ESPN refused to invite snowboarding legend Shaun White to X Games Aspen because he disparaged the series while promoting his own Air + Style festival, multiple sources said. The 23-time X Games medalist and two-time Olympic champion got into hot water for comparing the two events at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in October, saying Air + Style would be better because he markets it locally and curates musical acts with an eye to the host city. Air + Style is coming to L.A. on Feb. 20-21. White also called X Games’ global expansion in ‘13 a “huge failure” and said he got the idea to acquire Air + Style after ESPN’s global false start. Nothing happened for nearly six weeks after the Forbes Under 30 Summit. But around Thanksgiving, ESPN called White’s camp to inform them he would not be invited to Aspen, sources said, because of his comments to Forbes. ESPN X Games Vice President Tim Reed declined to comment. White’s agent, CAA global sports endorsements head Lowell Taub, could not be reached. White’s absence loomed large at the X Games, billed as having the most elite and marketable lineup in action sports. “Shaun White was definitely missed at X Games this year,” said Octagon Dir of Action Sports Amen Teter. “Any time that an athlete as dynamic as Shaun is not in attendance the lack is felt. However, ESPN did a good job of highlighting the other star action sports athletes in attendance.” While some insiders thought ESPN sacrificed the event’s quality by not inviting him, others felt White owes the X Games. “It’s a hard one with Shaun,” said Monster Energy Global Skateboarding Manager Jordan Brown, who was at X Games to help sponsored skateboarder Nijah Huston’s snowboarding appearance. “Because Shaun was essentially put in the position he’s in now through things like the X Games.” White is expected to participate in the X Games Oslo event on Feb. 24-28.
EXECS PLEASED WITH EVENT: ESPN execs and sponsors called the three-day Aspen stop a success, despite bad weather, an 11% decline in TV ratings and a comparable decline in attendance. “We’re well aware of what the television ratings were, and that’s one component,” Reed said. “But the reality is we’re selling a lifestyle and event, and if you look at the totality of the event, it was really solid. If you take on all the different digital and social metrics, you feel pretty good about the weekend.” An average of 925,000 people watched four live broadcasts on ESPN and ABC last weekend, the lowest X Games viewership numbers since ‘04. About 102,600 people attended, also down 11% year-over-year. However, users of the WatchESPN app logged 12.1 million total minutes of X Games action, up 58% over last year, Reed said. Also, the competitions that aired on ESPN averaged 69,000 unique viewers on the app, up 115% from ‘15.
