ON THIS DAY IN SPORT 1896: The first modern Olympic Games, the brainchild of Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin, got under way in Athens. A total of 59 athletes from 10 nations took part. 1900: James J Jeffries successfully defended the world heavyweight title by knocking out Jack Finnegan after just 55 seconds. 1993: Guy Whittingham's fourth hat-trick of the season, in Portsmouth's 4-0 defeat of Peterborough, took his goal tally to 43 - equalling the club record set by Billy Haines in 1926-27. 1994: The English Football Association called off England's friendly against Germany, fixed for April 20, the anniversary of Adolf Hitler's birth, because of police intelligence discovering massive demonstrations being planned. 2003: Finland's Kimi Raikkonen was named the winner of an extraordinary Brazilian Grand Prix, which was stopped 18 laps early after an horrific collision involving Jaguar's Mark Webber and Renault's Fernando Alonso, denying Italy's Giancarlo Fisichella his maiden win. … [Read more...] about On this Day, April 6 2010: Lionel Messi scored all four Barcelona goals as they eliminated Arsenal from the Champions League
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James Andrew Miller: Why ESPN Could Abandon NFL Football (Guest Column)
In a span of less than five years, industry giant ESPN has seen its narrative transformed from that of a mighty colossus into the hard-luck tale of a ragtag warrior.As it struggles to regain heretofore heroic heights — levels of growth that are probably no longer attainable — ESPN has had to endure a slew of significant workforce layoffs (with more reportedly on the way) and a once-doting Wall Street that has turned a skeptically cold shoulder. Astonishing increases in earnings, previously viewed as faits accomplis, now seem like fantasies from another world, thanks to the now-familiar combo of cord-cutting and burgeoning rights fees.With so much of ESPN’s universe asunder, it’s not outlandish now to entertain a previously unthinkable prospect: Might ESPN elect to go without rights to NFL games after the expiration of its eight-year deal for Monday Night Football in 2021?!“Impossible”? Yeah, we know — NFL games have been … [Read more...] about James Andrew Miller: Why ESPN Could Abandon NFL Football (Guest Column)
‘They Forgot Their Core’: ESPN’s Linda Cohn Says ESPN’s Politics Are Hurting Business
The mass layoffs at ESPN dominated conversation in the sports media industry last week. The sports media giant reportedly cut as many as 100 people from their payroll last week.In an interview with WABC Radio, Linda Cohn, who has been at ESPN since 1992, put much of the blame for the network’s woes on the exorbitant rights fees they paid to sports leagues, in which they are still on the hook for escalating fees even after shedding millions of subscribers because of cord-cutting.But WABC host Sid Rosenberg mentioned several progressive political causes that either some ESPN hosts or the network at large have championed of late (including Colin Kaepernick‘s National Anthem protests and Caitlyn Jenner being given the Arthur Ashe Courage Award), and said to Cohn: “There seems to be a lot of folks that have a distaste for the way ESPN goes about some of their programming and some of their promotions when socially folks don’t accept these … [Read more...] about ‘They Forgot Their Core’: ESPN’s Linda Cohn Says ESPN’s Politics Are Hurting Business
Hannah Storm on Crafting Her ‘Multifaceted’ Sheryl Swoopes Doc for ESPN
ESPN Films and espnW introduced its Nine for IX film series Tuesday during an intimate lunch attended by many women and a few men (ESPN president John Skipper and NBC’s Willie Geist, there to support his sister, ESPN producer Libby Geist). The series – an extension of the company’s award-winning 30 for 30 franchise – is comprised of nine documentaries about female sports trailblazers and directed by women. The franchise kicks off July 2 on ESPN and will air over consecutive Tuesdays at 8 p.m.Owing to timing and marketing synergy, the inaugural film is likely to be director Ava DuVernay’s Venus Vs. about Venus Williams’ 2005 petition for financial parity at Wimbledon and the French Open, which did not become reality until 2007. Fittingly, Williams won that year, becoming the first women’s Wimbledon champion to earn as much as the men’s winner (Roger Federer). Wimbledon kicks off June 24 and ESPN will broadcast the tournament live; the … [Read more...] about Hannah Storm on Crafting Her ‘Multifaceted’ Sheryl Swoopes Doc for ESPN
ESPN Star nets cricket series for $900 mil
Bowing Dec. 3-10, the winner of the inaugural Champions T20 will take home $6 million prize from joint host-promoters, the cricket boards of India, Australia and South Africa, ESS said Thursday.The T20 format is a faster and shorter version of cricket that made this summer's inaugural Indian Premier League a major success.Eight teams will compete to be T20 Champion: the winners and runners-up from domestic T20 competitions in India, Australia and South Africa, plus the champion Pakistani T20 team Silakot and the champion English T20 team Middlesex.Singapore-based ESS outbid rival DIC, which offered $751.3 million. The Abu Dhabi Sports Club was disqualified for offering a conditional bid. ESS' global rights until 2017 are all-inclusive including TV, sponsorship, mobile and new media.So far, the highest amount for any cricket event rights is $1.03 billion, paid in mid-January by Sony Entertainment Television and World Sports Group for the Indian Premier League. However, ESS claims its … [Read more...] about ESPN Star nets cricket series for $900 mil