ESPN’s Chuck Pagano, Scotty Connal to be inducted into Sports Broadcasting Hall Of Fame

The word “innovator” certainly applies to ESPN Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Chuck Pagano.

Tonight in New York City, Pagano will be inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame along with former ESPN Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, the late Scotty Connal.

Pagano joined ESPN as a technical director prior to the network’s Sept. 7, 1979, on-air debut. As he continues his career, Pagano has overseen key projects that have made the company a technology leader and changed the way fans watch sports.

“I’ve always felt that ESPN’s biggest innovation was our own birth and launch in 1979,” said Pagano. “The next innovation that stands out is DC1 [Digital Center] and that is because it helped us launch HD [High Definition] and serve the ‘perfect storm’ from analog [tube-based TVs] to digital TV [flat panel TVs].”

The photo gallery above includes some of the innovations Pagano was instrumental in producing for ESPN.