SVG Pre-Game party to feature unveiling of Lightships blimp

The Sports Video Group (SVG) will showcase a new blimp from The Lightship Group that advances the state-of-the-art in Blimp technology and outdoor signage. The A-170 Video Lightsign Airship will make its first public appearance flying over the SVG’s first-annual NAB Pre-Game Party.

The First Annual NAB Pre-Game Show will be held on April 23 at the ICE Nightclub in Las Vegas. It will be produced by the Sports Video Group and its sponsors. NFL Network and Sports Emmy Nominee Rich Eisen will moderate the NAB Pre-Game Show.

The Blimp is the first in the world to feature a full-motion, full-color LED video screen. The screen has 33,000 pixels and is 30×70 feet in size, giving broadcasters and marketers a new way to reach fans at sporting and other live outdoor events. It’s 175 feet long and has 200,000 cubic feet of helium.

“The first public display of the A-170 blimp will be an historic event,” says Mickey Wittman, director of Client Services for The Lightship Group. “The LED screen is the first in a line of technological improvements that will transform outdoor advertising.”

Mr. Wittman says the Sports Video Group NAB Pre-Game party is the perfect place to unveil the blimp. Attendees of the event, which include top executives from the leading sports broadcast and cable networks as well as leagues like the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour and others will be the first to get an up-close look at the technology.

“There couldn’t be a better place for the Blimp’s public debut,” says Mr. Wittman. “The leagues and broadcasters attending the event have been customers of the Lightship Group for as long as 50 years.”

In a unique partnership Sports Video Group members and sponsors have donated HD and other material to the Lightship Group to serve as demo material. Full-motion, full-color video from the NBA, NFL Network and PGA Tour will be displayed while logos from SVG sponsors will be animated across the massive screen. Sponsors include Avid, Canon Broadcast, Fujinon, Grass Valley, Harris/Leitch, NMT, Pesa, Sony, Snell & Wilcox and Vizrt.

“The real-world demonstration of the new innovative Lightship blimp is a perfect example of why the Sports Video Group was formed,” said Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG editorial director. “Our goal is to expose our members to new technologies they can use to better their businesses and to do it in a lively and fun way. Both the Blimp outside ICE and the presentations by our sponsors inside meet that goal.”