ESPN upgrades video player

ESPN rolled out a new online video player this week that includes closed captioning, streaming up to 720p, faster playback and a new third-party streaming provider.

“ESPN’s focus is on creating value add for the fan and the best way to do that is to not internally develop our own player,” said Jason Guenther, VP of Technology in the ESPN Digital Media group. “Instead we want to add value on top [of that player].”

It’s interesting to see ESPN move away from its internal player that ABC and Disney uses across its online properties. As of now, ABC still uses its previous player.

SVG writes, The new player is built on the Ooyala video platform and now is Flash-based (although iPad users can tap into an HTML5 version) and also dynamically changes the quality of the stream so it delivers the best look possible given the users computer, network connection, and more.

“We just launched the new platform, which is phase one, and now we want to innovate on top of it,” said Guenther.