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ESPN's X Games will stream live in VR on Samsung headsets
Next week at its July 13th to 16th Minneapolis competition, the X Games will livestream its first event in VR. Thanks to its partnership with Samsung, though, it seems you'll only be able to watch it on a Samsung Gear VR headset through its dedicated app. Feature segments and commentary will be spliced between coverage of three events -- Skateboard Vert, BMX Street and Skateboard Street Amateurs -- and broadcast to Gear VR headsets in 48 countries.
'Rocket League' is the latest X Games eSport on ESPN
Driving giant RC cars around a soccer field and using them to bounce an equally gargantuan ball into the net sounds like the ultimate extreme sport. Unfortunately, Faceit and the X Games will only allow competition in a virtual version of that this year. Of course I'm talking about Rocket League. If you're cool with that, the pair have partnered for the Rocket League Invitational, which will be held in Minneapolis during ESPN's annual extreme sports festival.
Samsung adds UFC fights and more live events to Gear VR
Soccer. Basketball. Golf. While plenty of sports are being shot in 360-degree video, the format is still the exception, rather than the rule. For Samsung, which wants to sell as many Gear VR headsets as possible, that just won't do. To solve the problem it's teamed up with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the X Games and concert organiser Live Nation for a slew of VR programming called "VR Live Pass." The first events will be available from June through the Samsung VR app, with near-global access provided you have a headset handy and a stable internet connection.
Intel teams up with ESPN to build connected snowboards
Intel has announced that it's doing deals with two companies that'll put its tiny computer module, Curie, in plenty of action sports gear. The first is with ESPN, the network that's covering the 2016 Winter X Games later this month. The firm is installing Curie modules into the snowboards used for the men's slopestyle and Big Air competitions. The hardware will transmit real-time data about athlete performance, such as jump height, in-air rotation and the force that they hit the ground with. These stats will then be pushed to the TV studio for commentators to bring up when discussing each participant's chances.
ESPN's X Games to use GoPro footage during live broadcasts
ESPN is never afraid to experiment with new technologies. Earlier this year, it used drones to capture footage of athletes as they performed during the winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. That recorded content, however, was limited to being used for replays or post-show highlights, if at all. But, over the past few months, ESPN has been working with GoPro to bring a new, real-time camera angle to its broadcast of this year's summer X Games, scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas from June 4th to June 7th. For the first time ever, the sports network will be using video from GoPros in live broadcasts of the event, giving viewers at home a first-person look at the action while it happens.
ESPN is bringing camera drones to the X Games
Last September, the Federal Aviation Administration began working with movie and TV groups to grant them approval for operating drones in national airspace. Most recently, cable news channel CNN got the green light from the FAA to use these UAVs for news reporting, and now ESPN's managed to do the same. The sports network has announced that it plans to use camera-equipped drones during this year's Winter X Games, which are set to take place in Aspen, Colorado. It will be the first time ESPN has done this; the company says this technology is next in a long line of several advances and enhancements for its broadcasts, such as the Pylon Cams we saw recently at the College Football Playoff National Championship.
GoPro deal brings action cameras to live TV
Action cameras like the GoPro Hero line are great for immersing you in sports and other thrilling events, but there's a catch -- TV broadcasters can't easily use them live, which means you're either left watching a not-so-reliable internet stream or waiting for video released after the fact. Thankfully, you won't have to deal with these compromises quite so often this year. GoPro is teaming up with Vislink to craft a wearable wireless transmitter that athletes and others can wear to show their adventures on live TV. You won't get more details until the spring, but you'll see it in action at the Winter X Games in Aspen, some AMA Monster Energy Supercross races and other thrill-a-minute sports events in the near future. One thing's already certain: you won't always have to settle for old-school broadcast camera footage for much longer. [Image credit: Mark, Fang & Ming Bourne, Flickr]
Pro gamers to compete for X Games medals in Call of Duty: Ghosts
For the first time in the history ESPN's X Games, pro gamers will compete for medals playing Call of Duty: Ghosts in Austin this June. Major League Gaming (MLG) has partnered with the sports broadcaster for the MLG X Games Invitational where the same hardware will be up for grabs as those athletes competing in skateboard, BMX, Moto X and other extreme sporting events. The top five teams based on MLG Pro Points rankings will get an invite, and three more teams from the recent COD Championship will round out the field. Upon arriving in Austin, groups will compete in a three-day tournament on Xbox One to determine the winner. What's more, the gaming event is said to be part of X Games TV coverage that's set for ESPN and ABC. [Image credit: Washington Post/Getty Images]
ESPN and Twitter widen their deal for in-tweet video highlights
Twitter would really, really like to make ad-driven TV experiences central parts of its service, and it just confirmed that laser-like focus through an expanded deal with ESPN. The sports broadcaster will soon show in-tweet video highlights of football, soccer and the X Games; Twitter, in turn, gets a guaranteed volume of promoted tweets to parallel ads inside the videos themselves. While we're not looking forward to the new marketing pitches when they surface in the year ahead, we'll be happy if we can catch more replays without losing our place in the social stream.
ESPN X Games 17 returns with more than double the 3D coverage, takes rally racing to the streets
ESPN has released some of the broadcast details for Summer X Games 17, scheduled to occur between July 28th - 31st, and it's increasing from eight hours of 3D coverage last year to a planned 18 hours this time around. Interestingly, the HD schedule has been shortened slightly from 31 hours to 25, but there's still plenty of sports action to catch, including a new Enduro X motocross competition and a move to the streets of downtown Los Angeles for the Rally racing competitions. Check all the details currently available in the press release after the break, we're going to go find and wash our Travis Pastrana jersey.
ESPN kicks off Winter X Games 15 broadcasts in HD, 3D & on mobiles tomorrow
After kicking off its original 3D productions with X Games 16 last summer and airing X Games 3D The Movie back in '09, ESPN is preparing to cover Winter X Games 15 all weekend across its various platforms as well. The schedule is set for 24 hours of HD sports broadcasts on ESPN and ESPN2, while ESPN 3D is set up for 18 hours of action across nine individual windows. ESPN3 is also getting in on the action with 34 hours of coverage including 10 hours of exclusive coverage and streaming video, while ESPN Mobile TV is carrying 23 hours of coverage and owners of Android or iOS devices can snag the Winter X Games app for even more information. Along with 56 HD cameras and 13 3D cameras, the I-Movix ultra slow motion camera from the Beijing Olympics will be back in action as the Mega Mo providing replays captured at 4500 frames per second. Check the press releases after the break for more details and all the schedules and the above ESPN 3D spot.
Sony Style stores to air X Games 16 in 3D tonight, Saturday
Don't have a 3DTV setup yet, but still want to get a piece of ESPN 3D's X Games 16 production? Grab a map and find the nearest Sony Style -- and hope it's open past 8 tonight, past 7 Saturday -- since they will be displaying the broadcasts during store hours. Tonight's featured event is Moto X Freestyle, while Saturday the rally cars and their in-car 3D cameras take center stage. If you get a chance to check it out, let us know what you think, or if any other retailers are taking advantage of some new 3D content to try and get customers in the door.
ESPN 3D goes international, brings X Games 16 to Australia's Foxtel and Austar
The debut of X Games 16 and its 8 hours of live 3D broadcast is nearly upon us, and for the first time in ESPN 3D's short history, viewers outside the US will be able to get a look at the action. The lucky country is Australia (already known for being ahead of the curve on 3D) and it appears that AUSTAR won't be content letting Foxtel take the lead like it did with HD, since both will have the network on channel 206 on Friday, July 30 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. AEST and Sunday, August 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. AEST. All iQ2 and MyStar HD subs (with 3DTVs of course) should have access to the channel -- check the press release after the break for any other details and prepare for some morning extreme sports with your toast & baked beans.
ESPN lays out X Games 16 coverage via online, HD & 3D formats, including in-car 3D cams
We're just a couple of days away from the beginning of X Games 16 in Los Angeles, and beyond just the high flying acrobatic stunts, it should be also be a broadcasting technological showcase. Just two years removed from making its HD debut, this year's summer X will get 31 hours (up from 20 last year) of dedicated HD coverage on ESPN & ESPN2, 27 hours of simulcast coverage + 10 hours of exclusive video on ESPN3, 28 hours of live video on the ESPN Mobile platform, a YouTube channel plus daily updates on Facebook and Xbox Live. As for that newly launched 3D network? Expect eight hours of live coverage from 14 native 3D cameras (including the "3D Mega Mo" ultra slow motion camera) including men's and women's Super X racing, the Big Air Skateboard competition, and rally car events featuring the first live use of wireless 3D cameras mounted in the car. Even more details are in the press release after the break.
X-Games 3D the Movie debuts August 21
3D will take another big step forward this week with the one week only appearance of X-Games 3D The Movie. ESPN promises it's the first full-length sports 3D flick and has gone to great lengths to make sure it's an incredible experience. It already screened in L.A. during the summer X-Games, but in case you didn't catch it there peep the trailer (2D) embedded after the break.
ESPN presenting X Games 3D the Movie this summer
The X Games haven't even been HDTV broadcasts that long, but this summer they'll make the jump to 3D with X Games 3D the Movie. Coming as a part of Disney's Digital 3D push, it will include footage from multiple X Games events including skateboarding with Danny Way, Shaun White snowboarding and Travis Pastrana rally car racing, calling itself the first sports-themed 3D movie. 3D definitely brought something extra to the BCS National Championship Game, so while extreme sports may not be our most logical next step, we'll be checking this one out too.
ESPN's Winter X Games 12 debuts in HD tonight
You've known it was coming, but tonight is finally the night in which you can kick back, relax and enjoy hours upon hours of your favorite extreme winter sports in glorious high-definition. In a move made far too late (but we're thankful nonetheless), ESPN has finally decided to cover this year's events from Aspen, Colorado in HD, marking the first time in Winter X history in which the entire four-day event will be broadcast in 720p across the ESPN family of networks. Ready to cancel a few plans and check out Sal Masekela (among other things) in HD? Hit the read link for the full schedule -- the first snowflake flies tonight at 9:00PM EST on ESPN HD.[Image courtesy of Aspen / Snowmass]
ESPN's Winter X Games 12, now in HDTV
The 2008 Summer Olympics will have to hold on, ESPN has announced the Winter X Games is going HD in its 12th edition. Kicking off January 24th from Aspen Colorado, viewers can look forward to 15 hours of "winter action sports", as well as XCENTER, the daily highlight show broadcast in HDTV. If snow isn't your thing don't worry, the regular X Games will also make the resolution jump in August for X Games 14.
Skate takes on the X Games with two new trailers
After Jake Brown showed us just how dangerous a mega ramp can be at the X Games last night, we've felt a bit queasy just thinking about our favorite skaters taking on the colossal structure. It being X Games weekend and all, leave it to EA to show off that portion of Skate, along with an absolutely terrifying trip down the mega ramp. You won't be taking that plunge on August 15th when you get your hands on the demo, so behind the cut we have the street portion of their X Games trailers which is a bit more in line with what you'll be able to accomplish. Chris Haslam? In our video games? Oh, happy days are here.
VCAST TV adds temporary channel for X Games
If you thought Verizon's launch lineup for VCAST TV was a bit thin, don't fret -- MediaFLO's got bandwidth to spare -- but you might get extra channels spoon-fed to you one special at a time. Subscribers may have already noticed that EXPN has already showed up on that tiny screen of theirs, offering up all the X Games 13 coverage they can handle from July 22 through August 7. The extra channel supplements X Games coverage on ESPN Mobile TV (one of VCAST TV's permanent channels), so between the two, mobile warriors shouldn't miss a minute of the action.[Via mocoNews]
