Sports

Announcement of 20 Finalists Continues Through Friday, June 27; Profile of all 20 Cities July 4 – 23

June 17, 2008 -- SportsCenter’s interactive search for America’s top championship city continued last week with the announcement of five new finalists on the ESPN flagship news and information program Tuesday, June 10, to Monday, June 16. The five cities announced include Los Angeles, Columbus, Ohio, Chapel Hill, N.C., Ann Arbor, Mich., and San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area.    » read more »

Most Extensive Digital Rights Allows Fans to Watch in More Ways

June 16, 2008 -- With the start of a new six-year agreement between ESPN and the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, U.S. tennis fans will receive nearly 100 hours of Wimbledon: The Championships on ESPN2, plus the most extensive digital rights in Wimbledon history, largely via ESPN360.com, ESPN’s premier broadband service. In addition, Wimbledon programming will be found on ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic, ESPN International and, for the first time, on ESPN Interactive Television.    » read more »

June 16, 2008 -- Based on fast national ratings, Game 5 of the best-of-seven NBA Finals on ABC – the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics – last night, Sunday, June 15, averaged 17,257,000 viewers (P2+), an increase of 21 percent compared to Game 5 in 2006 (there was no Game 5 last year), which averaged 14,318,000 viewers for Dallas at Miami. The Lakers/Celtics game averaged 11,393,000 households, an increase of 13 percent over 10,049,000 households in 2006, and a 10.1 rating, up 11 percent over a 9.1 in 2006. It was the most-watched NBA Finals Game since Game 7 of 2005 (18,997,000 viewers).

Through five broadcasts, the 2008 NBA Finals are averaging a 9.0 rating, up 45 percent over the four-game series last year (6.2).    » read more »

First Two Rounds on ESPN Were Most-Viewed in Eight Years

June 17, 2008 -- ESPN’s coverage of the 2008 U.S. Open playoff on Monday from noon-2 p.m. ET was the most-viewed golf telecast in cable TV history (4.2 household rating, 4,055,000 household impressions, 4,762,000 viewers). Tiger Woods defeated Rocco Mediate in a sudden playoff at Torrey Pines. ESPN aired the first two hours of the playoff, which went into sudden death. Previously, ESPN’s coverage of the 2008 Masters, which delivered a 3.1 household rating, held the record, averaging 3,014,000 households.    » read more »

16 June 2008 -- World number one golfer Tiger Woods has won his third U.S. Open title, surviving a long playoff with fellow American Rocco Mediate on the challenging Torrey Pines course near San Diego, California.

Both men tied after regulation play on Sunday at one under-par 283. That set up an 18-hole playoff on Monday. Woods built a three-shot lead early before Mediate slowly caught up and was able to grab a one-shot advantage heading into the final hole. But Mediate was not able to seal the win and Woods, still battling to recover from knee surgery, regained a shot with a birdie (one under par on a hole).    » read more »

16 June 2008 -- Chinese officials have confirmed that the controversial Tibet leg of the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay has been postponed. Beijing Olympic officials previously announced a delay in the torch relay through Sichuan province after the area was hit by a powerful earthquake May 12.

Olympic torch rally, London: Free Tibet Protest: Photo by Kaustav Bhattacharya (CC)

But now officials confirm additional changes in the route. No official reason has been given.    » read more »

June 4, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL) and Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) today issued a statement following the announcement that Chicago has been chosen as a finalist in the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s competition to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"The Chicago 2016 organizers, the U.S. Olympic Committee, Mayor Daley and the people of Chicago deserve praise for a job well done. Because of their fine efforts, Chicago is well prepared to face stiff competition from the three additional finalists - Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.    » read more »

INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, June 3, 2008 -- The NCAA has invited 28 football coaches to its 2008 NCAA Expert Coaches Academy, which takes place June 5-7 in Dallas, Texas.

The Expert Coaches Academy is an NCAA program that addresses the critical shortage of ethnic minorities in head coaching positions in the sport of college football, primarily at the Division I level. Though the NCAA National Office does not have hiring authority over its member colleges and universities, the office is able to provide programming that better prepares coaches for many of the issues they will experience at the head coaching level through program sessions and networking opportunities with current head coaches.

Programming covers:    » read more »

June 3, 2008 -- Several college football matchups have been determined involving SEC and ACC teams for telecasts in 2008 on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com. Highlights include:

* Saturday Night Football on ABC, the first weekly college football primetime series on broadcast television, will kick off its third season with Alabama vs. Clemson at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on August 30 at 8 p.m. ET. The showdown between SEC and ACC power programs will mark the first meeting between the schools since 1975. Another Saturday Night Football telecast will pit defending SEC East Champion Georgia at Arizona State, coming off a 10-3 season and a Holiday Bowl appearance, on September 20 at 8 p.m.    » read more »

June 3, 2008 -- ESPN’s NBA coverage has generated audience growth across the company’s multimedia platforms, including significant improvements in television viewership and online traffic during the NBA Playoffs.

ESPN – NBA Playoffs through Eastern Conference Finals

* ESPN’s coverage of the 2008 NBA Playoffs ranks as the network’s most-viewed ever (3,149,000 households; previous high – 2,994,000 households in 2006);
* The 3,149,000 households for 21 telecasts marks an increase of 41 percent when compared to 2,239,000 households last year (17 telecasts);
* The corresponding 3.3 rating is up 38 percent over the 2.4 rating in 2007.

ABC – NBA Playoffs through Eastern Conference Finals    » read more »

SportsCenter NBA Finals Special – 1987 Celtics/Lakers – Tuesday on ESPN

June 2, 2008 -- The 2008 NBA Finals, featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant and the Boston Celtics and Kevin Garnett, will tip off on Thursday, June 5, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC, ABC HD, ESPN Radio and ESPN International.

ESPN’s multi-platform presentation of The Finals will include coverage across ABC, ABC HD, ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN2, ESPN2 HD, ESPN Radio, ESPN International, ESPNEWS, ESPNEWS HD, ESPN.com, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPNdeportes.com, ESPN Classic, ESPN360.com, ESPN The Magazine and ESPN Mobile Properties.

ABC’s primetime lineup will include:    » read more »

June 2, 2008 -- In order to better reflect the ever-increasing global presence of the X Games franchise, ESPN has renamed and reorganized the department that now oversees more than a dozen events, qualifiers, exhibits and competitions annually. The Global X Events and Development department will focus exclusively on the continued global expansion of X Games events and related opportunities tied to the franchise.    » read more »

June 2, 2008 -- The familiar trio of Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic and Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka will call the West Coast game for the second consecutive year in ESPN’s season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader -- Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders on September 8 at 10:15 p.m. ET. The game will follow the Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers telecast at 7 p.m.    » read more »

Big Brown Seeks First Triple Crown Since 1978; ESPN to Offer Extensive Multimedia Coverage

June 2, 2008 -- ESPN will offer seven hours of coverage leading to ABC’s two-hour race broadcast Sat., June 5, as Big Brown attempts to win the 140th Belmont Stakes and become the first horse to capture the Triple Crown since 1978. ESPN will have programming from noon to 5 p.m. ET , followed by the race coverage on ABC. All Belmont programming on ABC and ESPN will be aired in high definition television on ABC HD and ESPN HD, respectively.

Overall, ESPN will provide Belmont Stakes coverage on nine platforms: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN Deportes, ESPN360.com, ESPN International, and ESPN Mobile TV.    » read more »

- Marks The First Time Breeders’ Cup Will Be Televised on ABC
- Nine Hours of Live Event Coverage to Air Over Two Days on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2

June 2, 2008 -- The Breeders’ Cup and ESPN announced today that the 2008 Breeders’ Cup World Championships on October 24-25 from Santa Anita Park will receive an unprecedented nine hours of live coverage including, for the first time, 2.5 hours of live coverage on ABC. The 25th running of the Breeders’ Cup will feature 14 races over two days with record purses of $25.5 million and air on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 beginning on Friday, October 24 on ESPN2. The ABC and ESPN combination marks the first ever network and cable telecast of the Championships.    » read more »