When ESPN hosts the first installment of its global X Games series in the U.S. ski town of Aspen, Colorado this week, "it will have only four global X Games sponsors -- two fewer than ESPN hoped to have," according to Tripp Mickle of the SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The company, which will host X Games in Aspen, France, Brazil, Germany, Spain and L.A., "sold sponsorships to all of those events to GoPro and Red Bull." It split the automotive category between Jeep, which will sponsor winter events in Aspen and France, and Ford, which will sponsor summer events in Brazil, Germany, Spain and L.A. It also "sold a global deal to the U.S. Navy that gives the armed forces division on-site rights in Aspen and L.A. and advertising in global X Games programming from the other four stops." ESPN execs "declined to discuss the length and financial value of the deals." Marketing sources approached by ESPN said that the company "was pitching deals with a $16M-a-year price tag," but added that the company "netted less than that from GoPro and Red Bull" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/21 issue).
GLOBAL TV PARTNERS: As ESPN's X Games becomes a global property, the network and its various Local Organizing Committees announced agreements with TV partners in each of the four host markets outside of the U.S. -- France, Brazil, Spain and Germany. ESPN also announced syndication deals in several other markets. The first group of global TV partners will be joined by others in the months ahead, as ESPN continues discussions with potential distributors around the world. The 2013 X Games in Aspen will be televised in 184 countries, reaching more than 430 million homes (ESPN).
