New studio to offer features “never seen before as part of sports broadcasting in the UK and Ireland”, according to Sky.
- It will make its on-screen debut on Monday Night Football before being used for Sky Sports Tennis coverage.
- Features include a super wide high-res screen, virtual canopy roof and LED floor.
Sports fans will see a new Sky Sports studio for the first time tonight on Monday Night Football (MNF) with Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Karen Carney and David Jones making their debut in the space tonight. They’ll be analysing the first weekend of the Premier League plus presenting live coverage of Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The new studio and associated presentation draws a new battle line between Sky and rival TNT Sports, formerly BT Sport. Both broadcasters have been working on new ways to cover the Premier League and to win over fans.
Sky says the state-of-the-art studio will give viewers “a glimpse into the future”. Features include an LED floor. This will allow analysts and presenters to better use the wealth of data available from live match action, giving audiences a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of players and teams across sports.
Other features including a super wide high-res screen and a virtual canopy roof. Sky says this will “create a more immersive viewing experience for sports fans”.
Initially the studio will be used for Monday Night Football. But later this month, it will be used for Sky Sports coverage of the US Open tennis tournament.
Sky says the scale and flexibility of the space allows for “more of the biggest and best sporting events live on Sky Sports to benefit from the innovative technology available in the future”.
Corporate comment
Jonathan Licht, Sky Sports Managing Director, said:
Sky Sports has been at the forefront of broadcasting innovation since our inception over 30 years ago. The new studio unveiled today demonstrates our commitment to continuing to give sports fans the most entertaining viewing experience possible of the biggest and most-loved events in the sporting calendar.”
Ben Wickham, Sky Sports Director of Creative Output, added:
“We wanted to create a modular space that brings the latest technology to our customer, allows us to showcase the joy of sport, and capture the huge advances in technology that are happening rapidly.
As well as sport, it takes inspiration from cinema and entertainment, with the tech involved allowing us to be brave and add an entire new dimension to our output. The options are endless for future content presented from this studio.”