X Games Kicks Off New Era With First Production as an Independently-Run Company
27/01/2023
Friday, January 27, 2023 - 12:57 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
A new chapter in the history of X Games begins today in Aspen, CO, as the now independently run company hosts its first major event since ESPN sold a controlling stake to MSP Sports Capital in October. ESPN (still a minority owner) and ABC will carry live coverage throughout the weekend, but X Games leadership is also looking to create a more multiplatform, interactive experience to appeal to younger audiences.
I like to call us a 27-year-old startup, says new X Games CEO Steve Flisler, because, even though X Games has been one of the most incredible action-sports and lifestyle-media brands for years, we're coming at this with a totally new mindset. We want to create a true 360 audience experience that goes beyond the linear-TV broadcast. We're not thinking of streaming and digital as a second screen; we're thinking of it as an extended experience. We are inviting our at-home audience to hang out with us and sit and chat live on Twitch or YouTube so that they feel like they are a part of it. And we'll be doing that 10+ hours a day.
Onsite in Aspen: Familiar Production Players Return, But With New Goals In terms of the production operations in Aspen, X Games veterans will see a lot of familiar faces from years past. Echo Entertainment is back to roll out all the technical infrastructure and oversee production for the linear broadcast. Dome Productions trucks are parked at the compound, which is powered by Illumination Dynamics. BSI is back to manage RF wireless transmission across the mountain.
Across the three venues at Buttermilk Mountain (Big Air, SuperPipe, and Slopestyle), there are 53 unique camera positions to cover five sports and two host sets (one for broadcast, one for digital). The camera complement includes a CondorCam point-to-point wired aerial system, three jibs, seven super slo-mos, and four RF FollowCams, which are used by camera operators on skis and snowboards to provide a moving shot from right behind or on board each athlete in the Slopestyle and Big Air. The RF cameras provide dynamic tracking shots of the athletes as they compete. X Games will also deploy an ENG drone to capture beauty shots from around the mountain.
X Games not only represents one of the most iconic media properties out there, Flisler says. It is also synonymous with innovation. The spirit of X Games is that there are no limits - whether it's the field to play or how we create the broadcast. We are going to continue that tradition and take it to the next level. I'm excited for people to see what we have in store.
The production team has also refreshed the graphics package that will be featured in both linear and digital coverage. The new look of the motion-graphics and animations packages, he notes, adds a new color palette to the iconic X Games structural elements. X Games is also creating custom graphics and animations for several brand partners, as well as integrating the overall look with its new merchandise line.
We are building out this weekend-long content experience that will [feature] premium flagship events on ESPN and ABC as well as a more participatory streaming experience, says Flisler. We think about it like a macro and micro version of the storyline, where we have a centralized content operation that can serve both rather than bifurcating the linear and digital. It's an extended experience, so that means that everything - our graphics, music, guests, and the overall presentation - has to be done [in tandem].
Creating a 360 Audience Experience: Fortress LA Joins the Party New to Aspen this year is Fortress LA, a production and creative team that X Games has brought in to manage all streaming production. Known for producing live streams of high-profile music festivals and digital events, Fortress LA has been brought in to bring a new mindset to the X Games live-streaming coverage on YouTube and Twitch.
As we look to grow the streaming [presentation], says Flisler, we will take our premium broadcast package and tweak it a little bit [for streaming] with more humor and sound bites to make it feel more raw. The term I like to use is polished scuff.'
Victoria Arlen and Selema Masekala on the broadcast host set during 2023 X Games Aspen in Aspen, CO. Brett Wilhelm/X Games
When an athlete wins a gold medal, for example, they will head to the linear-broadcast set for a four- or five-minute interview with co-hosts Selema Masekala and Victoria Arlen - as has traditionally been the case on X Games broadcasts. After that, the gold-medal winner will be walked over to the digital host set (located at the new interactive X Fest Snow festival experience) for a more casual extended interview for the streaming audience.
That will be more of a casual-style hangout, says Flisler. It could be 30 or more minutes. We might even ask them to bring their trainer or friends on with them. We're going to lean into that kind of style. We made a very conscious decision to build both a linear-TV host set and a digital host set in order to create that 360 audience experience.
In addition to a dedicated host set, this year's streaming experience will focus heavily on the music performances taking place throughout the next three days.
X Games has rolled out a set dedicated to the streaming side of the this year's coverage.
Music has always been a part of the X Games body, notes Flisler, but we're making it a bigger part of the [presentation]. Rather than having one big concert at night, we have seven music acts that will be integrated into the event schedule th
LINK: | https://www.sportsvideo.org/2023/01/27/x-games-kicks-off-new-era-with-... |
See more stories from svg |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
30/04/2024
Gray Television Using NextGen TV to Roll Out Advanced Features Like HDR
LOUISVILLE, Ky. In another sign that broadcasters are finally using NextGen TV broadcasts to offer viewers new features instead of simply simulcasting existing ...
30/04/2024
Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame To Honor Blaise Labbe
OKLAHOMA CITY The Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame will induct Blaise Labbe, a group news director for Sinclair Broadcast Group, May 2 at the 54th Anniversary I...
30/04/2024
Cox Media Group, Dish Ink New Multi-Year Agreement
ATLANTA and ENGLEWOOD, Colo. Cox Media Group and Dish have ended a dispute over retransmission fees that lasted nearly a year and a half with a new multi-year ...
30/04/2024
TelevisaUnivision Taps LTN for IP-Based Distribution
Video transport solution provider LTN has announced that it is working with TelevisaUnivision to help the Spanish-language media giant migrate to IP-based video...
30/04/2024
NBC KXAS and Telemundo KXTX Used Clear-Com Solutions for Eclipse Coverage
ALAMEDA, Calif. Clear-Com has released details about how it played a pivotal role in the seamless coverage of the recent solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 by NBC K...
30/04/2024
Scripps Appoints Seth Walters To Steer CTV Sales Strategy
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company is adding Seth Walters to its sales leadership team as head of CTV sales, effective April 29....
30/04/2024
Durham Bulls Saturday Game, First Sellout of 2024 Season
The force was strong at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Saturday night, April 27, 2024, as the night netted the ballpark's first official sellout crowd of...
30/04/2024
NewFront Life Is a Cabaret for LGBTQ+ Network Revry
Revry, a network celebrating queer culture. said its second annual NewFront presentation will be a cabaret-type spectacle showcasing the spirit of the LGBTQ+ co...
30/04/2024
FETV Viewers Say Howdy' as Wyatt Earp' Joins Lineup
Family Entertainment Television (FETV) said that the Western series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp will be joining the network's afternoon lineup startin...
30/04/2024
Bob Bakish Departing Paramount, According to Reports
Bob Bakish, president and CEO of Paramount Global, will depart the company as Paramount explores a merger, according to numerous published reports. The reports ...
30/04/2024
Thales reports its order intake and sales for the first quarter of 2024
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Order intake: 5.0 billion, up 47% ( 46% on an organic basis1 ) Sales: 4.4 billion, up 9.8% ( 7.9% on an organic basis) All f...
29/04/2024
Filming begins and further cast confirmed in Mark Gatiss drama Bookish for Alibi
(L-R) Mark Gatiss and Polly Walker on set Monday 29 April 2024 Further casting is now confirmed for Bookish (6x70), a brand-new drama created by Emmy Award-wi...
29/04/2024
She Speaks Sudan': Thomson launches programme to empower women journalists and civil society actors in exile
A groundbreaking initiative offering training and mentoring to 30 women journali...
29/04/2024
Meet the 2024 Sundance Institute Directors, Screenwriters, and Native Lab Fellows
Even though we've been doing this for over 40 years, a spark of excitement r...
29/04/2024
The AN/PRC-158: A Resilient Communications Bridge Between Air and Ground
L3Harris is delivering manpack radios to U.S. Army CH-47 Chinooks as part of the Air-to-Ground Networking Radio program, providing seamless, resilient communica...
29/04/2024
CS President Sam Mehta: Resilient Communications are Critical to Realizing JADC2
He writes in Defense One: Despite the near-universal acknowledgement throughout the U.S. government and defense industrial base of the criticality of resilient ...
29/04/2024
Clear-Com Enhances The Kennedy Center with Seamless Communication Solutions
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/04/2024
Optimising audio loudness & normalisation across the Media Supply Chain
Codemill aims to revolutionize media workflow efficiency at this years NAB Show by introducing Just-In-Time (JIT) playback technology in Accurate.Video Validate...
29/04/2024
TF1 Chooses Broadpeak to Power Targeted Advertising for New Video Streaming Service
April 29, 2024 -- TF1 Chooses Broadpeak to Power Targeted Advertising for New...
29/04/2024
LG Adds Allen Media Group's Local Now FAST Channel in 223 Markets
LOS ANGELES Allen Media Group (AMG) has partnered with LG Electronics to bring 223 Local Now FAST channels to LG's free streaming service, LG Channels, avai...
29/04/2024
Ross Video Unveils Raiden Weather Graphics System
OTTAWA Ross Video has announced the introduction of Raiden, a data-driven weather graphics software that combines data gathering, processing, and visualization ...
29/04/2024
Melanie Georgieva Joins Panalux as Long Form Sales Direct...
Panalux, a leading rental provider of lighting and power solutions for the motion-picture industry and part of Panavision's end-to-end service offerings for...
29/04/2024
Cobalt Iron Earns Patent on Analytics-Based Dynamic Autho...
Cobalt Iron Inc., a leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise data protection, today announced that it has received a patent on its technology for dynamic autho...
29/04/2024
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 202...
SDVI, the leading platform provider for cloud-native media supply chains, today announced that Rally Access Workstation, a fully managed solution for editing in...
29/04/2024
Premier Sports selects QuickLink Remote Commentary soluti...
Premier Sports, a premium sports broadcaster, has selected QuickLink's Remote Commentary solution for introducing professional, high-quality remote commenta...
29/04/2024
Glookast picks Jigsaw24 Media as exclusive UK channel par...
Glookast has chosen Jigsaw24 Media as the only UK channel partner to represent their portfolio of ingest and workflow optimisation products. The agreement, sign...
29/04/2024
Clear-Coms Eclipse HX and Agent-IC Technology Illuminate...
Clear-Com played a pivotal role in the seamless coverage of the recent solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Leveraging its cutting-edge Eclipse HX Digital Matrix i...
29/04/2024
PlayBox Neo to Promote Latest Smart Media Playout Innovat...
PlayBox Neo will promote its complete range of television channel management, graphic branding and playout solutions to EMEA region media content owners and bro...
29/04/2024
RuPaul Game Show Lingo' Returns to CBS May 24
Lingo, RuPaul's word-twisting game show, returns for season two on CBS Friday, May 24. Two episodes air that night, and stream on Paramount Plus, too....
29/04/2024
ESPN, Amazon Prime Video Reportedly Close To New Deals With the NBA
ESPN and Amazon Prime Video are reportedly close to scoring television rights to the National Basketball Association, according to published reports....
29/04/2024
Judge Judy,' Hot Bench' Renewed for 2 More Years
Judge Judy and Hot Bench, CBS Media Ventures' genre-leading court shows, have been renewed through the 2025-26 TV season in more than 95% of the country, Gr...
29/04/2024
Irish Sports Broadcaster Premier Sports Taps QuickLink for Remote Commentary
Premier Sports, an Irish-based premium sports broadcaster, has selected QuickLink's Remote Commentary solution for introducing professional, high-quality re...
29/04/2024
BAFTA Television Craft Awards winners announced
The awards celebrate the craft of behind-the-scenes TV talent and the best programmes of 2023 By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 29, 2024 The awards cel...
29/04/2024
Watch: How Milk VFX helped create 259 shots for Netflix's Scoop
The team at Milk had to create and deliver the VFX and environment work for the royal residences featured in the drama from scratch By Jenny Priestley Publis...
29/04/2024
What's going on at Paramount Global?
CEO Bob Bakish is expected to leave the company as early as today, with a new leadership committee likely to run the company on an interim basis By Jenny Pries...
29/04/2024
Meet the director of media and entertainment and strategic products
Albena Ivanova, director, media and entertainment and strategic products at CHAOS talks to TVBEurope about her route into the industry By TVBEurope Staff Pub...
29/04/2024
Anna Valley brand name acquired by AV company Grand Technix
The acquisition gives Grand Technix the opportunity to expand its footprint in the audio visual and broadcast technology sectors By Jenny Priestley Published...
29/04/2024
Screen Australia announces James J. Robinson's debut feature First Light
29 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces James J. Robinson's debut feature First Light First Light Principal Photography is underway on Firs...
29/04/2024
Capitol Broadcasting Becomes First Company Inducted into NC Media and Journalism Hall of Fame
Capitol Broadcasting recently became the inaugural company honored with inductio...
29/04/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Zanele tells a surprised Zola that Faith fully supports her dropping charges against him
Tonight on House of Zwide: Zanele tells a surprised Zola that Faith fully suppor...
29/04/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Nhlamulo's request has Mdala reeling
Tonight on Scandal: A line is crossed and a mother starts to lose focusDon't miss Friday, 26 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Scandal! o...
29/04/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Evelyn puts measures in place to protect her son
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Evelyn puts measures in place to protect her sonDon't miss Monday, 29 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem Saam...
29/04/2024
Uninterrupted and Tribeca Enterprises Partner for Second-Annual Uninterrupted Film Festival Powered by Tribeca Festival July 9-10 in Los Angeles
April 29th, 2024 UNINTERRUPTED AND TRIBECA ENTERPRISES PARTNER FOR SECOND-ANNUA...
29/04/2024
Rebrand and Refresh: SailGP Talks Bringing its Graphics Operations Inhouse for a Bright New Look to Keep Viewers Illuminated
Rebrand and refresh: SailGP talks bringing its graphics operations inhouse for a...
29/04/2024
Reflecting on a Storied Career: Sean McManus Looks Back While Keeping an Eye on the Future
Reflecting on a Storied Career: Sean McManus Looks Back While Keeping an Eye on ...
29/04/2024
Drones Take Flight Inside MSG: How Sky Candy Studios is Upping the Excitement for Knicks, Rangers Playoff Series
Drones Take Flight Inside MSG: How Sky Candy Studios is Upping the Excitement fo...
29/04/2024
Netflix Announces a Diverse Lineup of Polish Titles to Debut in 2024 With Established Creators Returning With New Series and Films
Back to All News Netflix Announces a Diverse Lineup of Polish Titles to Debut i...