Australian Open on ESPN2 & ESPN360.com

137 Hours on TV; 480+ Hours Live on Broadband

January 7, 2008 -- The tennis season will begin with unprecedented coverage of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year: 137 hours of coverage on ESPN2, as well as more than 480 hours – all live, with users choosing between action on six courts – on broadband ESPN360.com. Play will begin on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com on Sunday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. ET and will continue through the women’s and men’s finals Friday, Jan. 25, and Sunday, Jan. 27, respectively. ESPN has televised the Australian Open since 1984; last year’s women’s final drew ESPN2’s best tennis rating ever, a 1.9 for Serena Williams’ victory over Maria Sharapova.

In addition, where appropriate ESPN’s SportsCenter and ESPNEWS will endeavor live look-ins to the action; ESPN Deportes has a greatly increased Spanish-language schedule; and ESPN International has expanded rights.

TELEVISION COVERAGE IN THE U.S. AND AROUND THE WORLD

ESPN2’s tennis team boasts an unmatched roster of tennis champions and

experienced and outspoken commentators who will share play-by-play, game analyst and studio analyst roles. Legendary tennis journalist Bud Collins, who will make his debut on ESPN2’s Grand Slam coverage as a studio analyst and essayist, Cliff Drysdale and Dick Enberg comprise three of the sport’s most respected longtime voices. Former Australian star player-turned coach Darren Cahill returns, as do Mary Carillo, Mary Joe Fernandez and reigning Davis Cup champion captain Patrick McEnroe. In addition, Luke Jensen and Pam Shriver will primarily serve as courtside reporters, and studio host Chris Fowler will call select matches.

DID YOU KNOW?

ESPN’s Bud Collins, Cliff Drysdale and Dick Enberg have worked -- or, in Drysdale’s case, played -- in approximately 275 Grand Slam events as of the end of 2007.

ESPN2’s Australian Open programming will generally consist of three shows each day: live coverage in the evening starting Sunday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m., live matches at 3:30 a.m. (depending on circumstances, at 6 a.m. coverage may shift to ESPN Classic), and at least three hours of same-day action the next afternoon at 3 p.m. As with the 2007 French Open, ESPN2 is working with Tennis Channel to bring fans virtually round-the-clock coverage during the 2008 Australian Open. ESPN2 is producing all Australian Open coverage for both networks, with each channel utilizing its own commentators.

ESPN Deportes – the fulltime Spanish-language U.S. network – has expanded coverage to 70 hours (including re-airs), January 14 through the finals. The commentators will be Luís Alfredo Álvarez, Eduardo Varela and former players José Luís Clerc and Javier Frana.

In Latin America, ESPN International will provide two weeks of extensive live coverage on four networks. Álvarez, Varela, Clerc and Frana will provide Spanish commentary while Sam Gore and former American star Jimmy Arias will provide commentary in English. The pan-regional ESPN networks in Latin America (in South and Central America) will provide two weeks of live coverage, totaling over 80 hours through the final. In the Southern Cone, ESPN+ (pronounced "mas") will air over 30 hours in prime time for the early rounds and will cover the quarterfinals, semis and finals. In the Northern Cone, ESPN 2 (pronounced "dos") will carry 16 hours of coverage through the quarterfinals, primarily in the morning.

SPORTSCENTER IN THE U.S. AND AROUND THE WORLD

In the U.S., throughout the tournament ESPN’s SportsCenter and ESPNEWS

– the 24-hour all-sports news network – will look to show live “look-ins” to play in progress, as storylines dictate. Miguel Simón will provide reports from onsite for ESPN Deportes’ SportsCenter.

Other SportsCenters from ESPN International’s editions around the world will have reporters

on site. Simón will provide reports for the Spanish-language SportsCenter aired in Latin America. Melbourne native and ESPN reporter Tiffany Cherry will offer exclusive updates for local editions of SportsCenter aired in Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Israel.

GREAT MATCHES FROM THE PAST ON ESPN CLASSIC

ESPN Classic will air an Australian Open Marathon Friday, Jan. 11, at 1 p.m.:

1 – 3 p.m.: 1995 Australian Open Finals, Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras – Agassi absorbed a 28-ace barrage by top-seeded Pete Sampras, but wore him down from the baseline and won the Australian Open title in a spectacular match, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4.

3 – 5 p.m.: 2000 Australian Open Semifinals Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras – Agassi and Sampras put on a show for the film archives, Agassi winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (0), 7-6 (5), 6-1 to become the first man to reach four straight Grand Slam finals since Rod Laver swept them all in 1969.

5 – 7 p.m.: 2003 Australian Open Finals Venus Williams vs. Serena Williams – Serena Williams survived an error-filled match to beat older sister Venus 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4 to win the Australian Open for her fourth straight major championship.

DIGITAL MEDIA

ESPN360.com will expand its broadband coverage to include no fewer than six live feeds from various courts – including the women’s, men’s and mixed doubles finals – plus a simulcast of ESPN2’s live coverage, totaling more than 480 hours. For the first 11 days (Jan. 13 – 23), coverage will commence at 7 p.m. (11 a.m. in Melbourne, when play begins). The courts to be included are the “TV courts,” the ones most likely to have top matches: Rod Laver Arena, Vodafone Arena, Margaret Court Arena, plus Courts 2, 3 and 6. Coverage will be the “world feed” from the host broadcaster, with graphics, natural sound and no commentary. For the remainder of the tournament, ESPN360.com will continue the ESPN2 simulcast, and will carry the women’s (Jan. 24), men’s (Jan. 25) and mixed (Jan. 26) doubles finals.

Each window of coverage will be available for on-demand replay following its completion. With ESPN360.com’s dynamic new interface, tennis fans will be able to fast-forward, rewind and pause action – during both on-demand replay and live action coverage.

The coverage is part of ESPN360.com’s most robust monthly schedule ever. In January, the broadband network will deliver at least 390 live sports events, including its 100th event since the September 4 relaunch. The new ESPN360.com is a 24/7 live sports destination, delivering more than 2,500 live global sports events per year (more than ESPN and ESPN2 combined). The service offers high-quality live video and a mosaic of screens, letting users follow multiple events simultaneously. ESPN360.com is available at no charge to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection from an affiliated service provider. It has more than doubled distribution since November 2006, and is available in 20 million households via more than 25 Internet service providers including AT&T, Verizon, RCN, Frontier, Cavalier, Charter, Mediacom, Conway and Grande Communications. Consumers wanting more information about ESPN360.com should go to www.espn360.com.

ESPN.com will feature blogs from Peter Bodo and Tennis.com’s staff, daily ESPN video highlights and features, original podcasts from the ESPN PodCenter (http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/index), and news and analysis from ESPN.com and Tennis.com. Other contributors: ESPN.com’s Bonnie DeSimone, ESPN The Magazine and Page 2’s LZ Granderson as well as Patrick McEnroe, Pam Shriver, Bodo and more.

ESPNdeportes.com, the leading sports Web Site for Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. and Latin America, will provide unmatched coverage with a recently re-designed tennis section featuring the latest news and results, high-quality video segments (daily SportsCenter clips, chats and columns), Australian Open blog by Simón, daily polls and more.

ESPN MOBILE TV

ESPN Mobile TV, a 24/7 channel for wireless, will provide more than 50 hours of live coverage. ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN’s first 24/7 wireless channel that is not a simulcast of any existing ESPN network, offers full-length live events including college football and basketball, NBA, NASCAR, MLS, Arena Football and more. It also offers content from Mike & Mike in the Morning, First Take and Pardon the Interruption. ESPN Mobile TV is available through MobiTV and on MediaFLO USA’s mobile entertainment service.

2008 AUSTRALIAN OPEN on ESPN2 & ESPN360.

Date Time (ET) Event Platform

Sun., Jan. 13 7 p.m. – MID Early round play ESPN2 LIVE