Media Networks - Cable Networks

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In addition to owning Disney Channel, Toon Disney and SoapNet, ABC also owns 80 percent of ESPN, 50 percent of Lifetime Television and holds significant minority positions in E! Entertainment Television, A&E Network, The Biography Channel and The History Channel.

ESPN

ESPN's continued growth in 2000 further enhanced its position as the worldwide leader in sports. The flagship television network ESPN reaches 80 million U.S. homes. ESPN2, now in 73 million homes, hit the 70 million household mark faster than any cable network in history. ESPN Classic's subscriber base has tripled to 30 million homes since it was acquired in October 1997, and ESPNEWS passed the 20 million household mark. In addition to ESPN Extra and ESPN Now, ESPN launched yet another digital service called ESPN Today, providing interactive capabilities through the TV remote control.

George W. Bodenheimer President, ESPN, Inc.

ESPN expanded its original programming lineup with the inaugural Great Outdoor Games; ESPN's 2-Minute Drill, developed by Michael Davies, the executive producer of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire; and the weekly expansion of the award-winning documentary series Outside the Lines. Global expansion of ESPN's highly popular X Games was announced with plans for events on five continents in two years. ESPN Classic was relaunched with the Peabody award-winning series SportsCentury. Major league event programming included Sunday Night NFL, again the most-watched series on cable, and exclusive National Hockey League coverage, with unprecedented cross-promotion across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. This led to significant growth in the coveted male 18-34 audience demographic. Programming also included a long-term Major League Baseball multimedia agreement with double the hours of event and news coverage, Major League Soccer and the WNBA.

ESPN also reached out to Hispanic fans by producing select MLB telecasts with Spanish commentary and launching ESPNdeportes.com.

ESPN and ESPN.com continue to focus on Internet/TV convergence with groundbreaking NHL Rules! telecasts. Play-by-play commentary is suspended intermittently so e-mail questions from ESPN.com users can be answered on-air. More than 16,000 e-mails were received during one game.

ESPN Internet Group, now in its fifth year, boasted a record 10.8 million unique users in September, as ESPN.com continued to be the largest provider of sports content on the Internet.

ESPN also struck several wireless distribution agreements to provide sports news to cell phones, pagers and palm computer devices.

ESPN Radio, with more than 620 affiliates, is the largest sports radio network, featuring the World Series, the NBA and WNBA finals, and The Dan Patrick Show. In less than three years since its launch, ESPN The Magazine has more than tripled its circulation to 1.25 million. ESPN International, which reaches more than 80 million homes and distributes programming to most countries around the globe, continues to leverage the ESPN brand worldwide. As part of that branding strategy, ESPN sold its interest in Eurosport, and is preparing to launch the ESPN brand in key European markets. The SportsCenter franchise was extended with the launch of a regional version across South America. ESPN Israel was launched in June, and new joint ventures were created to enhance local market presence in Brazil. The sixth ESPN Zone, a sports-themed dining and entertainment experience, is scheduled to open in 2001 at Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim, followed by sites in Las Vegas and Denver.

Disney Channel

Now reaching nearly 70 million homes, Disney Channel added more than 9 million homes in fiscal year 2000, a gain of 15 percent over last year. One of the fastest-growing cable networks, Disney Channel saw substantial ratings gains in the past year.

Anne M. Sweeney President, ABC Cable Netwroks Group and President, Disney Channel Worldwide

The network's daily Playhouse Disney programming block for preschoolers increased household delivery by 12 percent over fiscal year 1999, and improved target kids delivery by 9 percent. The fastest-growing segment of Disney Channel's audience is "tweens" (kids aged 9-14.) Propelled by such original series as The Famous Jett Jackson, So Weird and the new original comedy series Even Stevens, Disney Channel increased its tween delivery by 29 percent in total day and more than 23 percent in primetime versus last year. Disney Channel's Original Movie franchise continues to lead the marketplace with tween viewers, with such breakout hits as Miracle in Lane Two, Quints and the Humanitas and Emmy Award-winning The Color of Friendship. In 2000, Disney Channel captured an average of nine of the top 10 basic cable movies each month with tween 9-14 ratings, and five of the top 10 were Disney Channel Original Movies.

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