From The Trussville Tribune Staff Reports
What’s better than being at the game? Watching it on TV, of course.
Oh, maybe you like the atmosphere of being there, standing in line for a cool one and standing at the urinal when the stadium explodes with cheers.
But with 60 cameras, including super slow-mo and pylon cameras, if you really want to see the game, park yourself in front of your HDTV big-screen.
The College Football Playoff Semifinals — No. 4 Washington vs. No. 1 Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (2 p.m.) and No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Clemson in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (6 p.m.) — will be televised on ESPN on New Year’s Eve, with five additional presentations on ESPN’s networks as part of a MultiCast for both semifinals. The alternate productions will be available on ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes, with SEC Network airing “Finebaum Filmroom” during the Huskies-Crimson Tide game as a sixth option.
ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes Radio will also broadcast the games. MultiCast presentations are available to stream on the ESPN app.
ESPN will have more than 60 cameras, including 4K cameras, inside both the Georgia Dome for the Peach Bowl and University of Phoenix Stadium for the Fiesta Bowl. Additional technology highlights:
- Pylon Cameras: All eight pylons will be equipped with four cameras, allowing for camera angles along the goal line, sideline and backline.
- Super-Slow Motion: Super slow-motion cameras will provide precise, tight camera shots throughout the game and capture the emotion of the matchups.
Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe call the Peach Bowl while Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Samantha Ponder and Tom Rinaldi broadcast the Fiesta Bowl. Tessitore and Ponder make their semifinal debuts, while Blackledge, Rowe, Fowler and Herbstreit have worked a semifinal in the previous two years of the College Football Playoff. For the Fiesta Bowl, Ponder reports on the Tigers and Rinaldi on the Buckeyes.
College Football Playoff Semifinals MultiCast
- Command Center Telecast (ESPN2): A split-screen with multiple camera views simultaneously, which could include the main ESPN camera angle, the SkyCam view and isolated camera feeds of both head coaches at any given time. Enhanced statistics and real time drive charts supplement the game action.
- Finebaum Film Room (SEC Network): Paul Finebaum along with analysts Booger McFarland, Jordan Rodgers and Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze take calls from fans during the Washington-Alabama game and provide instant analysis.
- Hometown Audio (ESPN3): The local radio broadcasts – yes, that’s Eli, Phil and the gang — from all four participating teams, in conjunction with IMG and Learfield Sports, synched up to ESPN’s main telecast.
- DataCenter (ESPN3): ESPN’s main TV production is supplemented by statistics, tweets and additional relevant information for an enhanced real-time experience on one screen.
- SkyCam (ESPN3): Permanent view from above the action and behind the offense on most plays.
- ESPN Deportes: Kenneth Garay, Alex Pombo and Sebastian Martinez-Christensen (Peach Bowl) and Lalo Varela, Pablo Viruega (Fiesta Bowl) on the Spanish-language calls of the game.
- ESPN Radio: Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Todd McShay (Peach Bowl) and Bill Rosinski, David Norrie and Ian Fitzsimmons (Fiesta Bowl) call the games. The broadcast is available throughout the country to more than 400 ESPN Radio stations, ESPNRadio.com, SirusXMRadio, the ESPN app, Apple Music, TuneIn and Slacker Radio.
- ESPN Deportes Radio: Eduardo Varela and Pablo Viruela (Peach Bowl) and Kenneth Garay and Sebastian Martinez Christensen (Fiesta Bowl) call the matchups.
ESPN will offer onsite coverage from both Atlanta and Glendale, Ariz., beginning Wednesday, Dec. 28, including coverage of media day on Thursday, Dec. 29.