N.Y. Times Runs First Of Three-Part Series On ESPN With Look At CFB

The N.Y. Times today ran the first of a three-part series on ESPN with a front-page, above-the-fold story on the network's dominant position within college football (THE DAILY). The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic, Texas Kickoff Classic and Cowboys Classic are "creations of ESPN -- demonstrations of the sports network's power over college football." By "infusing the sport with billions of dollars it pays for television rights -- more than $10 billion on college football in the last five years alone -- ESPN has become both puppet-master and kingmaker." The money and programming "focused on college football by ESPN, as well as its competitors, have transformed the game, creating professionalized sports empires in the midst of academic institutions" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/25).