ESPN yesterday at its upfront presentation in N.Y. "outlined several options for its contingency plan in the event" that NFL players "don't take the field by September," according to Andrew Hampp of AD AGE. ESPN Exec VP/Content John Skipper said that the net "may consider adding more NASCAR programming" if the NFL lockout extends into the season. But Skipper added, "You just can't replace the NFL. They will come back." ESPN also is facing a June 6 deadline "to bid for the Olympics, which Disney is expected to go after in a big way between ABC Sports and ESPN." ESPN Exec VP/Sales & Marketing Sean Bratches: "We remain an interested party." Hampp noted ESPN is also "focusing on working more directly with marketers on custom-content initiatives," and there will be "more female programming on ESPN's airwaves." Additionally, "in store for marketers in 2011 are more cross-platform ad units as part of ESPN's Watch ESPN initiative, a TV Everywhere-like multiplatform approach to distributing sports content." Bratches said that 2.2 million people "interact with an ESPN app every day," while ESPN3 "has already attracted 50 advertisers" (ADAGE.com, 5/17). In N.Y., Stuart Elliott noted ESPN will "begin accepting commercials on WatchESPN." Bratches said that there are "plans to let owners of the Xbox 360 video game system have access to ESPN3.com" (NYTIMES.com, 5/17).
SCHEDULE SHIFTS: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Georg Szalai noted ESPN yesterday unveiled a "new weekdays afternoon lineup for ESPN2, which will launch Sept. 12." New programs include the half-hour original series "Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable," which will feature the Miami Herald columnist and air at 4:00pm ET, as well as "Numbers Don't Lie," which will air at 3:30pm. ESPN2 currently airs a simulcast of "The Scott Van Pelt Show" radio show at 3:00pm and "SportsNation" at 4:00pm; the net said that "SportsNation" will "continue to be on the schedule, but will move to the 5 p.m. slot." Van Pelt's show is "not cancelled, but details about its future are still being worked out." ESPN2's "NASCAR Now" will "continue to air in the afternoons, with popular ESPN afternoon show 'Jim Rome is Burning' rounding out the channel's 3-6 p.m. afternoon schedule" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 5/17). USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand reports ESPN also will "expand its 'NFL Live' show from a half-hour to an hour." While the net "won't have as many original sports documentaries as it did in last year's '30 for 30' series, it will have a few next fall." One documentary will spotlight Renee Richards, "who broke down barriers in the mid-1970s by challenging the rule that you had to be born female to play in the women's draw in tennis' U.S. Open" (USA TODAY, 5/18).
MORE FOR ESPN DEPORTES: In N.Y., Elliott & Vega note ESPN Deportes was "featured prominently" during the upfront presentation. ESPN said that it "would introduce the first original scripted series for ESPN Deportes, 'El Diez,' or 'Ten,' about a young soccer player who makes it big in Mexico City" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/18).
