ESPN Canceling Moto X Event Due In Part To Economic Climate

By Tripp Mickle, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

ESPN has canceled its Moto X World Championships this spring "due to the current economic environment," a statement from the company's X Games division said. ESPN expects to reschedule the event in the future, but it has not rescheduled the event for ‘09. The inaugural event in San Diego last April drew just 21,700 fans over three days, but it averaged a 0.4 rating during eight hours of live programming on ESPN and ESPN2. ESPN has asked its divisions to watch their budgets and trim costs where possible as the economy tightens, and the Moto X Championships were a logical place to cut back, X Games officials said.