ESPN Launches U.K. Sports Channel With Focus On British Fans

Wolff Striving To Make ESPN's UK Channel Relevant To Local Viewers

ESPN already has an "established international presence," but the net with its U.K. channel that launches today is "targeting the domestic audience with British commentators and a promise to give viewers what they are used to hearing and seeing," according to Stephen Wilson of the AP. ESPN Int’l Exec VP & Managing Dir Russell Wolff acknowledged that the net "must still overcome a perception in some quarters than an American network is hijacking the English game." But ESPN has been "patiently waiting for the right time to break into the British market and Wolff promises the network's coverage will feature a 'relentless focus' on the fans." Wolff: "We think about being locally relevant. The last thing we want is for people to go, 'Oh, American sports media company.' We want them to go, 'Hey, that's my sports channel, in my country.'" Wolff also said the net is "one of the greatest challenges we've ever faced." Wolff: "We're starting from zero, no rights, no (on-air) talent, rebranding, affiliate deals, sponsorship, and going from zero to 100 mph in eight weeks." ESPN will "use rival broadcaster Sky's production services, including broadcast trucks and cameras, but will feature its own talent, graphics and sets." Though ESPN is "showing only a few dozen" EPL games, its rights package, which begins with the August 15 Arsenal-Everton match, is a "cornerstone of ESPN's international strategy." However, TV Sports Markets Editor James Pickles said that it "could take a few years for ESPN to break even on its Premier League investment, particularly since the network holds the rights to only half the number of games in the second season that it does in the first" (AP, 8/2).

MAKING PRESENCE KNOWN: In Manchester, Mark Sweney reports ESPN today began its "biggest marketing push in three years with a multimillion-pound ad campaign announcing the launch" of the U.K. channel with the tagline, "It's great to be here." The campaign, run by ESPN Group Marketing Dir of Europe, Middle East & Africa Mike McKibbin and via Wieden & Kennedy, Amsterdam, "includes TV advertising, billboards, posters, newspaper ads, a nationwide bus campaign and a 'mega site'" on U.K. road A4. ESPN's campaign will feature a "heavy focus" on the 46 live EPL matches ESPN will televise this season. Meanwhile, ESPN's TV spot for the campaign, which is "scheduled to run across its channels including ESPN Classic and ESPN America" and will launch August 12, will "use images of the football experience from a fan's point of view" (Manchester GUARDIAN, 8/3).