Espn Final Case Study

Running Head: ESPN Case Study 1
ESPN Case Study
Jordan Cox-Smith
Professor Liz Kerns
Central ashington !ni"ersity
ESPN Case Study 2
ESPN Exe#uti"es
 John S$i%%er: President of ESPN
&n#'
 Christine (riessen: Exe#uti"e
)i#e President and Chief
*inan#ial +ffi#er
 John ildha#$: Exe#uti"e )i#e
President of Produ#tion
 Ed (urso: Exe#uti"e )i#e
President and Head of
,dministration
ESPN Case Study 3
 John ,' alsh: Exe#uti"e )i#e
President and Exe#uti"e Editor
 Sean -rat#hes: Exe#uti"e )i#e
President and Head of Sales and
.ar$eting
 John Kosner: Exe#uti"e )i#e
President of (igital and Print
.edia
 Charles Pagano: Exe#uti"e )i#e
President and Chief /e#hnology
+ffi#er
ESPN Case Study 4
 Nor0y illiamson: Exe#uti"e
)i#e President1 Head of
Programming
 Russell olff: Exe#uti"e )i#e
President and .anaging (ire#tor
of ESPN &nternational
Photo Credit: ESPN.com
ESPN Case Study 5
.ission Statement
ESPN2s mission statement is as follo3ed: 4/o ser"e s%orts fans 3here"er s%orts are
3at#hed1 listened to1 dis#ussed1 de0ated1 read a0out or %layed'5 /his is 3here ESPN earned some
of its ni#$names li$e 4E"ery S%orts Parti#le Notated5' &n our so#ieties thirst for information has
in#reased ex%onentially and it is essential more no3 than e"er that %eo%le ha"e the a##ess to this
information a#ross multi%le mediums' ESPN has tailored there organization to fit that s%e#ifi#
need' !sing a "ariety of media mediums1 ESPN has a##om%lished more than the Rasmussen2s
and Eagan thought %ossi0le 0a#$ in 6789'
ESPN also has a set of #ore "alues that they define their #ulture 3ith at the organization'
Here is ESPN2s statement on their "alues: 4Peo%le are our most "alua0le resour#e1 and #are and
res%e#t for em%loyees and ea#h other 3ill al3ays 0e at the heart of our o%erations' e em0ra#e
di"ersity to 0est ser"e all s%orts fans 3orld3ide1 and 3e are %assionately #ommitted to
team3or$1 :uality1 #reati"ity1 integrity1 and the aggressi"e %ursuit of ne3 ideas1 audien#e gro3th
and 0uilding shareholder "alue15 ;ESPN'#om<'
ESPN Case Study 6
-a#$ground of ESPN &n#
=&f you lo"e s%orts'''if you really lo"e s%orts1 you>ll thin$ you>"e died and gone to s%orts
hea"en'= /his :uote 0y former ESPN an#hor Lee Leonard 3as the o%ening statement to the first
airing of ESPN on Se%tem0er 81 6787' , lot of %eo%le say that these 3ords 3ere 3hat s%ar$ed
the s%orts #o"erage re"olution 3ithin our so#iety'
/oday in our so#iety1 s%orts ha"e an influen#e in our #i"ilization li$e no other1 and a lot of
that #an 0e #redited to the #reation of the ESPN net3or$ 3hi#h #ata%ulted the need for s%orts
information' ESPN &n# ;Entertainment and S%orts Programming Net3or$< 3as de"elo%ed 0y -ill
Rasmussen starting in 6789 3hen Rasmussen de#ided that it 3ould 0e a good idea to 0road#ast
s%orting e"ents "ia satellite to #a0le #ustomers' Rasmussen 3as originally the #ommuni#ations
manager 3ith the Hartford halers ho#$ey team in 6789 3here he 3as laid off from his %osition
and then de"elo%ed the interest to get in"ol"ed in the tele"ision mar$et' +ne of his original ideas
3as to #reate a station that %ro"ided lo#al #o"erage for the Hartford halers in Conne#ti#ut'
,longside -ill 3as his son S#ott Rasmussen and ,etna insuran#e agent Ed Eagan' ,t the
time1 this 3as a re"olutionary idea and a lot of indi"iduals dou0ted the %otential of su##ess for
the %rogram' ESPN first aired in 6787 3hi#h 3as the 0eginning of a re"olution that 3ent 0eyond
Rasmussen2s 3ildest dreams as an out of 3or$ ho#$ey announ#er' -ill2s first ste% in the #reation
of his em%ire 3as 3hen he leased s%a#e on an RC, satellite for ?@ hours and 8 days a 3ee$' -ut
it 3as not until a #ou%le of years after the #reation of the organization that ESPN 0egan airing ?@
hours a day' ESPN 0e#ame the first s%orts net3or$ to tele"ise #om%lete s%orts #o"erage' ESPN2s
early finan#ing #ame from Aetty +il 3ho in"ested B6C million in the #om%any to o0tain a
#ontrolling in"estment ;*undinguni"erse'#om<' /hen the next ste% 3as to hire a %resident to run
the organization' /he Rasmussen2s and Eagan de#ided to hire the %resident of N-C S%orts Chet
Simmons' Simmons then 3ent on to hire a maDor figure of the #om%any in its early stages1 Lead
Consultant Roger erner' Roger 3ent on to fore#ast that ESPN 3ould 0e#ome %rofita0le in fi"e
years 3ith another B6?C million in"estment ;*undinguni"erse'#om<'
ith a strong foundation1 Rasmussen and ESPN 0egan to ta$e off as they #ontinued to
add ne3 %rograms and deals 3ith different institutions in the goal of #o"ering s%orts 3orld 3ide'
&t 3as not until 679E that ESPN 0egan to rea#h its international audien#e' &t 3as then that ESPN
0egan to s%read li$e 3ildfire 3hile e"ery #a0le net3or$ %ro"ider 3anted to ma$e sure that they
#arried ESPN' Aarnering re#ent attention at this time1 ESPN 3as then 0ought 0y ,-C in 679@
3here they made a deal 3ith Aetty +il to a#:uire ESPN' ,-C retained an 9CF share1 and sold
?CF to Na0is#o 3hi#h then turned around and sold it to Hearst Cor%oration' /his 3as a 0ig ste%
in the right dire#tion for ESPN no3 ha"ing the a##ess to the ne#essary resour#es to ta$e the
net3or$ to le"els 0efore ne"er thought %ossi0le'
&n o"er the %ast #ou%le of de#ades1 ESPN has made the ga% e"en 0igger in 0et3een 6
st

%la#e and ?
nd
%la#e in s%orts net3or$ ran$ing1 e"ents li$e ESPN introdu#ing 8?C High (efinition
or ESPNH(1 in ?CCE and the release of ESPN E( in ?C6C sho3 ho3 ESPN is staying ahead of
the #ur"e' /he main head:uarters for ESPN resides in -ristol Conne#ti#ut 3here they film the
maDority of their %rogramming' /he net3or$ also has offi#es in .iami1 Ne3 Gor$ City1
Charlotte1 Seattle1 North Carolina1 and also Los ,ngeles' &n ?CC71 ESPN 0egan airing e%isodes
of S%ortsCenter out of the Los ,ngeles studios' Ha"ing studios on 0oth the 3est and east #oast
allo3 ESPN to ta$e ad"antage of 0ringing in %ersonalities to the studios from all o"er the
ESPN Case Study 7
#ountry to 0e featured on their %rogramming' E"ents are #onstantly 0eing held at ESPN
head:uarters for 0oth their internal and external audien#es'
ESPN Case Study 8
S+/ ,nalysis
Strengths: What makes the ESPN Network so strong is the fact that they have such a
large target audience and have the ability to use multiple mediums to reach those
audiences. ESPN holds rights for various professional and college sports programming
including N!" N#$ the SEC $CC and Pac %& college football and basketball
conferences N$SC$' and ("#. )his means that they have a large market share of the
sports broadcasting market. What makes this interesting is the fact that one of their main
competitors $#C is also owned by the Walt *isney Company who owns the rights to
ESPN. $nother strength of ESPN is that they are beginning to incorporate more sports
that are popular outside of the states. ESPN reali+es the value that is in having a strong
international market.
Weaknesses: )he decrease at Cable Networks was driven by the closure of five ESPN
,one restaurants in -une &.%. /Walt *isney Company $nnual 'eport &.%%0. )his causes
a drop in broadcasting revenues down to 123 million. Even though ESPN picked up a few
new deals with Cricket along with other sports to make up for the slack on the revenue
side of things it is still a big hit. )he closing of restaurants such as ESPN ,one can
in4ure an organi+ations public reputation. When companies are forced to close
departments within their organi+ation it shows a side of weakness within the company
that may damage your corporate reputation.
5pportunities: ESPN has the opportunity to e6pand its market to the world of mi6ed
martial arts. )his has to be one of the fastest rising sports in our culture right now and
ESPN has the opportunity to capitali+e on attracting a new audience. (ost recently
$nderson Silva of the 7ltimate !ighting Championships /7!C0 was fighting Chael
Sonnen for the belt and 8 noticed that on ESPN9s SportsCenter that they actually had
high lights of the fight which is usually a rarity. )his is a great e6ample of how the ESPN
network is e6panding their hori+ons. ESPN now offers a show called (($ "ive which
features former fighters and fight analy+ers to discuss the fight world and upcoming
matches and events all over the world. )his has attracted a new audience that was
previously an untapped market. )here are not a lot of networks that cover fights because
of the direct violence that it promotes. 8 personally noticed when watching the shows that
they do not show some of the more bloody cruel fights since they do have to pay attention
to their younger more influential demographics.
)hreats: 8t is &.%& which means that the 5lympics are here this can prove to be a great
threat to ESPN. )he 5lympics :ames have a deal with N#C to e6clusively show the
games on their network. Even though people are going to want to watch SportsCenter to
catch the highlights of the games N#C Sports garner a lot more attention as ESPN loses
a large part of their audience who want to get the full e6perience of the games through
N#C. ESPN usually has a harder time of keeping ratings up during the summer 4ust
because there are not too many sports going on. #asketball and hockey season is over
football has not started yet and the only sport to cover is golf and baseball. $ slow
ESPN Case Study 9
summer of sports combined with N#C e6clusively covering the 5lympic :ames has the
potential to take a large portion of their target audience.
ESPN Case Study 10
/imeline of ESPN &n#
6789: -ill Rasmussen forms Entertainment S%orts Programming Net3or$1 &n#' ;ESPN< to
0road#ast s%orting e"ents to #a0le tele"ision o%erators "ia satellite'
6787: ESPN 0egins 0road#asting on a limited-time 0asis'
679C: ESPN 0egins 0road#asting ?@ hours a day1 se"en days a 3ee$'
679E: ESPN 0egan to distri0ute its %rogramming internationally'
679@: ,-C1 &n#' a#:uires ESPN'
679H: Ca%ital Cities Communi#ations1 &n#' a#:uires ,-C and 0e#omes Ca%ital CitiesI,-C1 &n#'
6798: ESPN 0egins 0road#asting National *oot0all League games'
6799: ESPN &nternational is #reated'
6797: ESPN 0egins 0road#asting .aDor League -ase0all games'
677C: /he Hearst Cor%oration a#:uires a ?C %er#ent interest in ESPN from RJR Na0is#o &n#'
6776: ESPN Radio Net3or$ is laun#hed in #onDun#tion 3ith the ,-C Radio Net3or$'
677?: ESPN Radio 0road#ast in #ities all o"er the #ountry'
677E: ESPN? 0egins transmission'
677J: alt (isney Com%any a#:uires Ca%ital CitiesI,-C1 &n#' and 0e#omes ESPN>s %arent
#om%any'
6778: ESPN %ur#hases the Classi# S%orts Net3or$ and laun#hes ESPN Classi#'
6779: ESPN: /he .agazine is laun#hed'
?CCE: ESPN H(1 a high-definition tele"ision s%orts net3or$1 is introdu#ed'
&..; Events: )he year &..; was a very active year when it comes to building there brand name
even stronger.
 -anuary < &..; = ESPN& >* a high=definition simulcast service of ESPN& launches.
 (arch 3 &..; = ESPN7 a &3=hour network devoted to college sports launches
 $pril %? &..; = ESPN $c@uires (onday Night !ootball for eight years beginning in
&..<
 November & &..; = ESPN ac@uires rights for multiple (enAs and WomenAs World Cups.
ESPN Case Study 11
 *ecember B &..; = ESPN announces eight=year agreement with N$SC$' &..B = &.%3.
?CC8- ESPN announ#es eight-year1 multi-%latform agreement 3ith the -ig 6?'
?CC9 - ESPN tele"ises i#hita *alls Rider at Sul%hur S%rings
ESPN Slogans /imeline
%2B2=%2?; = )he )otal Sports Network
%2?;=%22% = )he Number 5ne Sports Network
%22%C%223 = $ll Sports $ll the )ime
%223C%22? = $mericaAs No.% Sports Network
%22?CCurrent = Worldwide "eader in Sports
http://www.myssnews.com/news/2008/September/nt090908-2.html
http://www.fn!"n#n"$erse.com/comp%ny-h"stor"es/espn-"nc-h"story/
ESPN Case Study 12
Case Study ,nalysis
ESPN.Com Changes Communication Strategies with )echnology $dvancement
ESPN2s su##ess #ould 0e #redited to their strong %ersuasi"e mar$eting #am%aigns' ,ll of
the mar$eting #am%aigns that ESPN has %rodu#ed ha"e shared the same 0asi# %ur%ose1 to
edu#ate a"id s%orts fans that ESPN is the %la#e if you 3ant #om%lete 3orld3ide s%orts #o"erage
?@I8 through multi%le mediums' Claiming to 0e the 3orld3ide leader in s%orts means that you
ha"e to 0a#$ it u% 3ith fla3less #o"erage1 3hi#h ESPN attem%ts to do'
/he first #am%aign that & analyzed 3as the de"elo%ment and #onstant im%ro"ements to
ESPN2s 3e0%age ESPN'Com' ESPN'Com laun#hed on Se%tem0er E1 6779 0y the ESPN &nternet
Arou%1 as the su##essor to ESPN S%ortsKone1 3hi#h de0uted ,%ril 61 677J' ,t first1 the 3e0%age
3as %retty 0asi# and only offered s#ores and re%orts of the games along 3ith %hotos and later on
"ideos' ESPN'#om is a %rodu#tion of ESPN &nternet Arou%L %art of alt (isney &nternet Arou%
3hi#h featured a team of designer2s 3hose single goal 3as to reno"ate the internet s%orts mar$et'
ESPN'Com 0egan seeing extreme traffi# through its 3e0%ages 3hen they started
in#or%orating %rogramming #o"erage on the 3e0%age in #om0ination 3ith ex#lusi"e &nsider
#o"erage' ESPN 3ent on to release ESPN EHC and ESPN E 3hi#h allo3ed fans to see li"e
%rogramming and e"ents online e"en if they do not ha"e #a0le' /his 3as #onsidered a game
#hanger in the s%orts #o"erage 3orld1 ESPN allo3ed the fans to get s%orts #o"erage literally
3here e"er they 3ere in the 3orld' ESPN EHC sho3ed #o"erage of li"e s%orting e"ents1 re%lays
of %er"ious e"ents1 and also s%e#ial #o"erage of u%#oming e"ents 0y different an#hors and
0road#asters' /hey also de"elo%ed an a%%li#ation that allo3s for the user to steam footage from
his or hers #ellular de"i#e'
ESPN EHC sho3s #li%s from a "ariety of %rograms on the net3or$ so that the %u0li# #an
get the full ex%erien#e e"en though they are not 3at#hing the a#tual #hannel or are on the a#tual
3e0 %age' Some of the %rogramming that they offer in#ludes Pardon the &nterru%tion1
S%ortsCenter1 N*L Li"e1 .., Li"e1 N-, Countdo3n1 N-, Coast to Coast1 S%orts Nation1
.i$e and .i$e in the .orning1 *irst /a$e1 and -ase0all /onight'
/he ESPN &nternet Arou% also de"elo%ed s%e#ialty sites to #om%ete 3ith other net3or$s
that offered1 at the time1 more s%e#ialized #o"erage online' +ff of ESPN'Com1 here are additional
3e0%ages that they are res%onsi0le for de"elo%ing:
5ther E8: productions:
 N!".com /launched September % %22<0
 N#$.com /launched November D %22;0
 N$SC$' 5nline Enascar.comF /launched !ebruary %3 %22<0
 WN#$.com /launched (ay %3 %22B0
ESPN Case Study 13
 Soccernet Esoccernet.comF /launched $ugust &. %2220
 $#CSports.com /launched $ug. &< %22?0
 (onday Night !ootball 5nline Eespn.comF /launched Sept. % %22B0
 #owl Championship Series 5nline Eespn.comF /launched $ug. &< %22?0
htt%:IIes%n'go'#omI%rIes%nfa#t'html
ESPN Case Study 14
ESPN *ocumentaries and Specials
Loo$ing %ast all of the su##ess for the %ast #entury1 ESPN sa3 a %otential target audien#e
that has not 0een ta%%ed' ESPN 3ent on to de"elo% do#umentaries and s%e#ials a0out athletes1
teams1 and %rograms li"es outside of the game' &n 677C1 ESPN 3ent on to %remier +utside the
Lines 3ith -o0 Ley 3hi#h 3as a %rogram that featured re%orts dis#ussions 3ith Dournalist1
an#hors1 and #urrent and former %layers in a dis#ussion format' +/L allo3s for #o"erage
outside of the game and allo3s for fans to see %ro0lems surrounding athleti#s outside of the
#ourt' S#andals su#h as the Sandus$y and Penn State #hild a0use s#andal1 the im%a#t of
Hurri#ane Katrina on Ne3 +rleans and the Saints1 Steroids im%a#t on Little League -ase0all
%layers along 3ith many other #ontro"ersial and ins%irational to%i#s' +/L has had a %arti#ularly
large im%a#t on %o%ular #ulture Dust 0e#ause of the #ontro"ersial to%i#s that are 0eing dis#ussed
daily' -o0 Ley and his team seem to al3ays 0e dis#ussing #ontro"ersial to%i#s that stir u% a lot of
de0ate 3ithin %o%ular #ulture 3hi#h is a great 3ay to attra#t a larger audien#e 0e#ause our
so#iety feeds off of #onfli#t'
/he style of re%orting that +/L %ra#ti#ed #aused other ESPN %rograms su#h as
S%ortsCenter and N*L Li"e' Journalist and an#hors no3 loo$ for stories that ha"e a mu#h dee%er
#onne#tion to the %u0li#1 and #ontro"ersial and ins%irational stories are a great 3ay to
a##om%lish that'
ESPN9s -immy G !oundation Campaign
ESPN made a great mo"e in the right dire#tion 3hen they too$ on the tas$ of #hanging
the image of the organization 0y 0e#oming one that gi"es 0a#$ to the #ommunity and is a#ti"ely
in"ol"ed' Charity donations to foundations 3ere ty%i#al 0ut ESPN de#ided to ta$e it to the next
le"el after an ins%irational moment at ESPN2s a3ards sho3 on the ESPG ,3ards in 677E'
4(on2t Ai"e !%M(on2t E"er Ai"e !%N5 3as the famous line that stru#$ the audien#es
hearts as Jim )al"ano1 former 679E NC,, 0as$et0all National Cham%ions North Carolina State
Head Coa#h1 )al"ano 3as also an extremely %o%ular #ollege 0as$et0all #ommentator and
analyst' ,fter 0eing diagnosed 3ith 0one #an#er in 677?1 Jimmy 3ent on to ma$e a s%ee#h at the
ESPG a3ards in 677E that 3ould #a%ture the heart of millions' He %rea#hed for e"eryone to
enDoy the little things in life 3hile you still #an1 and that emotions are the true 3ay to #onne#t to
one2s self' Jimmy says it 0est at the end of his s%ee#h1
HCancer can take away all of my physical abilities. 8t cannot touch my mind it cannot
touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. $nd those three things are going to carry on
forever. 8 thank you and :od bless you all.I O -immy Galvano $cceptance Speech at
ESPJ9s in %22D.
Sin#e 677E1 B7C million has 0een raised for /he ) *oundation1 and resear#h grants are
a3arded nation3ide for all ty%es of #an#er than$s to the efforts of the ) *oundation and ESPNL
6CCF of the donations go dire#tly to #an#er resear#h'
ESPN Case Study 15

ESPN Case Study 16
,udien#e
hat ma$es ESPN the num0er one s%orts net3or$ in the 3orld is 0e#ause of ho3
effe#ti"ely they are a0le to target there large audien#es' /his #an 0e #redited to their a0ility to
$ee% u% 3ith ne3 te#hnologies and find a 3ay to in#or%orate s%orts #o"erage 3ith them' , %rime
exam%le of this #an 0e seen 3ith the de"elo%ment of ESPN E(' ESPN E( 0egan in ?C6C 3here
on January J
th
1 they announ#ed that it 3ould laun#h a ne3 E( tele"ision #hannel' /he #hannel
laun#hed on June 66
th
1 ?C6C 3ith #o"erage of the ?C6C *&*, orld Cu%'
ESPN E( 3ould go on to air 6CC e"ents in the first year of original e"ents 0ut to hel% the
ni#he mar$et that a#tually o3n E( /)2s1 they de#ided to s3it#h to a ?@ hour format' ith the
ne3 ?@ hour format1 ESPN sho3ed re%lays of %re"ious e"ents and also international e"ents'
ESPN offers di"erse %rograming to target a gro3ing international audien#e' Sho3s li$e (an Le
-atard &s Highly Puestiona0le 3hi#h features a Cu0an s%orts Dournalist and his father dis#ussing
"arious to%i#s 3ith a Latin #ulture s%in to it'
(emogra%hi#s
ESPN has a 3ide range of demogra%hi#s that #a%ture e"en an international audien#e' /he
main demogra%hi# for ESPN are males 0et3een the ages of 69 and E@ 3ho are edu#ated1 and
also true s%orts fans' Here is ESPN2s demogra%hi# resear#h statisti#s off of ESPN2s media $it off
their 3e0site'
4ESPN'#om is the leading %ro"ider of s%orts on the &nternet'
/he %rime user of ESPN'#om is the young1 affluent1 male a"id
s%orts fan'5 ;ESPN'Com<
• .edian age: ?7 ;HHF 0et3een 69 and E@<
• .en: 7@F Q Single: @8F
• College edu#ated: 98F
• Em%loyed *ull /ime: 8@F
• ,"erage ;.ean< HH&: B8?16CC
• ,ttended s%orting e"ents 3ithin the last 6? months:
96F
• Pur#hased %rodu#ts online in the last 6? months: 97F
ESPN.com Avid Fan Passive Fan Non Fan
!sed &nternet
;%ast EC days<
68% J@F J6F
!sed &nternet (aily 39% ECF ?8F
ESPN Case Study 17
/+ -E RE,(:
H9F of ,"id S%orts *ans used the &nternet in the %ast EC days
http://espn.#o.com/me!"%&"t/rese%rch/!emo#r%ph"cs.html

ESPN Case Study 18
ESPN ;alt (isney Com%any< ,nnual Re%ort
4ESPN1 the 3orld3ide leader in s%orts %rogramming1 #ontinues to maximize the use of
ne3 digital %latforms1 allo3ing fans to 3at#h must-see s%orting e"ents in#luding N*L games1
im0ledon1 the &ndy JCC1 #ollege s%orts and #ri#$et on multi%le de"i#es1 in#luding our
ground0rea$ing real time "ie3ing a%%li#ation1 4at#hESPN'5 &n fa#t1 8C %er#ent of users
see$ing s%orts #ontent on mo0ile de"i#es rely on ESPN for li"e s%orts1 entertainment1 ex%ert
#ommentary1 ne3s and stats' ,s its digital rea#h #ontinues to ex%and1 ESPN had its most-
3at#hed fis#al year 3ith its array of s%orts %rogramming 3hile also rea#hing international
mar$ets 3ith li"e e"ents from the !K and ,ustralia to &ndia and Latin ,meri#a15 ;alt (isney
Com%any ,nnual Re%ort1 ?C66<'
ESPN had a "ery strong fis#al year in ?C66 e"en though there 3ere a fe3 set0a#$s that
o##urred 3hi#h in#luded the #losing of 6C of their ESPN Kone restaurants' Re"enues de#reased
B7@ million at Ca0le Net3or$s and B7C million at -road#asting' /he de#rease at Ca0le Net3or$s
3as dri"en 0y the #losure of fi"e ESPN Kone restaurants in June ;alt (isney Com%any1 ?C66<'
-ut ESPN on#e again ex%anded its mar$et again to %i#$ u% the sla#$ of other de%artments' S/,R
S%orts1 a Doint-"enture in ESPN1 has an agreement for glo0al %rogramming rights to &nternational
Cri#$et Coun#il E"ents from ?CC8 through ?C6J' ESPN and the alt (isney Com%any #ontinue
to ex%and their international rea#h to ne3 s%orts that 3ill hel% them re#ruit some ne3
demogra%hi#s' /here #or%orate re%utation 3as slightly damaged in my o%inion from the #losing
of the ESPN Kone restaurants1 0ut not to the %oint 3here they 3ere affe#ted in a maDor 3ay'
http://c!n.me!"%."r.thew%lt!"sneycomp%ny.com/2011/%nn%l/'()-10&wr%p-2011.p!f
En"ironment
/he en"ironment of the s%orts net3or$ mar$et is #ontinuing to ex%and as more s%e#ialty
#hannels 0egin to de"elo% and also #hange 3ith the times' E"en though ESPN is the num0er one
s%orts net3or$ in the 3orld1 there 3ill still remain the threat of #om%etition' Some of ESPN2s
maDor net3or$ #om%etitors in#lude N-C S%orts1 !ni"ersal S%orts1 and also C-S S%orts' /here
are also a fe3 s%e#ialty net3or$s that also %ro"e a threat to ESPN' , fe3 in#lude N-, /)1 N*L
Net3or$1 NHL Net3or$1 *ox So##er1 the Aolf Channel1 and also the S%eed Channel' /he
e"olution of s%e#ialty #hannels has #aused a more #om%etiti"e mar$et %la#e' S%e#ialty #hannels
ha"e allo3ed indi"iduals 3ho are loo$ing s%e#ifi#ally to 3at#h a #ertain s%ort to 0e a0le to 3at#h
them ?@I8'
/o sur"i"e in su#h a #om%etiti"e mar$et1 ESPN #alled u%on its &nternet Arou% to de"elo%
s%e#ialty #ites to #om%lement ESPN'Com and re"olutionary ESPN EHC 3hi#h offers #o"erage
and li"e streaming from a #ellular de"i#e'
ESPN Case Study 19
&nternal )' External ,udien#es
ESPN %uts a large em%hasis on $ee%ing healthy lines of #ommuni#ation 3ith its target
audien#e through a "ariety of methods' ESPN su0s#ri0ers ha"e the a0ility to #onne#t to ESPN
through a %lethora of de"i#es' -ut ESPN also realizes the im%ortan#e in $ee%ing the #ore of the
organization strong 3hi#h is their asso#iates' &nternal #ommuni#ations 3ithin an organization has
to 0e t3o 3ay in-order to 0e su##essful1 one 3ay #ommuni#ation 3ill not #ut it' /here are a lot of
3ays that ESPN $ee%s healthy lines of #ommuni#ations' ESPN2s exe#uti"es ma$e sure to
#onstantly $ee% in #ommuni#ation 3ith their de%artment heads to ma$e sure that e"erything is
running smooth 3ithin the organization' .oral e"ents are #onstantly held to hel% %romote
#hemistry 3ithin the organization1 e"ents su#h as golf tournaments and resort geta3ays are a
fre:uent o##urren#e for ESPN asso#iates' & got some good information from dis#ussing 3ith
Pi%er Han$ey 3ho is a mar$eting intern for ESPN'
4& a0solutely lo"e 3or$ing for this #om%any1 & ho%e that they are a0le to gi"e me a Do0
3hen & am done' /hey treat us em%loyees so 3ell1 they al3ays seem #on#erned 3ith ho3 are 3e
doing and the #hemistry 3ithin our de%artments15 said Han$ey' 4/here are 3ee$ly memos that
ex%lain 3hat is going on during the 3ee$ at ESPN that is sent to all asso#iates through email'5
hen it #omes to ESPN2s external audien#es1 they ha"e managed to $ee% #ommuni#ation
3ith them almost fla3lessly' ESPN #a%italizes on so#ial media to $ee% in #onta#t 3ith their
audien#e' *a#e0oo$ and /3itter are al3ays trending online and if you a#tually loo$ at some of
the #omments 0y fans1 ESPN 3ill try to get 0a#$ to some of the users' Not a lot of #om%anies
a#tually $ee% in #onta#t 3ith their "ie3ers1 a lot of the times their 3alls and %ages end u% as a
0ash %age 3ith no in%ut 0y the #om%any'
ESPN Case Study 20
Ethi#al and Legal Considerations
/here has 0een some #riti#ism to3ards ESPN a0out some of their ethi#al issues through
the %ast #ou%le of de#ades' ESPN has 0een a##used 0y many for 0eing extremely 0ias to3ards a
fe3 teams and #onferen#es' .ost re#ently1 there ha"e 0een #riti#s that ha"e %ointed out that
ESPN #o"ers #onferen#es that they ha"e deals 3ith1 li$e the ,CC1 more #losely #om%ared to
other teams from #onferen#es li$e the -ig /en 3ho ha"e deals 3ith C-S S%orts' , great exam%le
of this #an 0e seen 3ith ,CC teams North Carolina !ni"ersity and (u$e !ni"ersity' /here is
%lenty of e"iden#e on ESPN an#hors 0eing 0ias in their #o"erage of the t3o s#hools'
,nother issue 3ith ESPN also has to do 3ith the organizations 0ias #o"erage of #ertain
teams' Red Sox and Gan$ees games are #ommon on Sunday1 ednesday1 and *riday night
0ase0all 0road#asts on ESPN1 this along 3ith ta$ing u% the maDority of the 0ase0all #o"erage on
S%ortsCenter and -ase0all /onight'
/he re#ent Sandus$y #hild a0use s#andal at Penn State !ni"ersity stirred u% a lot of
moral and ethi#al issues 3ithin our so#iety a0out the %rote#tion of our youth' (uring this
s#andal1 sexual #hild a0use a##usations #ame out a0out Syra#use !ni"ersity2s ,ssistant
-as$et0all Coa#h -ernie *ine' ESPN 3as #riti#ized for not telling the 3hole story 3hen it #ame
to a ta%ed re#ording of -ernie *ine2s 3ife stating that she $ne3 that her hus0and may ha"e
molested #hildren' No re%orts 3ere 3ritten on the ESPN Net3or$ a0out this "ideo mainly
0e#ause they 3ere running numerous arti#les #riti#izing Joe Paterno for not ta$ing a#tion to the
Sandus$y Re%ortL these re%orts 3ould ha"e 0een a #onfli#t of interest'
ESPN also has to deal 3ith an#hors and 0road#asters getting into trou0le outside of the
studios 3hi#h #auses %u0li# re%utation issues' ,n exam%le of this #an 0e seen 3ith ESPN N-,
Commentator and former N-, ,ll Star Jalen Rose' Rose 3as re#ently in the ne3s for 0eing
arrested for dri"ing under the influen#e' /his 3as not Jalen2s first en#ounter 3ith the authorities
as he has 0een a re%eat offender 3hen it #omes to getting into trou0le' ESPN2s %u0li# image 3as
damaged 0e#ause he is su#h a 3ell-$no3n figure to the ESPN audien#e' Here is a statement
released 0y ESPN off of Gahoo S%orts'
HESPN is pulling -alen 'ose off the air after a report found the N#$ basketball analyst
waited almost three weeks to tell his employers about his arrest in (ichigan on suspicion
of drunk driving.I
K-alen has accepted full responsibility for his actions. #oth parties are taking this very
seriously and as a result weAve agreed that he will not be on our air while he addresses
this situationK said ESPN spokesman -osh Lrulewit+ in an email to :ame 5nM /Jahoo
Sports &.%%0
http://sports.y%hoo.com/nb%/blo#/b%ll*!ont*l"e/post/+%len-rose-plle!-off-the-%"r-by-espn-
for-!"-contro$ersy,rn-nb%.wp800
ESPN Case Study 21