ESPN announced it partnered with MobiTV to create ESPN Mobile TV. The 24/7 channel for wireless is designed to offer live, simulcast sports events; comprehensive and breaking sports news, mobile-exclusive programming; commentary and analysis; and real-time sports scores and game updates.
Already ESPN and MobiTV have slated college football and basketball, NBA, NASCAR, Major League Soccer, Arena Football League, Major League Lacrosse and more to air on the channel.
“MobiTV is committed to delivering the marquee TV brands consumers are used to seeing at home, and ESPN programming represents a significant milestone in our mission to deliver a home-like viewing experience to consumers, wherever they are,” said Jeff Bartee, VP of content and programming at MobiTV. “The demand for on-the-go and live sports programming has not only contributed to the success of the mobile television category, but has quickly shifted our mobile and broadband services from novelty to necessity.”
In addition, the companies said the channel will offer content from popular ESPN programming including “Mike & Mike in the Morning,” “First Take,” “Pardon the Interruption,” “Rome Is Burning” and “Around the Horn,” as well as newly created mobile-specific shows such as “ESPN ReSet,” “ScoreCenter” and “Fantasy Football Now.”
Through the end of January, live events airing on ESPN Mobile TV include more than 50 hours of coverage from the Australian Open Tennis Championships as well as NBA games featuring the Dallas Mavericks (Jan. 9), Miami Heat (Jan. 18), Detroit Pistons (Jan. 25) and a matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs (Jan. 23).
“Adding ESPN Mobile TV to the MobiTV lineup is a great example of ESPN’s multiplatform approach to give fans the unmatched live programming and can’t-miss highlights they want, any time and anywhere,” said Matt Murphy, senior VP for digital video distribution with ESPN. “As a leader in developing and delivering sports content across both traditional and digital mediums, we’re confident that the continued growth of ESPN Mobile TV will help satiate sports fans’ growing appetite for timely and relevant mobile content.”
ESPN Mobile TV will replace ESPN’s first made-for-mobile sports programming channel, launched by MobiTV in July 2005. The latest ESPN channel will be included in the basic programming lineup and will span several of MobiTV’s products, including Sprint TV Xtra (Sprint Nextel Corp.), MobiTV on AT&T and Axcess TV Live (Alltel Wireless).
Chris Pursell is a reporter for TV Week, a sister publication for RCR Wireless News. Both publications are owned by Crain Communications Inc.
