ESPN’s flagship iOS news app now works on both iPhone and iPad
da da da, da da da
ESPN pushed a big update to its flagship news app for iOS on Thursday. Now simply called ESPN — ditching the “Sportscenter”…
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All you need to know about Dish’s new Sling TV service
Straight from the CEO
Dish’s Sling TV online streaming service, which the company plans to launch in the coming weeks, made waves at CES earlier this…
Great Stuff Janko. ESPN.com’s redesign already shows up in BETA, and the move toward responsive design gives the desktop feel a much cleaner, less cluttered look (much like Gigaom’s new post page design), and the use of cards on sidebars is a savvy move as well. It opens up personalization…
Great Stuff Janko. ESPN.com’s redesign already shows up in BETA, and the move toward responsive design gives the desktop feel a much…
ESPN’s new mobile strategy: fewer apps on more screens
Take a first look at ESPN’s upcoming mobile app, and the responsive website the sportscaster plans to launch in a few months.
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The FCC will soon share its response to the court’s maiming of network neutrality
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is close to announcing his plan for dealing with a recent court decision that gutted the agency’s network neutrality order.
MVNO Disney Mobile rises from the ashes through a new deal with Zact
Disney shut down its virtual mobile operator more than five years ago, but now it’s taking another swipe at a branded mobile service, partnering with little-known MVNO Zact.
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Could Dish drop ESPN?
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/will-dish-network-dare-drop-631832 Prepare for the next TV blackout: Dish and Disney are currently in negotiations about their next deal, and the Hollywood Reporter…
ESPN builds a Twitter-style firehose for sports news
ESPN is building a Twitter-style stream of content from ESPN.com called SportsCenter Feed. Users can see all the stories, blog posts, videos, score updates and pictures as they go up in real time. The beta product was built using ESPN’s APIs, which open to developers.
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YouTube’s sports plans: Scottish soccer highlights, English next?
A bid for full live English Premier League soccer rights may have been out of Google’s league. But could YouTube yet bid for online highlights?
Disney profits spike 24% off parks, cable, Avengers tchotchkes
Profits were up across the board in the second quarter, with ESPN, ABC, Disneyland and The Avengers all making money for the conglomerate.
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ESPN: No talks yet about Apple TV authentication
As cable’s most powerful programming brand, you’d expect that ESPN would spend the day of its upfront presentation bolstering its still-very-lucrative linear TV model. But the Disney-owned sports media titan spent Tuesday hyping social media plans and shooting down rumors about Apple TV authentication.
Young women are (still) the best internet bait and 5 other lessons from ESPN’s blogger scandal
Sports media was in a lather this week over Sarah Phillips, a 22-year-old ESPN writer who blogged, tweeted and scammed her way to online infamy.
ESPN Hands International Digital Media To Rees
The ball for ESPN’s international digital media activities is being passed from Tom Gleeson to Arne Rees.
Industry Moves: ESPN; Yahoo; Wikia; AdoTube
— ESPN: The sports network is seeing a reorg: John Kosner has been promoted to EVP, digital and print media, from SVP and GM of the divisio…
Disney-Comcast Strike Broad Cross-Platform Content Deal
Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) Xfinity TV subscribers stymied by the lack of access to iPad app WatchESPN have relief in sight: a new multi-year, cro…
The Albert Pujols Deal Shows What's Wrong With The Pay TV Business
When baseball great Albert Pujols signed a staggering 10-year, $254 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim last week, he became…
The Morning Lowdown 11-15-11
» Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) Launches iTunes Match, But Puts Temporary Hold On New Subscriptions (paidContent)
» Gartner: And…
Iger: NBA Strike Won't Hurt ESPN; This Is The 'Pre-Season' Of Digital Video
The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) pulled in a pretty solid fiscal 2011 and FY Q4, but a number of challenges have emerged that could threaten…
Industry Moves: ESPN; Underdog; Vindico; Compass Labs; RLM Finsbury; Spin
— *ESPN* Deportes: Freddy Rolón has been promoted to VP of ESPN (NYSE: DIS) Deportes Programming and Business Initiatives. He’ll lead the…
Comcast’s MyTV Choice: Is this the future of pay TV bundling?
Comcast is testing out a new service offering called MyTV Choice, which gives subscribers the ability to pick and choose which types of content they want to pay for. It’s not true a la carte, but it’s a step toward more personalized programming choices.
Foursquare Adds Checkins For Movies, Concerts, ESPN Sports
Sometimes what’s important is what you’re doing, not where you are (I should write Hallmark cards, right?). If you’re going to the movies, f…
Foursquare adds events to location check-ins
Foursquare has talked about evolving beyond the check-in, but that doesn’t mean the check-in is dead. Now the location-based social network is adding event check-ins for locations featuring movies, sporting events and concerts. Event check-ins automatically tell people what you’re doing, not just where you are.
ESPN Scores Aussie Sport Site Footytips For Social Push
A small but significant acquisition for Disney-owned sports network ESPN: it is buying Australian company ExtraCorp Pty. Ltd, owners of the…
For New Soccer Season, Betting Funds ESPN’s Mobile Ambitions
Last soccer season, ESPN (NYSE: DIS) debuted ESPN Goals, an iPhone and Android app that, for £3.99 per month or £29.99 annually, offered m…
ESPN3 goes down during Wimbledon, Women’s World Cup
Want to watch Wimbledon or the Women’s World Cup online? Well, looks like you’re out of luck: ESPN3, which has the exclusive online rights for both competitions, has been suffering an outage this morning. There’s no word yet on when the site will return online.
Watch videos later on the iPad, Xoom and Galaxy Tab with Squrl
Squrl lets users save videos and watch them later across a number of tablet devices. The app, available now for the iPad, Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, provides a way for users to bookmark and organize videos from multiple video sites and applications.
ESPN Consolidates Digital/Print Under Kosner; Turner’s Hands Golf To Kropp
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) and Turner Sports have both made two fairly significant personnel moves this morning designed to tighten the relationship b…
Cord Cutting Threat Ain’t Over Yet
The number of pay TV subscribers increased over the fourth quarter, but the year-over-year growth was the slowest ever for the industry. Even worse, the percentage of households paying for TV actually declined over that period, due to a constrained economy and competition from online sources.
ESPN’s Record-Breaking BCS Broadcast Proves TV is Still King
ESPN’s broadcast of the BCS National Championship game Monday marked the highest-rated cable broadcast ever, despite the fact that viewers could watch a stream of the game on the cable network’s online service, ESPN3. The numbers prove the dominance of TV, but not cable companies.
Can ESPN Bring Some Respect To Interactive Television?
The secret to Wayne Gretzky’s greatness on the ice was that he didn’t skate to where the puck was, but where he anticipated it might go next…
Doubt Cast On Research Suggesting Equal Time For TV And Online
A Forrester Research report released Monday received a ton of attention for its suggestion that TV and internet usage in the U.S. had reache…
Which TV Channels Can’t Cord-Cutters Live Without?
If the never-ending stream of data on cord-cutting has faded into a blur, here’s one new finding that may be of actual interest. In her late…
ESPN Launches Blog Aimed At Women Athletes
ESPN’s new blog, espnW, rolls out today with the aim of bringing more women — and the advertisers who want to reach them — to is expansive…
Cord Cutting Could Get Costly for ESPN
New data from ESPN suggests that there are fewer cord cutters than you might think. But it’s releasing this data at the same time its distribution partners, afraid of cord cutters, are beginning to roll out cable packages without ESPN as a way to lower costs.
Springtime for Time Warner Cable: New Tier ‘Designed To Fail,’ Says Analyst
Surely you recall Springtime for Hitler, that intentionally misbegotten musical dreamed up by the schemers in Mel Brooks’ comedy classic The…
ESPN’s Newest Premium Apps Are For Insiders Only
While other publishers brag about surpassing single-copy sales on the iPad or look for ways to manage subscriptions outside of iTunes, ESPN…
ESPN Names Sony’s Hair To Head EMEA Ops
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is hiring Sony (NYSE: SNE) Pictures Television exec Ross Hair to replace Lynne Frank as its MD for Europe, Middle East and…
The Morning Lowdown 09.07.10
» Twitter app developers have seen a 50 percent cut in early-stage investment over the past year — though it’s not clear if that…
TV Everywhere Plays Important Role In New Disney-Time Warner Cable Deal
Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) stepped to the precipice of blackout Armageddon — and wisely took a giant…
New ESPN TV Everywhere Service Begins With Time Warner Cable Deal
Disney and Time Warner Cable have settled their retransmission negotiations, finalizing a deal that will keep ABC, ESPN and Disney networks on Time Warner Cable systems. But the big news for online video is that Disney is creating its first authenticated video service for ESPN networks.
Updated: CBSSports.com Expands U.S. Open Streaming; USTA Will Show It All
Tennis fans should be able to get their fill of the 2010 U.S. Open with or without a TV, even if the weather is good. For the past two years…
ESPN Adds VOD Rights To Old Premier League Matches
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) says it has received a renewed multi-year license from England’s Premier League to soccer matches from the league’s vaults,…
Microsoft To Add ESPN Content To Xbox Live
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), which had much success bringing Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) to Xbox Live, and then following that up with link-ups with Las…
ESPN Plans Slow Expansion For SweetSpot Baseball Blog Network
With the 2010 baseball season just underway, ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is expanding the number of individual teams covered on SweetSpot, the baseball…
ESPN360 Makes Way For ESPN3 But Biz Model Stays The Same
ESPN3.com debuts Sunday night with the Yankees-Red Sox season opener and lots of enhancements but whatever the name it’s still available in…
@ Media Summit: The Medium Isn’t The Message; The Brand Is
One of the favorite sports of most media conferences these days involves trotting out Wired editor Chris Anderson’s “freemium” idea — which…
@ Media Dealmakers Summit: Disney’s Kevin Mayer: Ultimately Hulu Should Be Hybrid
At the tres civilized Pierre in Manhattan this morning where the 8th Annual Media Dealmakers Summit kicked off with Disney’s Kevin Mayer. A…
Interview: ESPN Digital VP On Online Sports Rights
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) may have entered the UK market by buying up defunct Setanta’s English and Scottish football TV rights – but it’s treating o…
ESPN Follows UK Portal With Mobile Sites, Racing-Live Revamp
Next stop in ESPN’s European odyssey – new mobile versions of two of its sites. Rugby site ESPNScrum.com and motorsports site ESPNF1.com get…
ESPN Purchases Virtual Technology Provider Vistas Unlimited
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) has acquired Vistas Unlimited, Inc., which will help it go even more virtual on both the programming and advertising fronts…
ESPN to Launch 3D Network in 2010
With the television industry buzzing over the possibilities of bringing 3D HD pictures to the living room as it heads to the Consumer Electr…
ESPN Launches Local Site in Los Angeles
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) has launched the latest in growing network of local Web sites, this time in Los Angeles. ESPNLosAngeles.com presents exclus…
FLO TV Adds Disney And ABC To The Line-Up
Qualcomm’s FLO TV continues to add new content to its mobile broadcast TV network, this time roping in ABC Television Network and the Disney…
ESPN’s Bodenheimer Thinks Big For Local Sites; Actions? Not So Fast
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is getting ready to launch two new local sites for a total of five across the country that could serve as the starting poin…
Broadband Content Bits: 7Digital-Tradebit; Grabmytable.com Launches; ESPN Rugby VOD Clips
— 7Digital: The mp3 retailer is adding its tracks to a new music initiative from US online marketplace Tradebit. Some five million DRM-free…
ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons Gets A Twitter Time Out, Sort Of
Part of the joy of following Bill Simmons on Twitter is the feeling that he doesn’t hold back — that, plus not only he can be snarky as all…
Comcast Expands Online Local Sports Teams To Compete With ESPN
While local media outlets slash sports staffs and travel, national players are coming after fans, ad dollars — and each other. ESPN (NYSE:…
Disney Interactive Still In Investment Phase (I.E. In The Red)
Higher subscription revenue from virtual kids world Club Penguin and lower marketing costs for Disney Online weren’t enough to offset increa…
ESPN Readies Local Dallas Site; Outsources Boston Ad Sales To Kraft Sports Group
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is launching its third city sports news site in Dallas on Monday as it seeks to tries to solidify its presence in major mar…
ESPN Planning UK Online Sports Portal
What’s missing from ESPN’s UK soccer package? A website to go with the TV coverage. But the U.S. network has confirmed to us it is preparing…
ESPN Uses Webisodes, Game Competition To Promote ‘Elite 11’
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is hoping that a virtual gaming contest and online video series will help drum up interest among teen athletes for its Elit…
ESPN Prepares Online Revamp For UK Soccer Channel Launch
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is planning to revamp ESPNSoccernet and its other sports sites to coincide with the launch of its first European sports cha…
ESPN Will Use Footy Rights To Boost Sports Websites
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) will enhance and expand its online sports sites as part of its launch as a UK sports broadcaster in August. The Disney-owne…
HuffPo Launches NYC Local Section; Partners With ESPN On Chicago
Huffington Post, under the newly appointed CEO Eric Hippeau, has launched its second city vertical after the Chicago launch last year: it ha…
ESPN The Magazine To Charge For Content Online
*ESPN* The Magazine becomes the latest print publication to try charging for its content online. The magazine announced on its website Frida…
ESPN’s Local Chicago Site To Launch Monday; No Rush On Other Cities
ESPNChicago.com only has a counter and a promotional video up, but on Monday, the site will go live for the Chicago Cubs home opener. The si…
Disney, YouTube Announce Clips Deal For ESPN, Disney/ABC
It’s official — Disney Media Networks and YouTube have announced the revenue-sharing short-form deal we first reported last night. The deal…
Report: Disney Plays the Field, Talking with YouTube
Disney (s DIS) is finalizing talks to put clips from its properties like ESPN and ABC on YouTube (s GOOG), according to…
ESPN360 Unveils Ad Insertions For Live March Hoops Video Streams
Right in time for March Madness — and a challenging environment for online advertising — ESPN360 last week starting allowing marketers to…
Industry Moves: ESPN; NBCU; Hachette Filipacchi; Sanrio
— ESPN: The company is pumping up its digital efforts abroad with the hiring of Scott Sternberg as VP-international digital media for ESPN…
In Sport: London 2012 Plans Social Media, ESPN Mulls Premiership Bid
Here’s the latest in a long line of “Brand X launching social network” stories – with a twist. The London 2012 Olympics organising committee…
ESPN Web Overhaul Almost Done; ‘Less Is More’ Design Aimed At Advertisers
ESPN.com’s year-long revamp is finally ready today and set for its formal debut on January 5. Aside from emphasizing video and smarter searc…
ESPN Previews Site Redesign, Solicits Subscriber Feedback
The new ESPN.com is slated to go live in January, but ESPN (NYSE: DIS) Insiders (i.e. paid subscribers) are already getting a preview. And t…
ESPN, BCS Deal Includes Rights To Simulcast Bowl Games On ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN360.com
For most of the sports-viewing world, the big news in the deal announced today between ESPN (NYSE: DIS) and the Bowl Championship Series is…
ESPN, BCS Deal Includes Rights To Simulcast Bowl Games On ESPN360.com, ESPN Mobile TV
For most of the sports-viewing world, the big news in the deal announced today between ESPN (NYSE: DIS) and the Bowl Championship Series is…
ESPN To Get Football BCS Starting In 2011; Deal Includes Digital, International
The details are still sketchy and the official announcement has yet to be made by ESPN (NYSE: DIS) and the Bowl Championship Series Group bu…
ESPN Bags British Open Golf Rights; Big Plans For ESPN360.com, Mobile
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) and The R&A, organisers of the British Open, have a new eight-year deal that expands digital and international rights and -…
ESPN, British Open Reach Eight-Year Deal With Expanded Digital, International Rights
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) and The R&A, organizers of the British Open, have a new eight-year deal that expands digital and international rights — an…
@ EconSports: ESPN.com To Do Video-Centric Revamp
ESPN.com is slated to get a major redesign this January, John Skipper, the sports networks’ EVP of Content, told ContentNext Media’s EconSp…
ESPN Renames Scrum.com ‘ESPNScrum.com’; Killing Its Best Asset?
Here’s a move that may antagonise the Scrum.com faithful – owner ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is renaming the site “ESPNScrum.com”. The rugby site was o…
ESPN Launches Photo Comparison Game On The iPhone
Fans of Photo Hunt rejoice. ESPN (NYSE: DIS) Cameraman, a new application just launched on the App Store, will seem familiar to regular user…
ESPN Pushing Social Sports Video Through Bebo
Bebo and ESPN (NYSE: DIS) have partnered to deliver sports video highlights to the teen-oriented social net, in what is one of its first sig…
ESPN’s New 15-Year Deal With SEC Includes Live Mobile College Games
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) has the right to simulcast Southeastern Conference (SEC) games on mobile under a new 15-year deal with the powerhouse athle…
High School Sports Site ESPNRise.com Launches Today
Another ESPN (NYSE: DIS) story worth mentioning … after 18 months of acquisitions and building, the Disney sports unit is launching its ma…
Updated: ESPN Will Pay $2.25 Billion For Some SEC Rights; Live Streaming Included
As a former card-carrying member of the SEC (woof, woof, woof for anyone who cares), I can only look at these numbers in awe … ESPN (NYSE:…
ESPN Wants U.S. Rights For 2014, 2016 Olympics; Would Air More Live; Tape Delays ‘Not Our Culture’
The cauldron for the 2008 Olympics is still burning in Beijing and NBC has the next two locked in already but ESPN’s (NYSE: DIS) John Skippe…
ESPN Buys Motorsport’s Racing-Live.com, Disney Bags RaisingKids.co.uk
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is buying Racing-Live.com, an independent motorsports site founded way back in 1995. Racing-Live.com claims three million m…
ESPN Buys Motorsport’s Racing-Live.com, Disney Bags RaisingKids.co.uk
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is buying Racing-Live.com, an independent motorsports site founded way back in 1995. Racing-Live.com claims three million m…
ESPN To Launch Online Action Sports Network; Morphing EXPN Into It
Right on cue around the X Games, ESPN (NYSE: DIS) has announced plans to launch an online action sports network, imaginatively called ESPN A…
ESPN Rolls Out New Search Platform This Week; Foundation Of Forthcoming Site Redesign
ESPN.com is planning a major site revamp, but first, it wants to get search right and will then build around some of its new functions. On T…
Industry Moves: WB; Rotten Tomatoes; IAB; ESPN; MSN UK
— WB: Jacqueline Jourdain Hayes has been promoted to SVP-business and legal affairs for the company’s Digital Distribution division. In her…
Sports Shorts: ESPN360-Cricket; NBCU-Beijing; YES-NYT
— ESPN360.com Will Carry Exclusive Live Cricket Coverage: ESPN360.com has the exclusive U.S. broadband rights to live and replay coverage o…
ESPN Acquires Student Sports, Inc. For High-School Sports Initiative ESPN RISE
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is acquiring Student Sports, Inc., a Torrance, Calif.-based digital media and event producer with a focus on high school sp…
Broadband Content Bits: ESPN360.com; Network Sites’ Visits; UK, Canada iTunes; MySpace; Hulu
— ESPN (NYSE: DIS) reports audience growth across online and TV viewership: ESPN’s NBA coverage has grown across the company’s online and T…
ESPN Acquires Cable And ‘Expansive’ Digital Rights For Tennis’ US Open
The US Open moves to ESPN (NYSE: DIS) in 2009, giving the Disney sports unit bragging rights for the tennis Grand Slam: US Open, Australian…
ESPN Syndicating Video Through Portal For First Time; ESPN Channel Launches On AOL
Back in 2004, ESPN (NYSE: DIS) ended a three-year relationship with MSN designed to boost the sports site’s traffic while giving the Microso…
ESPN Acquires Girls Basketball Site Hoopgurlz
ESPN (NYSE: DIS) has acquired girls-focused basketball site Hoopgurlz.com. The Seattle-based site, which reports on high school and college…
ESPN Pulls The Plug On Ad Network; Millard Warns About Treating Ads Like Pork Bellies
With nearly every media company getting in the ad network game — the latest entrant being Forbes — one major player is bucking the trend.…
Doing The Bristol Stomp: ESPN Responds To Criticism For Multi-Platform Approach
I wrote some long stories for the Sports Business Journal but nothing comes close to John Ourand’s magnum opus on ESPN (NYSE: DIS) in this w…
@ NBA Tech Summit: ESPN360 Adds HD
Some broadband networks have been pulling back from HD broadband but ESPN360.com will start to provide the higher-quality experience with it…
Industry Moves: Damon Phillips New VP-ESPN360.com
Damon Phillips is joining ESPN (NYSE: DIS) as the new VP of broadband network ESPN360.com; the post has been vacant since Jeff Cravens left…
Industry Moves: Mehta (Officially) Joins NBCU; President-Business Operations, Strategy, Development
As we told you back in November, ESPN/*Disney* vet Salil Mehta is the new head of biz dev for NBC Universal (NYSE: GE). The official title:…
ESPN Opens Broadband Access Beyond Certain Cable, ISP Subs To MIL, EDU
There’s still no notice of it on the site but, according to the NYT, ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is planning to offer some live broadband programming f…
Broadband Content Bits: Sony-DivX; ABC; ESPN; ACCSelect
— Sony, DivX pact for online downloads: Studios have resisted DivX (NSDQ: DIVX) software for downloads until now but Sony (NYSE: SNE) Pictu…
ESPN Expands In High School Sports; Acquires SchoolSports Inc., Publisher Of Rise, RiseMag.com
Add this to the growing list of high school sports deals: ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is acquiring SchoolSports Inc., a high school-focused sports medi…
ESPNU Enlists Colleges For Student-Generated Sports Coverage
College sports network ESPNU is tapping students, professors and athletic departments at 20 universities to cover their respective schools’…
@ UBS Media Week: George Bodenheimer, President, ESPN: 50 Percent CPM Premium Online With Geotargets
ESPN’s (NYSE: DIS) George Bodenheimer kicked off his presentation at the UBS Global Media Conference with a real crowd pleaser: a few of his…
Busy Week In NYC: UBS 35th Annual Global Media&Communications Conference
For the first time in four years, I won’t be spending a large chunk of early December in NYC hotel meetings rooms as media and tech execs ma…
Earnings: DIS: Strong Quarter Across The Board (Ditching ESPN MVNO Helps)
The Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) Company brought in another strong quarter, increasing net income to $877 million from $782 million in the same q…
Broadband Content Bits: ESPN; mtvU/Cisco; CosmoGirl
— ESPN Premiere Original Webisodes, Mobisodes: ESPN.com has begun airing a new web series, Countdown Daily, which is updated Mondays throug…
ESPN Acquires Rugby Site Scrum.com
Two months after buying cricket news Cricinfo, ESPN has bought rugby info site Scrum.com, Reuters reported. Scrum.com claims to attract as m…
More On ESPN360: More Than 800,00 Soccer Streams; Cravens New VP/GM
Some more on the ESPN360 (NYSE: DIS) remake into a live sporting event broadband network we wrote about yesterday, officially announced Wedn…
ESPN Changes Broadband Game Plan; Will Relaunch ESPN360 With Emphasis On Live Events
ESPN (NYSE:DIS) will try to unravel its online video confusion by relaunching ESPN360 in September with an emphasis on streaming live events…
Earnings: Disney Quarter Profits Up 14 Percent, Revenues Up 7 Percent
Disney’s spring quarter earnings were released at the same time as the news about Club Penguin. The company’s net income rose 14 percent, to…
NBA Extensions With Disney and Turner Include ‘Robust’ Digital Rights
The new NBA media deals are done — extending contracts with The Walt Disney Company’s ESPN and ABC and Turner Broadcasting’s TNT through th…
Industry Moves: Disney-ABC; ESPN Content
Some significant organizational changes at Disney-ABC Worldwide Television, Disney Media Networks and ESPN …
TV distribution: The impendi…
ESPN Buys Cricket Website Cricinfo
ESPN has made its biggest online foray into cricket: it has bought the largest cricket news and info website Cricinfo, from The Wisden Group…
ESPN’s 2007 Fantasy Baseball Season Starts Out With Nightmare; Foes Gloat As Site Retools
We’re a little late to this — not that ESPN’s competitors didn’t make sure we were informed — but didn’t want to let it slide … While ML…
Masters’ Online Exposure Increases
Day one of the Masters is underway at Augusta National and I can vouch for one thing: the streaming video is pretty decent on a small laptop…
Industry Moves: New ESPN VP Digital Research; Takkle CTO; Slacker Hires XM Co-Founder; Kosmix Miller
— ESPN: The Disney unit is boosting its digital research firepower with the hiring of Dr. Tom Evans as VP-digital and cross media measureme…
ESPN Acquires NASCAR Fan Site Jayski
Nascar information site Jayski.com, named for its founder, Nascar fan Jay Adamczyk, has been bought by ESPN. Terms of the deal were not reve…
Time Inc. Highlights Recent Digital Moves, Emphasizes Video For Revamped Sites
A few hours after announcing it was ceasing publication of its Life newspaper insert and having the brand serve as an online photo portal, s…
First Look: Verizon V Cast Mobile TV AKA Qualcomm MediaFlo
As luck would have it, I happen to be in one of the markets where Verizon V Cast Mobile TV is live. I actually contacted Verizon PR earlier…
ESPN Makes Another Acq-Hire; Buys NBA Blog TrueHoop.com
Another day, another acq-hire for ESPN as the network looks to established online voices. Yesterday the Disney division announced it had pic…
ESPN Makes Another Fantasy Sports Play; Acquires ‘Talented Mr. Roto’ Site; Free Fantasy Baseball
Updated below: ESPN is making another pitch at the lucrative fantasy sports market. The Disney network has picked up Talented Mr Roto in wha…
DIS Investors Day: ESPN-Verizon Confirmed; Enhancing ABC.com
Listening to the webcast of the Disney investors meeting today has been almost like being there — if you ignore the silent gaps when people…
Active Network Expands Again; Acquires Cool Running
Community sports tech company The Active Network has acquired Cool Running, which claims to be the longest-running commercial site devoted t…
@ CES: Iger Keynote: Disney.com Relaunch Plans; Piracy Of All Kinds
Disney (NYSE: DIS) CEO Bob Iger’s keynote is underway, kicking off literally with an intro for “Monday Night Keynote.” Only a few minutes i…
Disney's Internet Strategy Comes Under Scrutiny As Disney.com Relaunch Nears; No Major Acquisitions
The NYT uses the pending relaunch of Disney.com — CEO Bob Iger is supposed to introduce the revamp during his Jan. 8 CES keynote — as a wi…
New MTVN Division Combines Male-Skewing Nets And Sites
Viacom’s MTV Networks has yet another plan for integrating sites and nets, this time with the goal of making it easier for advertisers to re…
Disney Acquires UK Sports Net NASN As Launchpad For ESPN Expansion
From the Journal … Walt Disney Co. is spending a reported $107-120 million (including debt assumption) to acquire the North American Sport…
Disney Nets Try New Tricks: SoapNet Fantasy League; ESPN Local Podcast Network
SOAPnet is borrowing a leaf from sports sib ESPN, setting up a “fantasy soap league” where fans (women, primarily) can trade characters and…
Disney By The Numbers: Nearly 500,000 Movies Sold On iTunes; Nearly 19 Million Episodes On ABC.com
Disney CEO Bob Iger updated some of its online content delivery stats during Thursday’s earnings call. The numbers are current as of this we…
Disney in Talks to Sell E! Stake for $1.2 Billion to Comcast: LAT
Disney is in talks to sell its stake in the E! cable TV network to Comcast for $1.2 billion and it is close to signing multi-billion dollar…
Interview: Steve Wadsworth, President, Walt Disney Interactive: Disney MVNO Post ESPN
We’ve got a post-Mobile ESPN interview with Steve Wadsworth, president, Walt Disney Interactive, over at sister site MocoNews.net. Mobile ES…
It’s Official: Mobile ESPN To Cease MVNO Ops Dec. 31; Will Seek Licensing
The announcement we told you last night was on the way just came out … Mobile ESPN will cease operations as an MVNO Dec. 31 and will refun…
Philips Will Foot Bill For Premium Access At WSJ, ESPN Sites
On various dates between now and Dec. 17, non-subscribers of WSJ.com and ESPN.com will be able to scale the garden wall courtesy of an intri…
CBS.com, ESPN.com Benefit From Major On-Air Events
Two network sites are reaping rewards from marquee on-air events in recent days. For CBSNews.com, it was the debut of the CBS Evening News w…
Gaming Round-Up: PS3 Rivals;Mini-Xbox; Dell Gaming; Gaming Granny; ESPN-GameTap; Casual Gaming
— PS3 rivals gear up for holiday season: Sony’s European rivals won’t waste any time capitalising on the PS3 delays this Christmas season.…
ESPN Trades Yahoo For Quigo Contextual Search
ESPN is parting ways with Yahoo this fall when it comes to contextual advertising, opting instead for a more customized ad auction approach…
Sports Round-up: ESPN-Big East; AOL Sports Blogs; Cycling Channel’s Free Web TV; HorseTV Launch ; Su
— ESPN, Big East Sign 6-Year Deal: As of 2007-08 season, ESPN will have the rights to broadcast Big East basketball, football and some othe…
Earnings: Disney Surprises With 39 Percent Profit in Q2; MVNOs Slow Down Income
Concerns that it might be time for a dip at The Walt Disney Company (DIS) were unfounded as the company turned in a 39 percent increase in p…
Big 10 & Fox Will Launch New Cable Net; Deals With Fox, ESPN/ABC Include New Media
In a sign of how thoroughly complicated sports programming deals have become, the Big 10 Conference new rights package includes a deal for a…
Earnings: DIS Earnings Beat Street; Online, Mobile Investments Offset Some Gains
The Walt Disney Company earned $733 million, up 12 percent over the $657 million in the same quarter last year. (It’s Disney’s FYQ2.) Dilute…
Mossberg Not Too Enthusiastic About Mobile ESPN
ESPN execs have said all along that Mobile ESPN is designed for the hard-core sports fan and, as Walt Mossberg found out, they were telling…
NATPE 2006: Interview: Steve Wadsworth, President, Walt Disney Interactive Group
: [Staci D. Kramer] I had the chance to sit down with Steve Wadsworth for a few minutes after he appeared on a NATPE panel with other top di…
Online, Mobile Sports Sites Not Always In Sync For NFL Playoffs.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been wandering around with review versions of a Verizon LG9800 and a Verizon broadband wireless card. I put bot…
Mobile ESPN Signs Six Exclusive Category Sponsors
We’ve already written about some of this but here are the official details: Cisco Systems (information technology), Coors (beer), General Mo…
NASCAR Returns To ESPN; Deal Includes Some Online, Wireless Rights; TNT Extends Pact, Adds Rights
George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports, assured me the other day that the new NASCAR deal would have broad multimedia rights a…
@ Media Week: Bodenheimer: ESPN’s Multi-Platform Strategy Is Paying Off In Sales and Deals
ESPN’s push to sell itself to advertisers as a multi-platform company is paying off, George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports, t…
Industry Moves: Lacey New Marketing Head Of ESPN; Maitra To Top Content Post At TiVo; Brown Joins Bo
Katie Lacey, SVP-Marketing, ESPN: After a lengthy searchj, ESPN is turning to Pepsi-Cola vet Lacey to head marketing across the multi-platfo…
