In 2008, ESPN’s unparalleled content, scope, technology and deep connection with sports fans fueled another year of exceptional performance. ESPN was unsurpassed in marrying sports content and technology across multiple media platforms serving fans worldwide, all while enjoying its most-viewed year ever in the core domestic television business.
Two of ESPN’s most vibrant brands – SportsCenter and the X Games – best exemplify the effective global merging of content and technology. Because sports news breaks 24/7, SportsCenter, the industry’s sports news leader, was expanded on TV and online. In the U.S., six live hours were added each weekday morning – 30 hours total. The news operation will be enhanced in 2009 with the opening of a West Coast production facility in Los Angeles. Simultaneously, SportsCenter.com’s debut featured commentator blogs and enhanced fan interactivity, and SportsCenter Right Now online video news updates relaunched on ESPN.com. Beyond U.S. shores, 13 regionally produced shows became significantly more sophisticated in sharing content, most notably in covering the Summer Olympics from Beijing.
Meanwhile, X Games 14 in Los Angeles garnered the biggest TV audience in the event’s history, bolstered by the addition of exciting new events and a record purse. Overseas, the event has taken root and blossomed in Brazil, China and Mexico. ESPN announced the rebranding and expansion of EXPN.com as ESPN Action Sports – a network of discipline-specific action sports sites. Both in the U.S. and abroad, X Games apparel and equipment continue to grow in popularity.
ESPN International continued to expand its presence across media platforms and was very active online, debuting the broadband event service ESPN360.com in Europe, Mexico, Chile and Brazil. The acquisition of Racing-Live.com continued a string of recent strategic additions to ESPN’s core offerings. ESPN Classic (in 108 countries) and the North American Sports Network, which broadcasts top North American professional and collegiate sports 24 hours a day on digital cable and digital satellite in 62 countries, are now seen in 24.5 and 16 million homes, up from 23 and 11 million a year ago, respectively. NASN is being rebranded ESPN America on February 1, 2009. ESPN International debuted a second edition of ESPN The Magazine, this one in Mexico, and invested in NBA China, a new entity that will conduct all of the league’s businesses in Greater China. ESPN’s two networks in Brazil combined to televise 612 hours of Olympics coverage. ESPN.com.br won Olympic gold as well – its 650,000 page views set a record for a single event.
In the U.S., ESPN aggressively expanded its long-established digital sports leadership with strategic acquisitions and a landmark extension of its agreement with Major League Baseball Advanced Media, which includes increased digital rights. In addition, video, community, fantasy games and mobile applications were expanded to reach more fans in creative ways. ESPN.com usage continues to climb, setting 11 monthly usage records.
