New Technologies and New Services

On Mar. 30, 2003, ESPN premiered ESPN HD, and within six months many of the major cable operators and the two major satellite services had signed distribution agreements. Industry leaders and analysts viewed ESPN’s entry into High Definition Television as a catalyst for HDTV growth.

ESPN Deportes’ success as a Sunday night block provided the springboard to a 24-hour domestic television network launched in January 2004. The Spanish-language network features domestic and international Hispanic sports programming of interest to fans in the United States, including its own separately produced SportsCenter.

In June, ESPN Pay-Per-View was launched with NCAA baseball, boxing, martial arts, fantasy league specials, ESPN Original Entertainment movies and more, joining ESPN’s GamePlan and Full Court, two of the top outer-market pay packages.

ESPN Video-On-Demand added ESPN HD VOD to its regular monthly offering of 10 to 15 titles.

The ESPN Digital Center, currently under construction, will begin operating in April 2004 with High Definition telecasts of SportsCenter and will be fully operational in 2005. The 120,000- square-foot facility will be one of the most technically sophisticated production facilities in North America.