EPL Rights Forcing ESPN To Cater To A New Type Of Fan
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Some British Soccer Fans Concerned About
ESPN's Coverage Of EPL In '12-13 |
ESPN last month obtained the rights to EPL games through the '12-13 season, but "few sports fans are as demanding, or as tribal in their passions, as followers" of the league, according to the N.Y. TIMES' Eric Pfanner, who writes under the header, "Fans In Britain Cringe As ESPN Takes Over Broadcasting Soccer." The London Daily Mail "joked that the broadcaster might try to rename the FA Cup ... the 'Mickey Mouse Cup.'" Coventry Univ. sports business strategy professor Simon Chadwick said of ESPN, "There is a strong sense of counterculture in English football. They can't be too glitzy, they can't be too showbiz, they can't be too American." But ESPN Int’l Exec VP & Managing Dir Russell Wolff said, "We have a deep football culture within our company." Wolff: "We have football fans, professionals and aficionados. We're going to build on that experience. ... It's a big step forward for our business." Meanwhile, analysts said that ESPN's acquisition of EPL rights "could set up a battle between ESPN and Sky when negotiations for the next round of domestic rights agreements take place in 2012." Chadwick: "I think this could change the sport broadcasting landscape." But Pfanner notes "for now, Sky and ESPN play down talk of conflict." Wolff added that with six weeks to go before the start of the '09-10 EPL season, ESPN is "focusing on getting broadcast crews and announcers in place, as well as securing rights to other events to round out ESPN's programming in Britain" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/6).
LOOKING NORTHWARD: In London, Nick Clark reported ESPN and Sky are "set to launch a joint bid to screen the Scottish Premier League (SPL) from next season," as sources said that the companies are "close to tabling an offer for the rights that the [SPL] clawed back from Setanta Sports," which went into administration last month. The joint bid will be a "disappointment to the SPL as it was hoping to spark an auction between the two likeliest bidders for the rights package." Sources said that the SPL was "unlikely to receive the same fee paid by Setanta" (London INDEPENDENT, 7/3).
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