ESPN chief in driving seat at sports animator

By ADAM GIFFORD

Sports animation company Virtual Spectator has lured former ESPN executive Alexander "Sandy" Brown to be its new president and chief operatingofficer.

One of Mr Brown's first tasks will be to establish a new global head office in New York.

He recently returned to New York to live after 10 years in Asia.

Lindsay Fergusson, Virtual Spectator's chairman and chief executive, said product research and development would continue to be based in Auckland and Dunedin.

"New York will be a small office, five or six people.

"We'll probably also have a vice-president for Europe and one for America," he added.

"We need to have a corporate headquarters in New York because you can't fund a business like ours out of New Zealand."

Also, all the major sports media organisations were in or near New York, and Europe was only a seven-hour flight away.

Mr Fergusson said Virtual Spectator, a company formed out of the intellectual property and staff from Dunedin-based Animated Research and Auckland multimedia company Terabyte Interactive, had almost secured a new round of funds.

"We won't need to float for a couple of years, which is good because the market for technology stocks has gone soft," he added.

The company is now incorporated in the American state of Delaware, which has flexible company laws similar to those operating in Commonwealth countries.

Mr Brown was recruited by executive search firm Korn/Ferry International. Under his leadership, ESPN's subscribers in Asia grew from zero to 53 million.

He also built up the ESPN Star Sports joint venture with News Corporation's Star TV division.

"Virtual Spectator has created a leading technology that has a rapidly growing following within the broadcast community, but also possesses enormous potential for the internet," Mr Brown said.

"I am excited about the opportunity to expand Virtual Spectator's presence in the sports category, and also look forward to exploring other mediums where Virtual Spectator's technology can enrich the entertainment experience."

Apart from coverage of yachting, Virtual Spectator is expanding its technology to provide live interactive 3D animation coverage of golf, motorsports, soccer, rugby, cricket and music.

Its revenues come from fees from television networks and subscriptions from internet viewers.