ESPN, Comcast Reach Agreement For Carriage Of ESPNU, ESPN360.com

ESPN and Comcast yesterday formally announced an agreement to add ESPNU to the cable provider's digital classic level of service and ESPN360.com to Comcast.net. Comcast will launch ESPNU in a majority of its cable systems in time for the start of the '09 college football season. Under the deal, ESPNU will boast more than 46 million subscribers, while ESPN360.com will be available to nearly 41 million homes, a majority of broadband homes. ESPN also reached a deal with DirecTV to carry ESPNU in its Choice programming package beginning July 1. Per the deal, DirecTV will launch ESPNU HD by the end of Q1 next year, and ESPN Classic will be repackaged into the DirecTV Sports Pack (THE DAILY). In Houston, David Barron notes there was "no immediate word on what impact the addition of ESPNU ... will have on the availability of ESPN Classic" for Comcast customers (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/20). The WASHINGTON EXAMINER's Jim Williams writes ESPN360 "may be the biggest addition ... over the long run" for Comcast, as it is the "best broadband offering -- bar none." ESPN360 will be "free to all Comcast broadband subscribers," and the service "offers everything from top college football and basketball to soccer and cricket" (Washington EXAMINER, 5/20). SPORTINGNEWS.com's Brian Cook wrote, It's a happy day for fans of college hockey, lacrosse, Furman and infomercials. And with the occasional BCS football game migrating over to ESPNU last year, this is also excellent news for fans of teams who schedule awful nonconference opponents" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 5/19).

CAUTION FLAG: In Philadelphia, John Gonzalez writes ESPN is "just fine when delivering a 'story' or the 'news,'" but the company "gets into trouble when it modifies those words in a cheap attempt to attract attention." Gonzalez: "Even though [ESPN] is fond of 'breaking news' and 'developing stories,' I don't think it's used either term properly since Roy Firestone worked there." ESPN recently reported a "developing story" about QB Brett Favre "scheduling surgery to repair his partially torn biceps tendon." But ESPN yesterday "walked the story back," as the net's Ed Werder "cited a source that said Favre would not undergo surgery." ESPN "didn't use the 'developing story' graphic on the follow-up," and the net "blamed the inaccurate [initial] report on the St. Paul Pioneer Press." Also, ESPN about two weeks ago "went with 'breaking news' that Favre would not sign with the Vikings." Gonzalez: "I was sort of confused about how there could be breaking news when everything remained the same. ... Either way, 'developing' and 'breaking' are like credit cards that should be used sparingly or in case of emergency" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/20).