Two afternoon chat shows on ESPN, "Pardon the Interruption" and "Around the Horn," will migrate to HD starting probably in September, the sports network said last weekend.
Although ESPN's headquarters is in Connecticut, both programs are usually produced at Atlantic Video, a studio complex in Washington, D.C. "PTI" premiered back in 2001, followed by "ATH" a year later.
According to the Washington Business Journal, the shows' staffers were recently informed that the chart-format programs would be moving to ABC News studios, which are located off Connecticut Avenue in Washington. (ABC/Disney owns the ESPN channels.)
ABC News will oversee construction of new sets designed with 16:9 HD in mind. ABC/ESPN's format of choice is 720p. ESPN put the production contracts out to bid earlier this month and received several bids, including one from Atlantic Video, which was hoping to keep the shows, a source recently told the Web site dcrtv.com.
