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New York, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore Sites Converted in Time
for Super Bowl XL
BURBANK, Calif., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- ESPN Zone, the nations premier
sports dining and entertainment concept, has kicked off a multi-million dollar
technological conversion of all eight restaurants to bring sports fans an
unrivaled High Definition (HD) viewing experience. ESPN Zone locations in New
York, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore will be converted to HD in
time for Super Bowl XL, which will be broadcast on ABC-TV Sunday, Feb. 5 at
6 PM ET. The remaining ESPN Zone locations in Chicago, Anaheim, Atlanta and
Denver will be converted to HD by the end of 2006.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060123/NYM013LOGO )
With the number of sporting events now broadcast in HD supported by the
launch of ESPNHD and ESPN2HD and critical breakthroughs in hardware, the
circumstances were in place to move forward with this major initiative. Each
facility will be replacing standard definition television monitors with
Philips flat screen plasmas and LCDs. In addition, each of the large
projection screens at ESPN Zone have been converted to be able to project up
to 16 foot images in High Definition.
ESPN Zones HD conversion is further evidence of how The Walt Disney
Company and ESPN are using technology to make its products more compelling to
consumers. "At ESPN Zone, we evaluate every element of our guests experience
from the moment they walk through our doors," said John Pierce, Director of
Marketing, Creative Content and Communications for Disney Regional
Entertainment. "Our conversion to HD confirms our commitment to providing our
guests with the very best viewing experience possible."
In addition to the hundreds of new Philips monitors, each converted ESPN
Zone also features up to eight new HD satellite receivers, up to eight new HD
cable receivers, HD-compatible routing and switching equipment, as well as
10,000 feet of CAT 6E skew-free network cable. "Given the significant amount
and complexity of the audio / visual infrastructure in place at ESPN Zone, the
conversion to High Definition has been much more elaborate than a typical
sports bar," said Guy Savage, Manager of Audio / Visual Systems for ESPN Zone.
About ESPN Zone
For sports lovers of all types and ages ESPN Zone is an all-encompassing
sports dining and entertainment mecca where guests are immersed in an ESPN
experience. The concept is built on the broad appeal of ESPN and its
affiliated brands. ESPN Zone offers the ultimate viewing experience on more
than 150 monitors, including a high-definition big screen. In addition to
expertly-prepared American grill food and over-the-top service, guests at each
ESPN Zone location can enjoy more than 10,000 square feet of interactive games
and attractions. The ESPN Zone concept was developed by Disney Regional
Entertainment, which currently operates eight ESPN Zone units in Anaheim,
Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, New York City, and Washington,
D.C. A ninth ESPN Zone in downtown Los Angeles will be opened in 2009.
ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD
ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD will combine in 2006 to deliver over 600 major events
plus over 2,000 programs totaling more than 6,500 hours in high definition
featuring live programming, individual programs, movies and series from ESPN
Original Entertainment plus news and information programming. Event telecasts
will include a variety of match-ups from college football, the mens College
World Series, the Little League World Series, Major League Baseball, mens and
womens college basketball, the National Basketball Association, Monday Night
Football from the National Football League, the Womens Final Four, the
National Hot Rod Association, the NCAA Frozen Four (hockey championships) and
the FIFA World Cup from Germany. ESPN Bristol-based high-definition news and
information programs include -- SportsCenter, NFL Countdown, NFL PrimeTime,
NFL Live, Monday Night Countdown and Baseball Tonight.
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