DirecTV has announced that it is rolling out a major upgrade to the hardware it is providing satellite customers as well as a new advertising campaign featuring actor Brian Cox as an “Overly Direct Spokesperson.”

The newly launched set top box Gemini, which is the most significant hardware launch for DirecTV’s satellite customers in nearly a decade, is a wirelessly connected device that allows customers to watch 4K across their favorite apps.

Gemini also provides an integrated Google voice remote to help customers search thousands of their favorite apps like HBO Max, Netflix and others while eliminating the need to switch between TV inputs. The first Gemini device is included for new DirecTV customers at no extra cost.

“We’ve made it possible for DirecTV satellite and DirecTV internet customers to experience entertainment without compromise by providing the greatest variety of live and on-demand shows, sports and movies as well as seamless access to their favorite apps all without switching TV inputs,” said Vince Torres, chief marketing officer of DirecTV.

To reinforce its new entertainment options, DirecTV has also launched its “Entertainment Without Compromise” in its latest ad campaign featuring actor Brian Cox as an “Overly Direct Spokesperson.” 

The campaign highlights many of the major pain points consumers experience with cable, and how DirecTV delivers an elevated entertainment experience through its long-standing sports leadership (including more local Major League Baseball games than any pay TV service4), a top-tier customer satisfaction rating from ASCI5 and greater than 99% satellite signal reliability6.

“I thoroughly enjoy being the Overly Direct Spokesperson in the new campaign for DirecTV,” said Brian Cox. “The main broadcast spot is truly an ode to all that DirecTV is doing to simplify their TV watching experience.”

NEW YORK—The National Football League and RedBird Capital Partners have announced the formation of a new venture, EverPass Media, that will hold the exclusive rights to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to bars, restaurants, hotels and other commercial venues in the U.S. starting with the 2023 NFL season.

The multi-year license of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games to EverPass Media will provide access to NFL Sunday Ticket for commercial businesses across the country. Going forward, the service will be available on a non-exclusive basis through all participating cable and satellite providers.

“Making our games as widely available as possible has been the bedrock of our media strategy and Sunday Ticket’s presence in bars, restaurants and other commercial venues provides millions of fans a way to watch all out-of-market games on Sunday afternoons,” said Brian Rolapp, the NFL's chief media and business officer. “We look forward to working with EverPass Media to expand the Sunday Ticket footprint in commercial establishments across the country.”

“We are excited to partner again with the NFL to develop an innovative platform to expand the League’s reach to its fan base and the sports media ecosystem more broadly,” said Gerry Cardinale, RedBird founder and managing Partner. “Anchored by Sunday Ticket, EverPass Media will provide premium rights holders a scalable live event entertainment service that will enhance the customer experience at commercial establishments across the country.”

Launched in 1994 and consisting of all out-of-market Sunday regular-season NFL games (based on viewer's location) broadcast on Fox and CBS, NFL Sunday Ticket allows fans in the United States to follow all their favorite teams and players, no matter where they reside.

DirecTV had held rights to the package until the NFL licensed to Google the right to exclusively distribute NFL Sunday Ticket through YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels to residential consumers in the U.S. starting with the 2023 NFL season.

DirecTV said in a statement to NextTV that it is still negotiating with EverPass Media to handle the sales of the package to the 300,000+ bars, restaurants and commercial venues it serves. 

EverPass Media will be led by executive chairman, Derek Chang, and chief executive officer, Alex Kaplan, both of whom are seasoned media executives with over 25 years of experience in sports and entertainment. 

The partners also said that EverPass Media intends to grow its content offering beyond NFL Sunday Ticket, providing businesses with a wider array of premium live sports and entertainment service both in the U.S. and globally.

“Our goal is to create a new model for commercial sports rights distribution around the globe, and we believe that this is just the beginning of an exciting journey,” said Chang. “Creating a platform that allows commercial establishments to deliver the content that their customers desire is a significant opportunity and technology allows us to aggregate this content to a platform that can scale and evolve the viewing experience.”

“Watching the NFL in bars and restaurants continues to be one of the most popular and important ways for fans to engage with their favorite teams,” said Kaplan. “NFL Sunday Ticket is an important offering for any commercial establishment, and we look forward to working with our partners to innovate the viewing experience to ensure that more establishments can benefit from this offering and ultimately serve more fans.”

RedBird is funding the creation of EverPass Media and the NFL, through its strategic investment arm 32 Equity, will also make an equity investment. Previously, the NFL and 32 Equity partnered with RedBird to create On Location Experiences, a global leader in premium live event hospitality and fan experiences.

NEW YORK — When it comes to using cutting-edge broadcast technology to cover the 2018 PGA Tour, CBS Sports is going all-out to provide unique, insightful shoots of what’s happening on the course.

“Our philosophy is to use advanced technology to tell the story,” said Harold Bryant, CBS Sports’ executive producer/and senior vice president of production. “We also use it to teach the average golfer to improve their own game.” CBS Sports deploys this technology at various PGA Tour events, working out of the SSCBS mobile production unit equipped and operated by NEP.

SHOT TRACKING

It isn’t always easy for viewers to understand what’s happening on the fairways and the greens; especially when it comes to the shots being taken by golfers and how they play out.

To explain the process, CBS Sports uses Toptracer’s real-time ball tracking (“tracing”) system, which graphically portrays the ball’s trajectory, arc, and apex as it travels from golf club to ground.

[Read: Fox Sports Taps New Production Tech For U.S. Open Coverage]

CBS Sports has been using Toptracer onscreen for eight years, and has been enhancing its application for PGA coverage ever since.

Most recently, CBS combined Toptracer with ARL’s Virtual Eye technology and “ShotLink” shot-by-shot analytical data provided by the PGA Tour, to track the ball’s progress from an actual camera shot as well as via second-view animation showing it “flying over” the golf course. The second animated view — which is on the right side of the broadcast screen — includes ball speed, distance, and apex graphics on the screen in real-time.

“The animation looks so good, you can hardly tell the difference between it and the actual camera shot,” said Ken Aagaard, CBS Sports’ executive vice president, Innovation and New Technology.

READING THE GREEN

Every time a player approaches the cup, armchair golfers at home like to guess how they should putt the ball on the green.

CBS Sports hopes to help lessen the guesswork with “Green Reader” graphics software from Hawkeye (a Sony company). Green Reader is preloaded with a topographic 3D map of each green, and has the ability to calculate and display an onscreen “cone” showing the sweet spot for hitting the putt right. The network is currently experimenting with the technology.

“If you’re hitting it within this cone, there’s a good chance that you’re going to be in the hole or near the cup,” said Bryant. The only drawback for golfers is that they don’t have this graphic to refer to on the green. That advantage rests with CBS Sports’ viewers.

SLOWING DOWN WITH SWINGVISION

Since 2006, CBS Sports has been using high frame rate cameras to cover the shots in slow motion so that viewers can see for themselves how a golfer’s swing actually progressed. The feature — known as SwingVision — has won an Emmy.

“The enhanced color range of HDR really stands out; especially shooting in bright sunlight where SDR would provide washed-out images.” —Ken Aagaard

Typically, high-frame-rate cameras have operated at 4x real-time speed; shooting 120 frames per second vs. the standard 30fps used for broadcast.

But this wasn’t good enough for CBS Sports, which introduced a Sony 4800 16x960 fps camera at the June 2018 FedEx Cup that raised the frame rate to 16 times real-time speed, according to Aagaard. “Peter Kostis is really a whiz at describing a player’s swing, and when you see that swing using a high-frame-rate camera on SwingVision, you can see how accurate he is,” he said.

DON’T FORGET ON-COURSE TALENT

When it comes to on-course coverage from field reporters, the days of talent standing alone with their microphones are over; at least for CBS Sports and their PGA Tour coverage. When CBS Sports Reporter Amanda Balionis does live hits on the course, she has access to a 72-inch touchscreen computer mounted on a mobile golf cart known as the “SmartCart.” Like a TV studio meteorologist, Balionis can call up graphics, stats and footage on the fly.

“SmartCart makes you feel like you’re closer to the action,” said Bryant. “You can use it on site to call up golf swings and shot live to air — and then drive the cart to the next hole to keep up with the action.” CBS is the first U.S. broadcast network to use SmartCart, which it debuted in 2016.

4K/HDR, DRONES AND ATMOS

To cover golf in 4K/HDR for DirecTV’s 4K subscriber service, CBS Sports uses Sony HDC-4300 4K-capable cameras from the SSCBS mobile truck in 4K mode, giving the network valuable experience in using the technology.

Aagaard is more impressed with HDR than 4K.

“You can’t tell much of a difference between 1080p and 4K on side-by-side monitors,” he said. “But the enhanced color range of HDR really stands out; especially shooting in bright sunlight where SDR would provide washed-out images, but HDR shows a full range of shade and light levels.”

CBS Sports is also shooting pre-broadcast overhead shots using drones. “We don’t do this when there are people on the course,” Aagaard said.

As for audio, the network will begin testing Dolby’s Atmos “3D” audio capture system next month. “We were testing HDR two years ago, to stay ahead of the curve,” Aagaard said. “Same thing with Atmos; when it becomes popular with consumers, we’ll be ready.”

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