ESPN will launch an all-sports news cable channel, named
ESPNEWS, on November 1, it was announced yesterday by ESPN
President Steve Bornstein, Senior VP/Sales & Marketing George
Bodenheimer and Executive Editor John Walsh. Bornstein: "We
have, through extensive consumer research, found out that our
customers, our viewers, want more sports news -- and they want it
from ESPN." On competition from CNN/SI, Bornstein said they had
been planning ESPNEWS for about three years and that the launch
was "not a reaction to anything anybody else is doing."
Bornstein called ESPNEWS "the 24-hour child of 'SportsCenter.'
It will be 'SportsCenter' all day and all night long" (THE
DAILY).
TECHNICAL DETAILS: According to Bodenheimer they plan a
"significant tie-in" to ESPNET; there would be two minutes per
hour of local ads available; "programming and promotion" would be
the keys to their distribution effort; advances such as digital
set-top boxes will "provide a gateway to some additional launches
that don't exist today"; there will be announcements soon on DBS
and C-Band deals; there were no initial subscriber estimates.
Asked whether they would accept placement on a tiered system if
not on basic, Bodenheimer said, "ESPNEWS will be extremely
affiliate friendly. Which is the same way as saying yes" (THE
DAILY).
EDITORIAL CONCEPT: John Walsh: "We expect it to echo the
kind of programming that 'SportsCenter' has delivered and all of
our other news and information programs have delivered. ... We
will be following all the best news stories of the day." Walsh
said they have "no specific plans" on moving specific shows from
ESPN, but added, "We will be covering news and information that
you won't be getting anywhere else" (THE DAILY). ESPN took out
full-page ads in the WALL STREET JOURNAL, USA TODAY and the N.Y.
TIMES hyping the new channel as "The (underlined) Sports News
Network" and revealing the logo. Ad text, in parentheses:
"Think of it as SportsCenter all day long" (Mult., 6/11).
MEDIA REAX: In Baltimore, Milton Kent writes, "Is there
enough sports news for three full-time all-sports news channels?
Better yet, will your cable system carry any or all of them?"
(Baltimore SUN, 6/11). In Philadelphia, Mike Bruton writes, "All
I could think of was sensory overload" (PHILA. INQUIRER, 6/11).
Bill Fleischman writes, "It won't be long before ESPN and Nike
rule the world" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 6/11). In New York,
Richard Sandomir noted the "straight-forward, mighty confident
belief that ESPN viewers want more, more, more ESPN product"
(N.Y. TIMES, 6/11). NEWSDAY's Steve Zipay writes we may be
nearing "the Code Red saturation point" on sports news (NEWSDAY,
6/11). In Boston, Jack Craig writes, "The lack of details
provided by Bornstein hinted of haste" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/11).
COMPETITION REAX: Jim Walton, Senior VP at CNN and the exec
in charge of CNN/SI, said through a statement: "Sports
Illustrated and CNN have not only faced competition in the past,
but we have thrived on it" (CNN/SI). Another CNN/SI exec:
"They're going to be cannibalizing themselves. They'll take
audience from their main channel to a new channel" (Leonard
Shapiro, WASHINGTON POST, 6/11).
THE FUTURE: Bornstein said, "at this point," they are not
in talks with The Golf Channel. They also said the new channel
will not be "ESPN3," as they want to save that name for a
possible addition (THE DAILY).
