MLB 2022: ESPN To Debut K-Zone 3D+' Replays, Leverage Multiple REMI Models in First Year of New Rights Deal

MLB 2022: ESPN To Debut K-Zone 3D ' Replays, Leverage Multiple REMI Models in First Year of New Rights Deal Both main and Kay-Rod' SNB broadcasts will be produced out of Bristol PCRs this season By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Thursday, April 7, 2022 - 4:03 pm

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In its first year of a new MLB rights extension, ESPN is bringing a whole new strategy that puts the focus squarely on Sunday Night Baseball. With 25 exclusive Sunday Night Baseball games (as well as five additional exclusive windows throughout the year, plus the new MLB Wild Card series), ESPN is pulling out all the production stops. This includes a host of new and improved production technologies and, of course, the much hyped Kay-Rod alternative broadcast featuring Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay in the booth for eight SNB games.

Although ESPN will serve as the exclusive home of tonight's Braves-Reds MLB Opening Night Thursday telecast, the network's days of presenting weekday baseball on linear TV are now in the rearview (although plenty of MLB games will still stream on ESPN ). With that in mind, ESPN plans to use new content offerings like the Kay-Rod simulcast and new technology like K-Zone 3D pitch-tracking and ESPN Multiview synced-camera view to make Sunday Night Baseball feel more epic than ever for viewers.

We are really excited to be back this year with a robust baseball-coverage plan and a chance to grow the product with some unique new ideas and lots of new technology, says Phil Orlins, senior coordinating producer, MLB, ESPN. We are looking how to optimize everything we can get out of Sunday, meaning not only technology but also how we can add from a programming standpoint. And the Kay-Rod [alternative broadcast] is a great example of that.

CLICK HERE for SVG's in-depth look at ESPN's production plans for Kay-Rod broadcasts this year.

K-Zone 3D : Pitch Tracking for the Modern Age Since debuting in 2015, K-Zone 3D has become a staple of ESPN's MLB coverage, and these graphic replays can now be turned around in a matter of seconds. This year, ESPN is kicking it up a notch with K-Zone 3D , which compares every single pitch in the game to the MLB average for spin, vertical drop, horizontal drop, and other key Statcast metrics.

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This is the biggest evolutionary change in our K-Zone in a long time, says Orlins. We've been wanting to do it for quite a while. We feel it adds a whole new layer to our [broadcasts].

Based on MLB Statcast tracking data, K-Zone 3D was developed by the Media Technology team at DMED (Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution) and was spearheaded by Christiaan Cokas, Brian Rooney, Jeffrey Bradshaw, and Griffin Rhodes. Since the system is fully automated, Orlins says, K-Zone 3D segments can be turned around in roughly five seconds and can be inserted almost immediately into the broadcast for any given pitch.

The complexity of what we're showing here and yet the limited amount of clutter that's actually on the screen is absolutely amazing, he says. I think the average fan will pretty easily understand it. We spent a lot of time cutting out all the extra [information] and making sure that every visual component on the screen enhances the viewer understanding.

In the near term, Orlins believes, K-Zone 3D will be provide a valuable new tool for ESPN's analysts in the booth, especially new arrival and pitching guru David Cone.

ESPN Multiview': Quick-Turnaround Multi-Angle Looks at Close Plays In addition to K-Zone 3D , ESPN is debuting ESPN Multiview, which features up to four synced cameras on-screen at the same time in split view. This will allow multi-angle review of close plays in a matter of seconds. To pull it off, ESPN brings all camera feeds into its Evertz DreamCatcher replay system, synchronizes them, and then displays them in two-, three-, or four-box on-screen layouts, which can be turned around as quickly as 10 seconds.

It's actually a pretty simple concept, but think it's going to have a huge impact, says Orlins. We've been messing around with this for a long and finally just turned it over to the DreamCatcher room, and they built out a plan for it. It provides an entirely new experience for something as simple as a close play at first base or a game-changing play like a play at the plate. For a huge play like in last year's AL Wild Card game when Bogarts threw Judge out at home, this would've been a very powerful tool to have so quickly after the play. We've done this kind of thing before, of course, but always an inning or more later; now we can do it in seconds.

Next-Gen Graphics: Defensive-Shift Virtual Animations, Pitch Sequences, Win-Probability Charts ESPN will also be more aggressive in deploying virtual real-time animation graphics to illustrate defensive shifts in the field. Use of MLB Statcast data enables the positioning of the infielders and base runners to be translated into graphic overlays, which the broadcaster will use more frequently than before in MLB broadcasts.

We're going to use these animation graphics way more aggressively than anyone ever has, says Orlins. We won't leave it up necessarily when the ball is in play, but I would expect it to be used for every batter of the game - both during pitches and between pitches - to see where they're playing defensively.

Other key analytical elements in ESPN's broadcast this year will include the return of pitch sequences for most batters, as well as Win Probability chart graphics that show the momentum of the game and the significance of big plays on the possible outcome.

Big-Game Feel for SNB: More Super-Slo-Mo, Drone Lifts Off, and BBTN Returns Onsite ESP

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2022/04/07/mlb-2022-espn-to-debut-new-k-zo...
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