TECH INNOVATIONS TAKE VIEWERS FROM TEE-TO-GREEN AT FOX SPORTS - PDF document

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jonathan Butnick Tuesday, June 7, 2016 jonathan.butnick@fox.com TECH INNOVATIONS TAKE VIEWERS FROM TEE-TO-GREEN AT FOX SPORTS’ PRESENTATION OF 116 th U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP WATCH: FOX Sports Golf Tech In Action Aerial Drones, 18 Microphone-Equipped Holes, Enhanced Graphics and Shot Tracers Part of Comprehensive Tech Effort from Historic Oakmont Country Club FOX Sports Partners with Lexus, Presenting Four Holes in Full Virtual Reality Los Angeles – Building on the technological successes of last year’s inaugural United States Golf Association telecasts, FOX Sports gears up for the 116 th U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP with an expanded offering of in-broadcast innovations and enhancements designed to maximize the viewing experience. The all-encompassing tech plans were announced Tuesday by Michael Davies, FOX Sports’ Senior Vice President of Field Operations and Zac Fields, Senior Vice President, Graphic Tech/Integration. “We found that a lot of the elements we intr oduced for golf added to the broadcasts and were very well-received ,” Davies said. “In preparing for this year’s championship, the goal is to do more of the things that worked, while also introducing some new technical additions that we think will make the event even more enjoyable for the viewers.” Under the umbrella of FOX LABS, the dedicated approach to exploring and developing technical partnerships, t his year’s effort includes four full holes in virtual reality, the continued use of aerial drones for course-mapping and a diverse collection of cutting-edge features, as FOX Sports covers every shot in the bag. Integrations span from tee box shot tracers to radio-frequency fairway rangefinders to microphones in all 18 holes and patented green-shading graphic overlays. “ Being on the front-end of creative technological innovation is part of the fabric of FOX Sports and really the primary goal of FOX LABS ,” Fields said. “With golf, we’ve been able to develop new technologies that help us follow t he ball better, hear conversations on the course we weren’t previously privy to and really be able to better see and understand the challenges facing these players.” -more-

TECH INNOVATIONS AT FOX SPORTS’ PRESENTATION OF 116th U.S. OPEN – Page 2 A look at the various technological assets for the 2016 U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP: Virtual Reality Driven by a multi-year partnership with industry-leading NextVR, the U.S. Open is next in the line of FOX Sports’ major live events to incorporate virtual reality . The four-hole multi-camera offering is sponsored by Lexus and provides 360-degree views of the tee boxes and greens at Holes 9, 17 and 18, in addition to roving capability between neighboring Holes 10 and 12 . NextVR’s platform also includes live look- ins at Oakmont’s driving range and video on -demand U.S. Open themed features. Aerial Drones Continuing the momentum of an emerging technology in the sports-broadcast space, FOX Sports once again makes full use of aerial drones in its presentation of the U.S. Open. Early morning course flyovers and scenic shots illustrate the sprawling beauty of the Oakmont property, while high and low mapping shows changes in daily hole locations and the challenges presented to the players. New to this year’s drone arsenal is the capability to overlay graphics on -screen, an element that was previously only available for animated re-creations. Shot Tracers A total of 13 tee boxes at Oakmont are equipped with Protracer capability, in addition to Holes 4 and 12 fitted with Trackman radar/data to collect club speed, ball speed, launch angle, spin rate and yardage carry figures accompanying the ball tracer. Additionally, Holes 2, 9 and 17 feature “Virtual Eye” tracers, picture -in-picture graphics showing the aerial flight path of the ball in relation to the geography of the hole, while Holes 13, 15 and 17 also have cameras built into the teeing ground for unique low-angle views of the players. New to this year’s coverage is the addition of three radio-frequency mobile rangefinders available to provide precise yardages and tracers for approach shots into the awaiting greens. Hole Microphones and Course Audio Available for select holes at the 2015 U.S. Open capturing natural sound and conversations on the greens, cup microphones are built into all 18 holes of the Oakmont course for the 2016 championship. An unwavering commitment to exceptional audio quality is a signature of FOX Sports’ production of live events and the 2016 U.S. Open is no different, as the network deploys a total of 202 microphones across the Oakmont property. Green Shading Home to one of the most difficult putting surfaces in golf, Oakmont’s greens present challenges from start-to-finish. Patented advanced green-shading graphics allow for overlays that show changes in slope on-screen, using both dot and grid systems to illustrate the unique undulations and topography. -more-

TECH INNOVATIONS AT FOX SPORTS’ PRESENTATION OF 116th U.S. OPEN – Page 3 TECH FACTS FOR FOX SPORTS ’ COVERAGE OF THE 116 th U.S. OPEN With more than 181 hours of production planned for this year’s U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP at Oakmont Country Club, here is look at the all-out technological effort, by the numbers:    61,000+ man-hours 33 hard cameras 4 XMO   over two weeks 29 trucks 3 RF Protracer   375 technicians on- equipped cameras 21 replay servers   site 2 4K servers 21 support units    202 microphones 2 production control 19 RF cameras   156 channels rooms 18 built-in hole  recording microphones 2 booths / 1 interview  simultaneously set 16 RF shotguns    99 cameras 2 Gbps of Internet 13 tee tracers    46 transmission 1 4K XMO camera 9 production units  1 75’ Strada crane paths  8 audio mixers  36 miles of fiber  8 RF announcers optics  5 Trackman radars About FOX Sports FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing 21st Century FOX’s wide array of multi -platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FOX Sports includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; FOX Sports 1; FOX Sports 2; Fox’s 22 regional sports networks, their affiliated regional web sites and FSN national programming; FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Soccer 2Go; FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports. In addition, FOX Sports also encompasses FOX Sports Digital, which includes FOXSports.com, FOX Sports GO, Whatifsports.com and Yardbarker.com. Also included in the Group are FOX’s interests in joint -venture businesses Big Ten Network and BTN 2Go, as well as licensing agreements that establish the FOX Sports Radio Network. --FOX SPORTS--