and their properties throughout ESPN for views on what transpired in 2014 and a glimpse into 2015. It was a monster year for ESPN, with the success of the World Cup; the phenomenal launch of the SEC Network; the opening of Digital Center 2, the new home for SportsCenter and NFL Studio shows; and so much more. We can never encapsulate all the amazing things ESPN did this year, but the Forward/Rewind does its best to recognize the moments we’ll all remember.
1. ESPN Technology
Senior Vice President, Technology and Product Development, Aaron LaBerge: “Digital Center 2 is one of the most essential things we’ve ever built at ESPN. It is the embodiment of innovation and content creativity, the fusion between technology and production. We designed DC-2 to solve problems that don’t yet exist. Unlocking its potential over the coming years puts us in a position to remain leaders in technology and at the forefront of innovative content creation. It is one of the keys to of our future success.”
2. College Sports: BCS Championship Megacast and The Paul Finebaum Iron Bowl Film Room
Carlisle: ESPN's 'BCS Megacast" was a big hit: Monday night's BCS National Championship was entertaining enough,… http://t.co/EGZVXlRLQW
— Ventura Journal (@venturajournal) January 9, 2014
Enjoying the #ironbowl @espn + @SECNetwork @finebaum film room experience while on the road. pic.twitter.com/Gl3BcXSXFr
— Ben Goss (@drbengoss) November 30, 2014
3. Tennis
The question “Which player to watch?” while watching tennis was solved this summer with ESPN3 Surround at Wimbledon. The offering had three screens – each player, and a traditional angle. Then, for the US Open, a fourth view was added, from the overhead SpiderCam at the US Open.
Trying out this whole "ESPN3 Surround" thing. It's a little weird, but as a tennis player myself, it's really cool… http://t.co/gEDfvl5RWn
— Jake Strawhecker (@thefinalSTRAW) August 26, 2014
4. NFL
Seth Markman, senior coordinating producer: “We moved into a brand new state-of–the-art studio [in Digital Center 2] this season. With that came new music, graphics and animations. Everything was a technical breakthrough when it came to what we were able to accomplish. The way our shows look, sound and feel, there’s nothing else like it.”
5. ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com
Editor-in-Chief, ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com Chad Millman: “The collaboration between our print and digital teams is unparalleled. We can see the results in the quality of the game coverage, the analysis, the news-breaking, the storytelling, the social content, the graphics, the photos, the delivery of information and its timeliness, the traffic numbers, the beautiful magazines and, most important, the ideas that bloom every day.”
6. Soccer
The nightly World Cup Tonight “Last Call” segments from ESPN’s 2014 FIFA World Cup studio set at Clube dos Marimbas overlooking Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach became one of the most popular elements of ESPN’s Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup presentation.
7. ESPN Marketing and Ad Sales
The ESPN launch of FiveThirtyEight and creation of Exit 31 to house Grantland, FiveThirtyEight and ESPN Films, led by Executive Vice President, Global Strategy and Original Content, Marie Donoghue
It's election night, and @FiveThirtyEight is adding a studio. http://t.co/ROa86fI78h pic.twitter.com/R3YPZGeBXU
— rEvolution (@littlerbigE) November 4, 2014
Paul Melvin, Gracie Blackburn, Dave Nagle, Bill Hofheimer, Carrie Kreiswirth, Mac Nwulu, Ana Livia Coelho and Amy Phillips contributed to this post
Friday: Giving Back
