The 2026–27 NHL season got started on Tuesday with ESPN carrying a tripleheader of marquee matchups to celebrate opening day.
In addition to broadcasting the games, ESPN debuted its new, high-tech studio that will apparently serve as home base for the network’s hockey coverage this year.
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Host Steve Levy welcomed viewers into the new studio and showed off some of the bells and whistles it features.
“Studio W is ESPN’s most technologically advanced studio ever built, and I’ve been here a few minutes, and we’ve built a lot of studios,” Levy teased. “It can render any virtual environment in real time. Analysts such as Mark Messier and P.K. Subban, perhaps you’ve heard of them, they can break down plays surrounded by large-scale 3D visualizations that appear to physically occupy the space beside them.”
Levy also noted the extensive digital displays that the studio housed.
“If you take one thing away from this, take away this: Studio W features more than 148 million pixels. You’re like, ‘Wait, what did he say?’ I said 148 million pixels. You know what that is? Me neither, but it’s a lot of pixels, and it’s across the whole studio, and includes more than 9,200 square feet of LED displays.”
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As he closed out the tour, Levy referred to Studio W as “The house that Barry Melrose built.” He then went over to a tribute the studio had to Melrose’s memory, featuring his silhouette with a cigar in his mouth and his signature.
“Gonna be a great season. Barry we love you. We’re gonna miss you pal.”
It was a touching tribute to Melrose, who passed away just a few weeks ago at the age of 70. Melrose was a cornerstone of ESPN’s hockey coverage for three decades, and he will undoubtedly be missed through the first season without him covering the sport for the Worldwide Leader.
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As Levy’s line implied, this sort of investment by the network in hockey coverage is in no small part thanks to Melrose’s career.
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