ESPN Debuts New 4K-Capable Sports Betting-Themed Studio in Las Vegas

Through a partnership with Caesars Entertainment, ESPN's studio at The LINQ will house gambling content creation for all platforms

At the sports media industry continues to wrap its arms around the potential financial boon that is the expanded legalization of sports betting, ESPN is the latest to debut a new video production studio in Las Vegas to produce sports betting-themed content.

Located in The LINQ Hotel + Experience in the heart of the Vegas Strip, ESPN’s new studio is more than 6,000 square feet and includes three studios and features 12 cameras, including two exterior robotic cameras. It’s also notable in that it’s ESPN first studio built fully capable to support native 4K. It will launch in 1080p when it first hits air on Monday with produced segments for SportsCenter and select digital platforms.

ESPN’s new studio in Las Vegas is the network’s first built fully capable of 4K. It will launch in 1080p.

“Our new studio with Caesars is ideally located in the middle of The Strip and has been designed and built out with state-of-the-art UHD 4K-capable technology, a first for ESPN,” Chris Calcinari, SVP of Remote Production Operations, ESPN & ABC Sports said in an official release on Monday morning. “We will leverage this technology and our innovative REMI production model to serve this growing audience of sports fans with the quality content for which ESPN is known.”

The studio is also designed around REMI (or “at home production” workflows as the studio does not have an accompanying control room on site. Instead there are 24 transmit and receive paths to ESPN control rooms and technical operations around the country, including the mothership in Bristol and the network’s Charlotte facility.

ESPN’s studio overlooks the Las Vegas Strip and will serve as the epicenter to all of ESPN’s sports-betting-centered content.

ESPN is partnered with Caesars as its official sports book partner and will collaborate with the entertainment giant on various original content both centered around sports betting and other major sports events, like major boxing and UFC cards.

In addition, ESPN’s flagship sports betting show, Daily Wager, will move to the new LINQ studio full time. The show will return to ESPN2 from this studio with host Doug Kezirian beginning on Sept. 8 and airing daily at 6 p.m. ET. There’s also plans to launch a sports betting-themed digital show this fall that will originate from this studio.

“The appetite for sports betting content continues to grow among fans,” ESPN’s EVP of Content Connor Schell said in the official release. “Our new studio will not only operate as the headquarters for that content, but it will also anchor our year-round presence in Las Vegas – a city that has become a destination for the biggest events in sports. The LINQ studio allows us to meaningfully cover the lineup of major events on the horizon with our league partners like UFC and Top Rank, the NFL regular season with the Las Vegas Raiders – beginning with the Monday Night Football home opener on Sept. 21 – the Las Vegas Bowl, the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, NBA Summer League, and the rescheduled NFL Draft in 2022.”

“In our ongoing mission to serve sports fans, we are committing to a bigger presence both in Las Vegas and with our content across platforms to authentically serve a fast-growing, highly engaged audience,” ESPN’s VP of Business Development Mike Morrison said in the official release. “We are incredibly fortunate to work alongside a great partner like Caesars Entertainment to achieve this and look forward to collaborating on more opportunities in the future.”