ESPN Fact Sheet

January 10th, 2010 Comments off

campuspan3571b

2009-10 WINTER

ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide Leader in Sports, is the leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets with over 50 business entities.  Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN Plaza includes more than 700,000 square feet in more than a dozen buildings on 116 acres.  The company is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.  The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN. 

President:  George Bodenheimer, President, ESPN, Inc. and ABC Sports, and Co-Chairman Disney Media Networks, joined ESPN in 1981.  Appointed President, ESPN, Inc. on November 9, 1998, he previously had been ESPN’s Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing. 

Primary Business Entities
Television
ESPN on ABC (Broadcast), six U.S. Cable Networks (four with high-definition simulcast services), Regional, Syndicated, Pay Subscription Packages, 46 International Networks
Radio ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio, syndicated radio in 11 international countries
Online ESPN.com, ESPNDeportes.com, market-specific sites and more
Broadband ESPN360.com
Publishing ESPN The Magazine and other periodicals & ESPN Books
Emerging Technologies Interactive TV:  ESPN My Vote, ESPN In-Game Extra and My Bottom Line
Wireless ESPN Mobile Properties, Scores, Headlines, Video Highlights, Games
Consumer Products CDs, DVDs, video games, apparel, merchandise
Event Management X Games, Winter X Games, BASS, ESPYs, bowl games and basketball events
ESPN Zones restaurant, games and shopping
Corporate Outreach Team ESPN, The V Foundation for Cancer Research and more

 

Television

  • ESPN on ABC (Broadcast)
  • Six Domestic Cable Networks: ESPN (launched in 1979 – currently 99M homes, ESPN HD launched in 2003); ESPN2 (1993 – 98.8M, ESPN2 HD launched in 2005); ESPN Classic (purchased in 1997 – 59M, focuses on great sports moments and stars of the past); all-sports news ESPNEWS (1996 – 70M, ESPNEWS HD launched in 2008); Spanish-language ESPN Deportes (2004 – 5M Hispanic homes); ESPNU (2005 – 66M, focuses on college sports, ESPNU HD launched in 2008)
  • Regional & Syndicated programming via ESPN Regional Television, Pay Subscription Packages
  • 46 International networks (see below for detail on ESPN International)

Key U.S. Programming

SportsCenter

  • Debut:  September 7, 1979, ESPN’s first and flagship show. 
  • Defining the genre, it offers breaking news, highlights, features and in-depth analysis from award-winning journalists.  Viewership: averages 100 million viewers a month.
  • Debuting in April 2009, the 1 a.m. ET SportsCenter is produced in the new Los Angeles Production Center.

Event, Studio & Original Programming

  • NFL’s Monday Night Football; MLB; NBA (including The Finals on ABC); NASCAR, IndyCar and NHRA; college football (including the BCS starting in 2011); men’s and women’s college basketball, including the entire women’s tournament; tennis, including all four Grand Slam events; golf, including the Masters and the British Open (in 2010); FIFA World Cup; WNBA; Little League World Series; and more.
  • Sport-specific studio shows for NFL, MLB, NASCAR and college football and basketball.

Radio

ESPN Radio (1992), ESPN Deportes Radio (2005)

  • ESPN Radio is heard on 750 affiliates.  Major properties include weekday talk shows Mike & Mike in the Morning (simulcast on ESPN2), The Herd with Colin Cowherd (ESPNU), and The Scott Van Pelt Show (ESPN2).  Major events series include Major League Baseball and the World Series, NBA and The Finals and the Bowl Championship Series. 
  • Spanish-language ESPN Deportes Radio is heard on 35 stations, reaching 47% of the U.S. Hispanic audience.

Online

ESPN.com (1995), ESPNRadio.com & digital audio, fantasy games, ESPNDeportes.com, ESPNSoccernet.com, ESPNCricinfo.com, ESPNScrum.com, Racing-Live.com, ScoreCenter, and a growing number of market-specific sites

  • A busy 2009 for ESPN.com started with a redesigned home page with a cleaner design, richer video experience, and enhanced Scoreboards, personalization and advertising.  Later in the year, the focus was on localization, with sites launched specific to Chicago, Boston, Dallas and Los Angeles, to be followed by New York in 2010 and more.  Usage rose 12 percent vs. 2008 and again led all sports sites.  Subscriptions to ESPN Insider grew 10 percent.  Audio and video downloads remained robust with nearly 44 percent of all online sports video viewed, nearly double the nearest competitor.  Fantasy sports continued to grow, with participants up 35 percent and growth in all 30 games offered.  ESPN and Disney Media Networks launched multiple ad-supported YouTube channels with short-form content. 

Broadband

ESPN360.com (Broadband, 2001, renamed ESPN360 in 2005, relaunched as live event service in 2007)

  • ESPN360.com is a live 24/7 broadband destination delivering more than 3,500 events annually. Dozens of content agreements have bolstered the lineup, including MLB, SEC football and basketball, US Open tennis, The Masters, plus top international soccer, rugby and cricket.  It is available at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection from an affiliated provider.  ESPN360.com distribution doubled in 2009 to more than 50 million homes – two-thirds of U.S. broadband homes.  It is available via dozens of providers, including Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Cox, Charter, and many more. It is also available at no cost to 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks.        

ESPN International

  • Formed in 1998, ESPN International spans over 200 countries and territories on all seven continents and includes TV  (46 networks in 16 languages, with over 200 million subscribers), wireless, interactive, print, radio, broadband, event management and consumer products.  The newest TV network was launched in 2009 — ESPN in the UK, just six weeks after securing the highly prized rights to Premier League soccer.  It also features other top football action, plus other European sports.  In addition, ESPN America is the new name for NASN (North American Sports Network), ESPN’s first branded live television channel in North Europe.   
  • In addition to marquee U.S. (NFL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR, IRL, all of golf’s and tennis’ Grand Slam events) and major international (UEFA Champions league and other top soccer, cricket and more) sports, there are 13 local versions of SportsCenter in eight languages — Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, Hindi, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese. 
  • ESPN360.com is in Europe, Mexico, Brazil and Chile.  In print, ESPN La Revista covers sports in Mexico and Revista ESPN does so in Brazil.  ESPN International Radio began syndicating content in 2000 and is heard in four countries.

Publishing

  • ESPN The Magazine, a bi-weekly launched in 1998, currently has a rate base of 2.0 million and in 2008 saw extraordinary growth in its style/fashion advertising category – 78%. 
  • ESPN Books, launched in 2004, released 10 titles in 2009 under a joint imprint with Ballantine, highlighted by Bill Simmons’ The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy (debuted no. 1 on NY Times bestseller list).

Wireless

ESPN Mobile Properties (1995), ESPN Mobile TV (2007)

  • ESPN Mobile is an industry-leading collection of mobile web sites, apps, games, alerts and video (ESPN Mobile TV and Video on Demand clips).  ESPN was the eighth most-trafficked site on the mobile web in 2009, and the leader in sports (reaching more than three times the audience its nearest competitor).  Visits were up nearly five-fold to ESPNSoccernet Mobile (up 379 percent) and ESPNCricinfo Mobile rose 113 percent over 2008.  Numerous apps were launched – ESPN ScoreCenter, downloaded more than 4.5 million times, plus ESPN Radio, ESPN World Cup, ESPN Fantasy Football and more.  ESPN Mobile sent nearly 900 million alerts, up 170 percent vs. 2008, and fans signing up for alerts increased 117 percent.  Viewers of on-demand video increased 87 percent; total viewing rose 106 percent.  
  • ESPN Mobile TV, the 24/7 mobile network on FLO TV and MobiTV platforms, added originally produced 30-minute ESPNEWS blocks in 2009 and showed nearly 850 live events, leading to total minutes viewing rising 186 percent. 

Consumer Products

ESPN DVDs, apparel and merchandise are available in major retail outlets, at ESPN.com and at ESPN Zone locations.

Event Management

ESPYs (launched in 1993), X Games (1995), Winter X Games (1997), International X Games, ESPN Outdoors & BASS (purchased in 2001), plus events operated by ESPN Regional Television (bowl games, basketball events and more).
 

ESPN Zones

Seven:  Baltimore (the first, 1998), Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles – 2, New York, Washington, D.C.

Corporate Outreach

Team ESPN, The V Foundation for Cancer Research, ESPN Play Your Way fitness initiative, Cable in the Classroom

ESPN MILESTONES

Sept. 7, 1979 ESPN launches at 7 p.m. ET.
April 1983 ESPN begins distributing programming internationally.
April 30, 1984 ABC completes acquisition of ESPN from Getty.  Later, 20% is sold to Nabisco and later to Hearst.
January 1987 ESPN airs the America’s Cup live from Australia; overwhelming response proves impact of cable.
March 15, 1987 ESPN awarded NFL’s first cable contract; begins fall ‘87.
January 5, 1989 ESPN and Major League Baseball reach a four-year agreement to begin in 1990.
March 31, 1989 ESPN International launches its first network, ESPN in Latin America.
January 1, 1992 ESPN Radio launches.
March 4, 1993 The first-ever ESPY Awards and the birth of The V Foundation.
October 1, 1993 ESPN2 launches in 10 million homes.
May 9, 1994 ESPN acquires Creative Sports (now ESPN Regional Television).
April 1, 1995 ESPNET SportsZone (now ESPN.com) launches.  There are now eight.
February 9, 1996 The Walt Disney Company completes acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. (which owns ESPN).
November 1, 1996 ESPNEWS launches.
October 9, 1997 ESPN, Inc. acquires Classic Sports Network (now ESPN Classic).
March 11, 1998 ESPN The Magazine launches.
July 11, 1998 First ESPN Zone, in Baltimore, opens.
March 14, 2001 ESPN2 reaches 75 million homes faster than any other network — 89 months.
April 4, 2001 ESPN acquires BASS, Inc., the largest fishing organization in the world.
October 22, 2001 ESPN secures an 11-year agreement to show the entire NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
January 22, 2002 ESPN reaches agreement for multimedia NBA coverage, becoming the first network to televise all four major professional sports-NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA.
March 4, 2003 ESPN Classic Sport in France debuts. Later that year, ESPN Classic Sport launches in Italy.
March 30, 2003 ESPN HD, a high-definition simulcast service of ESPN, launches.  ESPN2 HD follows in Jan. 2005.
January 7, 2004 ESPN Deportes, a 24-hour, Spanish language sports network, launches.
June 7, 2004 ESPN’s state-of-the-art Digital Center opens. 
March 4, 2005 ESPNU, a 24-hour network devoted to college sports, launches.
April 18, 2005 ESPN acquires Monday Night Football for eight years, beginning in 2006.
June 1, 2005 ESPN, along with the Discovery Channel, becomes the first network in cable television history to pass the 90-million subscriber mark in the U.S.
Sept. 14, 2005 ESPN reaches agreement with Major League Baseball for eight years, through 2013.
November 2, 2005 ESPN acquires rights for multiple Men’s and Women’s World Cups.
December 7, 2005 ESPN announces eight-year agreement with NASCAR, 2007 – 2014.
June 21, 2006 ESPN and the Big Ten Conference announce 10-year agreement.
December 5, 2006 ESPN acquires NASN (now ESPN America), Europe’s only channel of North American sports.
February 8, 2007 ESPN announces agreement for exclusive content for Verizon’s V Cast customers.
February 8, 2007 ESPN announces that ESPN Mobile TV – its first channel on a wireless service – will be available on MediaFLO’s new mobile entertainment service.
April 26, 2007 ESPN announces eight-year, multi-platform agreement with the Big 12.
May 15, 2007 ESPN launches its first free, downloadable video podcast.
May 23, 2007 The 13th international version of SportsCenter launches, serving Africa/Middle East.
June 27, 2007 ESPN and NBA announce eight-year, multi-platform deal, the first for platforms yet to be invented.
Sept. 1, 2007 ESPN360.com relaunches, focusing on live events, offering more than 3000 in 12 months.
March 30, 2008 ESPNEWS HD, a high-definition simulcast service of ESPNEWS, launches.
May 12, 2008 ESPN announces six-year, multiplatform agreement with USTA for US Open, bringing all four of tennis’ Grand Slam events to ESPN2 and ESPN360.com.
August 25, 2008 ESPN announces unprecedented 15-year agreement the SEC, providing content for 16 outlets.
August 28, 2008 ESPNU HD, a high-definition simulcast service of ESPNU, launches.
Sept. 15, 2008 Monday Night Football (Phila.-Dallas) draws cable’s top audience – 12.953MM homes, (13.3 rating).
November 13, 2008 ESPN reaches a wide-ranging, eight-year agreement for all four rounds of the British Open.
November 18, 2008 ESPN announces a four-year, multiplatform agreement to televise 15 BCS games, including the national championship game in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
December 29, 2008 In the fourth quarter, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS & ESPN Deportes, combine to reach a record 220 million Americans (76% of population, 92% of cable homes).  Including ESPN on ABC, the number rises to a record 250 million Americans – 86% of the population.
December 29, 2008 For 2008, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic & ESPNEWS combine to average a record 1,139,000 homes (at any time, 24-hour basis).
March 30, 2009 ESPN and ESPN2 each close their most-watched first quarter.  The combined 24-hour audience for the four measured domestic ESPN networks is also a record. 
April 6, 2009 The Los Angeles Production Center debuts as the home of the weekday 1 a.m. ET SportsCenter.
April 13, 2009 ESPNChicago.com launches, followed by Boston and Dallas in September, with New York and Los Angeles to come in 2010.
May 19, 2009 Two announcements greatly expand ESPNU distribution – joining DIRECTV’s CHOICE package July 1, and Comcast’s Digital Classic service by fall – and ESPN360.com’s, joining Comcast.net.
June 30, 2009 ESPN posts its most-watched second quarter, as does the total-day average audience for the four measured domestic networks.
July 21, 2009 ESPN Regional Television announces the SEC Network to air in 73 television markets.
July 30-Aug. 2, 2009 X Games 15 is ESPN’s most-watched ever.
August 3, 2009 ESPN launches in the U.K., ESPN’s first network there featuring live local sports.  The launch is only six weeks after acquiring rights to show the prestigious Premier League.
Aug.31-Sep. 14, 2009 ESPN’s first US Open – completing a “Grand Slam” – includes ESPN2’s two most-watched tennis telecasts.  A men’s semifinal and the Women’s Final are postponed a day by rain and air on ESPN2.
September 7, 2009 Upon ESPN’s 30th Anniversary, it reaches the goal of the Team ESPN 30K Challenge – 30,000 hours of community service by ESPN employees since May.
September 12, 2009 ESPN’s most-watched college football game – USC at Ohio State – averages 7,243,000 homes and the 7.3 rating is ESPN’s best for CFB in 15 years.
September 12, 2009 ESPN’s first live 3D production, USC at Ohio State football, is shown in theatres in Hartford, Conn.; Hurst, Texas; and Columbus, Ohio; as well as The Galen Center at USC and the ESPN Zones in Anaheim and Los Angeles.
September 14, 2009 The opening MNF doubleheader draws cable’s two biggest audiences for 2009, until surpassed until surpassed by later games, including cable’s biggest audience ever – 15.1M homes for Green Bay at Minnesota Oct. 5 with Brett Favre facing the Packers. 
September 27, 2009 ESPN & ESPN2 post their most-watched month ever in September, leading to the most-watched third quarter for ESPN and the four measured domestic nets.  Also, ESPN360.com,ESPN.com and ESPNRadio.com audio all enjoyed their best month ever in September.  Compared to Sept. 2008, ESPN360 saw 250% growth in viewing hours, ESPN.com minutes online were up 54% and hours of audio heard on ESPNRadio were up 61%.
October 9, 2009 ESPN The Magazine’s first annual “Body Issue” goes on sale as a celebration of athletes of diverse shapes, sizes, genders and races within ESPN’s boundaries of taste, and frontiers of creativity. 
October 16, 2009 The ESPN Innovation Lab opens at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort, providing a real-world testing ground to develop ground-breaking on-air enhancements.
October 20, 2009 Monday Night Football, celebrating its 40th year, becomes the first sports franchise recognized by the Broadcast & Cable Hall of Fame.
November 12, 2009 ESPN International acquires TV and radio rights in Argentina for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games and the London 2012 Olympic Games, plus pay television rights in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay and satellite-only television rights in Venezuela.
December 27, 2009 The Nielsen year concludes with ESPN and ESPN2 setting new marks for average total-day audience for the year.  Fourth quarter was ESPN’s most-watched quarter ever.  The year’s combined audience for ESPN networks (with ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic and ESPN Deportes) is also a record.
December 28, 2009 Monday Night Football concludes its highest-rated season since moving to ESPN in 2006, averaging a 10.4, up 17% over 2008, winning the night six nights.
January 5, 2010 ESPN 3-D is announced, to debut June 11 with a FIFA World Cup contest, South Africa vs. Mexico, the first of 85 events in the first year.  Others include more World Cup matches, NBA, college sports and Summer X Games. 

 

 

###