ESPN America Has Exclusive Coverage of X Games 17 as Global Applicants Explore Bids to Host Future X Games Events
- 35 Entities from 21 Countries Exploring Bid to Host X Games Events Beginning 2013
- Enduro X Discipline to Make Debut; Rally Moves to Downtown Street Circuit
- Legendary Athletes Join Coverage: Kevin Robinson, Tony Hawk, Jeremy McGrath, Dennis McCoy join host Sal Masekela
ESPN America will be the exclusive home for high-definition coverage of X Games 17 in Los Angeles, July 28 – 31. In its ninth year in Los Angeles, X Games 17 will feature more than 200 athletes competing in venues and event spaces including STAPLES Center and Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE – all in an effort to consolidate X Games competition to downtown Los Angeles and better enable fans to catch all the X Games action. ESPN America will deliver more than 16 hours of live coverage, as well as the daily X Center highlights, news and feature programme.
Over four days, competitors from around the globe will be in Los Angeles competing for gold in action sports, including Moto X, Rally, Skateboard and BMX. Competing alongside the many other action sports superstars are dozens of European athletes.
X Games Global Expansion
As the competiton in Los Angeles kicks off, so does the next stage of the X Games global expansion, as 35 entities from 21 countries have been qualified to explore bidding to host a future X Games event (beginning 2013). Representatives from those entities will begin the next phase of the X Games host bidding process. All qualified applicants have been invited to attend X Games 17 in Los Angeles to observe the event and pariticipate in a several activities, including a bid workshop where ESPN will review the bid process with them and answer questions.
In May, ESPN announced that the X Games franchise would expand to six world-class events in locations around the globe beginning in 2013. The announcement launched a formal bid process to determine three new future X Games host locations, which will join the three current events in Los Angeles, Aspen and Tignes, France (where ESPN is currently partnered with Canal+).
The 35 entities from 21 countries have met ESPN’s qualification guidelines and expressed interest in potentially bidding to host future Global X Games events in countries around the world, including:
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Brazil
Canada
Chile
Colombia
England
Germany
Italy
Mexico
New Zealand
Portugal
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
UAE
Qualified entities have not yet submitted a bid (and, ultimately, may choose not to). They have only expressed an interest in moving to the next stage of the bidding exploratory process.
ESPN will also host a Global X Games Partnership Summit for current and potential sponsors at X Games 17.
From August until Jan 2, 2012, potential host entities will have five months to complete their official bid and submit to ESPN. In the spring of 2012 entities will be selected to be the hosts of the X Games for 3 years and to work closely with ESPN to produce the events.
New Competitions
X Games will debut the new discipline of Enduro X this year, as well as hold the first-ever rally street circuit running through the downtown streets of Los Angeles.
Enduro X will feature both men’s and women’s disciplines, showcasing riders’ talent on an all-terrain obstacle course. Riders will race through sand, mud, logs, rocks and other terrain features in a blend of motocross racing and traditional Enduro, battling not only each other but also the challenging course for their shot at X Games gold. The new addition will be one of eight Moto X competitions taking place inside STAPLES Center, while the downtown Los Angeles street circuit will offer a unique and exciting setting for the disciplines of Rally Car Racing on Saturday and RallyCross on Sunday.
ESPN America TV Coverage
X Games 17 will again be hosted by ESPN’s Sal Masekela, marking his tenth year as host of the world’s premier action sports event. He has served as the annual host of both the X Games and Winter X Games since 2001. In addition to serving as host of the X Games 17 telecast, Masekela will serve as play-by-play commentator for the Skateboard Vert, Park, Street and Big Air events.
ESPN America’s HD coverage schedule will deliver 16 hours of live coverage over the four days of the event. For complete schedule information, including the timing of individual events, go to: www.espnamerica.com or ESPN.com/action
X GAMES 17 ON ESPN AMERICA (all times BST)
Thursday 28th July
X Games (Live) – 12:00pm – 4:00am
Friday 29th July
X Center – 9:00am – 10:00am
X Games (Live) – 8:00pm – 10:00pm
Saturday 30th July
X Center – 9:00am – 10:00am
X Games (Live) – 7:00pm – 11:00pm
X Games (Live) – 3:00am – 5:00am *(note: telecast in early morning of 31st July)
Sunday 1st August
X Center – 10:00am – 11:00am
X Games (Live) – 10:00pm – 4:00am
Action Sports Legends Join TV Coverage
A prominent collection of action sports legends will join Masekela for the seventeenth edition of the X Games. Tony Hawk, Jeremy McGrath and Dennis McCoy return to the telecast this year. New additions to the on air team include Kevin Robinson, Toby Moody and Emile Bouret.
Moody will join the telecast team as the play-by-play commentator for the Rally Car events at X Games 17. Hawk, McGrath, McCoy, Robinson and Bouret will serve as analysts for the Skateboard, Moto X, BMX Freestyle and Rally Car competitions. (see below for biographical information)
For the full telecast schedule and X Games media information, including press releases, logos and additional images from past events, log on to www.espneventmedia.com. For general information and updated athlete lists, log on to www.xgames.com.
Follow the X Games on Twitter at Twitter.com/espnxgames.
