Sportsnet has new look, new ideas
Network now has its own state-of-the-art studios on Rogers campus
Reality can be a bummer. When Rogers spent $5.2 billion to win the Canadian national TV rights for NHL coverage in 2013, it had some big ideas about virtual reality and augmented reality. But the big problem was the real reality.
The technology wasn’t quite ready and, even if it was, headquarters at One Mount Pleasant itself didn’t have the studio space required to produce what was promised: a Wednesday night national game, Sunday night’s “Hometown Hockey” and the crown jewel of hockey programming, “Hockey Night in Canada.”
So Rogers went makeshift, largely using CBC’s studios on Front St., dividing its staff in two locations, creating logistical problems, not the least of which was Toronto’s traffic nightmare as producers would be required to venture between both locations.
Now as Rogers heads into its eighth season of a 12-year contract, that big problem has been solved. The company has vacated the CBC digs and starting with Wednesday night’s Maple Leafs home opener, Sportsnet will debut a new look and a new lineup, with state-of-the-art studios in One Mount Pleasant promising new digital tricks on multiple platforms.
“There is magic just having everybody under one roof,” Sportsnet president Bart Yabsley says. “We can’t even predict the collaboration and ideas that are going to come out of having all of our people under one roof. We haven’t had that luxury. And we’re really excited. We’re already starting to see it as we build the studio and as we plan the season … ideas are flowing in a way that isn’t possible if you’re not under one roof.”
Sportsnet has had its share of issues since taking over “Hockey Night In Canada” and the national rights. The first couple of years weren’t well received critically. After two years, there were some big about-faces, with Ron MacLean reinstalled as host after George Stroumboulopoulos had the chair for a couple of years. But popular faces have been let go, deemed largely to be money-saving moves.
This year, again, there are personnel changes:
> Play-by-play caller Jim Hughson retired. He won’t be replaced by one caller, though Chris Cuthbert would now appear to be the main voice on hockey.
> Caroline Cameron will debut as the new host of “Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey.” “Cameron is fantastic and she just continues to get better and better in every role that we have put her in,” says Rob Corte, vice-president in charge of NHL productions at Sportsnet. “And her hosting a national hockey show was the next step in her career.”
> The first intermission of “Hockey Night” will feature a “players panel” with MacLean, Kevin Bieksa, Kelly Hrudey and Jennifer Botterill.
“We’re going to shoot it differently. We’re gonna shoot it in a 360 degree style. It’s going to be very personality driven, very opinion driven,” Corte says.
> The second intermission will be a new “32 Thoughts” segment with Elliotte Friedman, joined by Jeff Marek.
“It’s been a fantastic brand and a fantastic piece of content for us on a regular basis,” Corte says of Friedman’s brainchild that started as a column, then became a podcast. “We’re all really excited about what that is going to be.”
> “Hometown Hockey” moves to Monday night, from Sunday, with MacLean and Tara Slone as hosts.
And there are a bunch of new digital toys.
For technology nerds, it’s more than just green screen. But, yes, green-screen technology will be a part of the show. Imagine taking the host and placing her anywhere in the world, exploring arenas, stadiums or cities like a character in a video game. Or at a desk in a studio that doesn’t exist in reality.
And, yes, ads for sponsors will pop up on screen for viewers at home, though they will be more seamless than clunkier earlier versions of virtual reality.
But what has Sportsnet really excited is “augmented” reality. If “virtual” reality makes it appear a person is somewhere other than the set, “augmented” reality makes something that doesn’t exist necessarily to appear real and on the set, three dimensionally, beside the hosts.
“We’re going to be able to take 3D elements and bring it into our set,” says Corte. “It’s not physically there, but it’s there, right? So whether it’s a graphic or whether we wanted to have a 360 view of Auston Matthews’ release of a shot, you’re going to be able to see it.”
It will take 13 studio cameras across two studios (one is 3,900 square feet, the other 2,500) with 22 set monitors delivering 1,200 square feet of visible surface area for Sportsnet’s hockey shows. Rogers also built two production control rooms and will use 50,000 feet of video cables, 75,000 feet of network cables and 55,000 feet of audio cables.
“The staples of what makes great television, great broadcasting, are still going to be there. The personalities, the discussions, the hockey, the analysis, all that stuff,” Corte said. “We’re just adding more elements to the mix.”