In Depth
Fox Sports Puts Science in Spotlight
Original Series Investigates Mechanics of Athletic Prowess
As part of an effort to beef up original programming on Fox Sports Net, company executives next week will launch "Sport Science," one of the cable channels' most expensive productions yet.
The network has all 13 episodes of the series in the can, with the first set to debut Sept. 30.
The addition of "Sport Science" to the lineup represents the beginning of a reinvestment in the Fox Sports cable channels, according to company executives.
"Sport Science," produced by Fox Sports and Base Productions, uses the latest technology to capture and define the mechanics behind athletic prowess, examining everything from reaction times of top athletes to the biological impact of being hit by a linebacker or a hockey puck.
The series evolved from the show "Fight Science," which premiered on the National Geographic Channel and replays on Fox Sports Net.
"We approached Fox Sports Net about this show during an interesting time in their development where they wanted to head in a new direction," said series executive producer and host John Brenkus of Base Productions. "We had already seen incredible ratings for 'Fight Science' and knew that their audience craved knowledge about this industry. Fox loved the idea and created an accelerated schedule to make it happen."
Already the series has attracted A-list names from the world of sports, ranging from the National Football League's Chad Johnson and Ben Roethlisberger to Ultimate Fighting Championship's Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
The crew for the production, which is based in a hangar at Hawthorne Municipal Airport in Southern California, built sections of a basketball court, a football field, a hockey rink, a baseball batting cage and a golf simulator as part of a sports laboratory designed to test the athletes, using top-of-the-line motion-capture technology to record the results.
It took about three months to trick out the facility; production costs are estimated to be almost twice that of an average series on the cable outlet.
"Sports fans have always wondered what makes elite athletes special, the proverbial, ''How did they do that?'' question," said George Greenberg, executive VP of programming and production at FSN. "Now, through amazing visuals, incredible production values and the latest in technology, 'Sport Science' delivers those answers. Putting high-profile athletes into a stunning visual environment, a sports playground meets a mad-science lab, revealed astonishing results in athletic performance.
"Without a doubt, what is done on this series goes far beyond just being a new direction in FSN's original programming, it's groundbreaking television," he added.
Clips from the show, which contains seven segments per hour, will be exploited and delivered online or via cell phone. Also, as the library and test results from the list of athletes grows, segments could be added to NFL pre-game shows as a way to explain the dynamics of one of the athletes.
"The interest by the athletes has been one of the biggest surprises," Mr. Brenkus said. "These guys are gazillionaires who don't have to do anything out of their way, but they all participated beyond their minimum requirements because they want the opportunity to analyze their game and take it to the next level."
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Comments 62
Kelz
this show is poppin bra!! If you see this show man you will be amazed how jerry rice catches a damn football with his fingers bra!! I mean i know my man ocho cinco is a beast so im not sweatin it but he is a bigger target than an african elephant BRA!!!
HOLLA AT ME 502 ALL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!
mahanaloa
Great show! I always thought MJ had more than a second of air time, science says NOT!
BTW Kelz it's brah, bro
JLD
and what about all those sexy scientists?
Kim
Sports fans needed this. Great for teens to look at the science of sports. Loved the set and Dr. Aish you had on the Damon segment of "hardest hits". Great info. Nice work Base Productions. Keep the science coming.
Kim
Steve Woolley
When will the DVD series go on sell?
This series would be great for the classroom. Sports science helps students relate? Great Job
Kennedy
I teach high school physics in Pittsburgh & would LOVE to use this in my classroom. I've had many kids request it & cite it during classroom discussions! Please sell DVD for educational use!!
Corky
This would make a perfect Christmas present for athletes or teachers. I would love to purchase a DVD. Please tell me how to get one soon!
matt
On The show they said that if you get hit in the head with a baseball without a helmet you could kill yourself but when i was 10 in little league this kid pitched a 60mph pitch from 40ft away and hit me right square in the forhead and didnt even touch my helmet and i fell down but 1 second later i got up and ran to my base and there wasn't even a scratch
Craig
I need this DVD I have only seen a few of the shows and need more. Carlos Gomez stealing bases next episod please.
cynthia
Is this available on DVD??
Tyler
This show is awesome...maybe they did not do such a great job with the baseball vs. softball because if they woul have had a softball player trying to hit the best pitcher in baseball, as they had a college baseball player trying to hit the best softball pitcher, she would also swing and miss terribly. Either way, its so cool how they do an analasyis of almost all aspects of sports. One suggestion for a show would be to show how superstituions actually effect athletes and whether they actually give players an edge
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