Your Ad Here: ESPN Experimenting To Allow More Ad Space Online

ESPN Experimenting With Web Site Design To Maximize Advertising Opportunities

ESPN.com yesterday altered the site design unveiled in January, shifting the list of headlines below the rotation of top stories and video links, and significantly expanding the amount of ad space available immediately to the right of those top stories. That ad position, one of the most popular slots in all of digital sports media, was used for a set of spots from Apple. The change is not aimed to be permanent, and the site reverted to its prior layout this morning. However, further experiments within the redesign are expected to occur occasionally going forward. ESPN execs said the alternative design, arriving organically since the January relaunch, marked an attempt at flexibility with regard to both content and advertising. "We are constantly working with our advertisers to be innovative while maintaining an optimal user experience. [Yesterday's] ad is one example of a new execution we tried," said ESPN PR Manager Paul Melvin. "We'll evaluate its impact and effectiveness and use those learnings as we move forward" (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).

TAKING IT TO THE NET: In L.A., Jerry Crowe notes ESPN Films' "Kobe Doin' Work" premiered last weekend at the Tribeca Film Festival and like "everything else involving Kobe Bryant, opinion seems to be divided" about the documentary. Daily Variety wrote the film "fascinatingly fuses thought and action," but the L.A. Times' Scott Feinberg "calls it a 'tedious affair' offering little insight into its star, who reportedly demanded creative control before agreeing to participate" (L.A. TIMES, 4/29). Meanwhile, ESPN Films announced 11 additional filmmakers and 10 films for its "30 for 30" project. The participants join a group that will each create one-hour films to debut in October (ESPN).

FILMMAKER(S)	FILM TITLE
Peter Berg	"#99"
Ron Shelton	"Jordan Plays Baseball"
Brett Morgen	"June 17, 1994"
Steve James	"The Trial of Allen Iverson"
Bill Couturie	"The Gurus of Go"
Fritz Mitchell	"The Rise and Fall of Jimmy 'The Greek' Snyder"
Reggie Rock Bythewood	"One Night in Vegas"
Jonathan Hock	"The Best that Never Was"
Jeff Zimbalist	"The Two Escobars"
Adam Kurland, Lucas Jansen	"Silly Little Game"