Q1 of '21 was the original target date for the new CBS Sports HQ studios to make their debutCBS SPORTS
CBS Sports HQ today debuted its new studios and fully redesigned on-screen graphics to enhance the viewing experience for the 24/7 streaming sports news network that is available for free across platforms. The three new studios in Fort Lauderdale include the main set for CBS Sports HQ's morning and afternoon programming, as well as a new studio dedicated to CBS Sports Fantasy programming and a new studio for the expanding slate of podcast programming from CBS Sports Digital. "It's definitely a step forward for us," CBS Sports Digital Exec VP & GM Jeff Gerttula told THE DAILY. "At the time, the original studio felt high-end for us but now this is a much bigger investment so it will be a bigger footprint. It will allow for more flexibility and more conversations and a better looking presentation when we are doing two- and three-person desks." Gerttula said Q1 of '21 was the original target date for the new studios. But with more employees working remotely, the process was accelerated because there were far fewer staff members in the office to work around.
BIGGER & BETTER: The redesigned graphics package is intended to deliver more robust data and information, including pre-game and in-game fantasy and sports betting data. There will be a larger ticker at the bottom of the screen, which will include contextual data to add to programming. There will be alerts within the ticker detailing up-to-the-second changes in gambling lines as well. The updated graphics are also adaptable and allow CBS Sports HQ to deliver a richer full-screen viewing experience for post-game highlights. Gerttula said, "We are going to be able to provide 25% more information through a more robust ticker. We can also go wide when we're doing our highlight-based stuff or pull in when we have more data. We can have that data more tied in to the sports we're talking about." CBS Sports HQ, which launched in February '18, delivered its strongest month since inception in October in terms of viewers, streams and minutes watched.
