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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
IMC PERSPECTIVE 11-3
368
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
11. Evaluation of Broadcast
Media
ESPN—More “E” and Less “S”?
For many years, TV sports programming consisted primarily
of football, baseball, and to a lesser extent basketball
shown primarily on weekends on network
television. When ESPN, the first cable network devoted
entirely to sports programming, was launched in 1979,
the critics declared that “all the good sports are
already on the three networks.” They ridiculed the network
for broadcasting sports such as stock-car racing,
which was described as “two hours of left turns.” However,
no one is laughing at ESPN today. It is one of the
top cable networks, reaching 86 million homes in the
United States—10 million more than its closest competitor.
Its signature show, SportsCenter—a one-hour
sports news show that is aired numerous times
throughout the day and night—is emblematic of the
entire network and has helped position ESPN as the
place for the ultimate sports fan, not just another
cable channel showing sports. An award-winning
advertising campaign consisting of humorous spots
that purport to give viewers a behind-the-scenes look
at SportsCenter has helped contribute to the popularity
and image of the show and create a brand identity
that has carried over to the entire network.
ESPN (which originally was an acronym for “Entertainment
and Sports Program Network”) is much more
than the number-one cable network. It is an entire
brand that has become synonymous with sports in
America as well as many other countries. It has
expanded beyond its stalwart network, as the ESPN
franchise now includes six other U.S. channels, a radio
network, a popular website, ESPN The Magazine, and
eight ESPN Zone restaurants. Its latest venture is an
interactive channel on DirecTV that allows viewers to
grab news with a flick of the remote, and its wireless
unit is charging users for scores and news it delivers
to cell phones, personal digital assistants, and even
scrolling screens on billboards and atop taxicabs.
In addition to being very popular among sports
fans, ESPN has become one of Madison Avenue’s
favorites, as the network is particularly good at delivering
large numbers of young, male sports fans, a
group that is difficult to reach but highly coveted by
marketers. However, ESPN now finds itself among
cable TV’s once-hot but maturing brands such as MTV
and CNN. Its prime-time viewership among the coveted
audience of males 18 to 49 was down by 14 percent
in the past year. Its main rival, Fox Sports net,
which puts more emphasis on local and regional
sports, is up by 12 percent among the same demographic
group. The ratings slide isn’t the only problem
facing the company. ESPN charges cable and satellite
operators $1.50 per subscriber per month for its pro-
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
gramming, and its contracts call for 20 percent–a-year
increases. These fees are among the highest in the
cable industry and have created long-simmering
resentment from many cable and satellite operators.
They also argue that ESPN’s parent company, the Walt
Disney Co., uses the sports network aggressively in
negotiations to make cable operators carry Disney’s
other, less watched channels.
ESPN management has recognized that the 23-yearold
sports network needs to make some changes to
sustain its growth and continue as the preeminent
sports network. In early 2002 ESPN, along with the
ABC television network, which is also owned by Disney,
outbid NBC for the rights to televise National Basketball
Association games. The $2.4 billion deal marks the
first time a cable player has grabbed a major sports
contract from the broadcast networks. Although
expensive, ABC and ESPN feel the deal will work financially
because they will be able to broadcast as many
as 75 regular-season games, mostly on ESPN and ESPN
2, and sell more ads.
ESPN is also making a major change in its strategy
by entering another new arena: original programming,
which includes variety shows, made-for-TV movies,
reality shows, and game shows. The first movie produced
by ESPN was A Season on the Brink: A Year with
Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers, based on the
book by John Feinstein, which aired in March 2002.
Later that year the network launched a late-night
sports variety show hosted by actor Jay Mohr and a
new reality game show, Beg, Borrow and Deal, which
follows players as they head across the country in a