TORONTO (September 29, 2014) It’s big and it’s spectacular. At 11,000 square feet with nine separate sets and 52 monitors, Sportsnet today introduced the largest, most innovative sports studio in the country, providing fans with a sports entertainment playground that places them in the heart of the action and brings the NHL experience to life.
The Hockey Central Studio, which debuts October 8 – opening night of the NHL season – features a rotating main anchor desk with a 360° open environment allowing cameras to shoot from any angle, a 38×11 ft. ultra-high-resolution monitor – the largest ever in a Canadian television studio, and an LED floor that displays videos and graphics and leads into a giant video monitor wall. The studio also features up to 14 cameras that can shoot up to three live broadcasts for three different networks at any one time.
“Our hosts and commentators gasped when they saw the studio in action for the first time, and we’re confident fans will as well,” said Gord Cutler, Senior Vice President of NHL Production, Rogers. “It’s cutting edge and allows us to showcase the game in ways never seen before that will keep fans on the edge of their seats.”
Designed by Jack Morton PDG, the company that designed the sets for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium at Vancouver 2010 & London 2012, the set was eight months in the making, beginning with the design phase and coming full circle with the construction in mid-June and finishing in late September.
The studio is complemented by a new graphics and animation package, designed in-house by the Rogers Creative Group. It includes 10 different custom opening animations, 250 player animations, and more than 1,000 support animations that enhance storytelling and game analysis for viewers. Hockey fans will hear fresh musical packages by renowned Canadian composers during NHL on Sportsnet broadcasts, with John Herberman’s enhanced version of the current Hockey Night in Canada song – performed by an all-Canadian 50-piece orchestra – and Stephan Moccio’s refreshed Sportsnet’s theme music.
This season, the NHL on Sportsnet will deliver more than 550 national and regional regular season NHL games across nine networks, including CBC, City, Sportsnet (East, Ontario, West, and Pacific), Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360 and FX Canada. Sportsnet has exclusive Canadian broadcast coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Stanley Cup Final, NHL All-Star Game, NHL Draft Lottery, NHL Draft, and the NHL Awards. Rogers NHL GameCentre LIVE will deliver more than 1,000 regular season games on tablet and smartphones for the upcoming season. Sportsnet is also the official regional television broadcast rights holder for the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs (including radio rights on Sportsnet 590 The FAN) and Calgary Flames (including radio rights on Sportsnet 960 The FAN).
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About Sportsnet
Sportsnet connects Canadian sports fans to their favourite teams and athletes, using five platforms: TV, Radio, Print, Online and Mobile. Sportsnet is Fuelled By Fans, and delivers storytelling on a local, regional, national and global level. The multiplatform brand consists of Sportsnet, sportsnet.ca, Sportsnet 590 The FAN, Sportsnet 960 The FAN, Sportsnet magazine, Sportsnet Mobile and Sportsnet NOW. Sportsnet consists of four regional channels (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific), and the nationally-distributed Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet World, and Sportsnet 360. Sportsnet is the official Canadian NHL national rights holder, and is also the official regional television broadcast rights holder for the Calgary Flames (including radio rights on Sportsnet 960 The FAN), Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs (including radio rights on Sportsnet 590 The FAN), Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens. Sportsnet is the Canadian leader in MLB television broadcasts and is home to 162 Toronto Blue Jays games, plus MLB Playoffs and the World Series. Sportsnet also offers an exciting sports lineup including the NFL, the Memorial Cup, CIS Vanier Cup, Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Grand Slam of Curling, IndyCar, the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, and extensive soccer programming including Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, CONCACAF and Canadian national team matches for men and women. Connected is the network’s nightly news program, providing regional and national coverage of the day’s events in the world of sports.