Bristol, CT, residents "are not simply grateful that
ESPN has stayed" headquartered in their city since its
inception in '79, "they are stunned," according to Mike
Allen of the N.Y. TIMES, who profiles ESPN's relationship
with the city of 60,000. ESPN started with 70 employees and
now has 2,100, 1,500 of "whom work in Bristol, including the
star anchors." ESPN's Bob Ley says that Bristol's isolation
has helped "produce the network's breezy" style: "If we had
been in L.A., they wouldn't have been hiring 24-year-old
kids who could pick up and move in two weeks. We were all
thrown together here, with nothing else to do." Bristol
execs "admit that they will do just about anything for
ESPN." Greater Bristol Chamber of Commerce Exec Dir John
Leone Jr.: "Here, ESPN is the king. In New York, ESPN would
just be another network" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/30).
A BRAND NEW NAME? ESPN Exec VP/Programming Dick Glover
"admits" ESPN is "looking at ways to strengthen" ESPN2, but
he says "there's no truth to rumors that the company might
rename" the network. Glover: "There are no plans right now
to rebrand or rename ESPN2. ... It's true we have had
meetings regarding ESPN2 -- how we can build on it and make
it better. But the implication that these meetings are
dramatic -- that isn't true" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/30).
MORE ON ESPN: Last night's 11:00pm ET edition of ESPN's
"SportsCenter" introduced the "Bottom Line," the screen
ticker which scrolls scores and stats. Both 11:00pm ET
editions of CNN/SI's "Sports Tonight" and FSN's "Primetime"
already have a similar feature (THE DAILY)....In Boston, Jim
Baker, on NBC's Bob Costas calling Friday's Tigers-Mariners
game for ESPN: "Costas was characteristically smooth during
his ESPN debut ... but viewers don't care what NBC Sports
chief Dick Ebersol thinks of him having to read promos for
ABC events" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/29)....In Albany, NY, Pete
Dougherty, on ESPN's telecast of the Travers on Saturday:
"Some of it was bad, such as two technical glitches that
left viewers a bit confused, but the telecast struck gold at
the most opportune time" (Albany TIMES UNION, 8/29).
