ESPNU -- New College Initiative -- to Debut in March.BRISTOL, Conn. -- ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network is celebrating its 25th anniversary today by announcing ESPNU, a multi-media college sports initiative across ESPN's family of services, which will include a new 24-hour television network, content and components for ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine ESPN The Magazine is a bi-weekly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in New Britain, CT in the United States. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. , ESPN Mobile (wireless), ESPN Radio ESPN Radio is a national sports radio network based in the United States. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. , ESPN Interactive, ESPN Broadband ESPN Broadband is a business unit of the ESPN company - itself a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. This unit focuses on providing sports content to users over a high speed internet connection. , merchandising and more. ESPNU will debut in March 2005, it was announced by George Bodenheimer George Bodenheimer is the current president of ESPN Inc. and of ESPN on ABC. He has been president of ESPN since November 19, 1998 and of ESPN on ABC since March 3, 2003. Since he has been president of ESPN, he has launched: ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, ESPN Plus, ESPN PPV, ESPN360, ESPN , president, ESPN, Inc. and ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. Sports. "The college sports fan and ESPN have built a passionate bond that's 25 years strong," Bodenheimer said. "ESPNU will offer a broad variety of ESPN-branded college product across all of our entities, which will enhance our relationship with fans and colleges, and provide value to our affiliates and advertisers." Cross-promotion for ESPNU, supporting television and other media, will extend across all entities. ESPNU COMPONENTS Television: Event programming will be the cornerstone of the new television network, highlighted by approximately 300 live events -- primarily Division I football and men's and women's basketball Women's basketball is one of the few games which developed in tandem with men's. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast, in large part via women's colleges. -- in the network's first year. Action will include regular-season and NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. In addition, ESPNU will offer comprehensive studio programming, replays of ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Regional Television games, plus specials and more. Additional programming detail is listed below. ESPN.com: There will be a significant ESPNU site within ESPN.com, part of the growing college offerings from the leading sports Web site. New Media: ESPNU-branded content, promotions and interactive live elements will be featured on ESPN Broadband, ESPN Mobile (wireless) and ESPN Interactive TV. Examples of potential plans include personalized college alerts on mobile devices and an extensive broadband section. ESPN The Magazine: ESPN The Magazine plans to present ESPNU offerings, such as inserts, within the publication. ESPN Radio: ESPNU elements will be part of ESPN Radio's expansive college programming. ESPN Enterprises: Other ESPNU components will be developed across additional ESPN entities, including ESPN Enterprises which plans to introduce ESPNU merchandise. PROGRAMMING SPECIFICS -- ESPNU TELEVISION NETWORK Regular Season: ESPNU will offer regular-season Division I games, highlighted by Division I football and men's and women's college basketball. It will also include baseball, softball, volleyball, lacrosse lacrosse (ləkrôs`), ball and goal game usually played outdoors by two teams of 10 players each on a field 60 to 70 yd (54.86 to 64.01 m) wide by 110 yd (100.58 m) long. Two goals face each other 80 yd (73. , hockey, wrestling and spring football, plus select high school football telecasts. Many events will be aired exclusively on the network, while other ESPNU telecasts will co-exist with events syndicated on other outlets regionally through ESPN Regional Television (ERT ERT abbr. estrogen replacement therapy Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) A treatment in which estrogen is used therapeutically during menopause to alleviate certain symptoms such as hot flashes. ) arrangements. NCAA Championships: In its first year, ESPNU will supplement ESPN and ESPN2's extensive NCAA Championships coverage with games from select rounds of various Men's and Women's NCAA Championship events, including many of the collegiate Olympic sports. Studio/News Programming: Studio programming will range from pre- and post-game shows for the majority of live events to weekly programs analyzing the polls (including the BCS (1) (The British Computer Society, Swindon, Wiltshire, England, www.bcs.org) The chartered body for information technology professionals in the U.K., founded in 1957. ) to stand-alone programs previewing National Signing Days and NCAA Championships. In addition, plans include for ESPNU to offer coverage of press conferences and a college sports-specific "bottom line" news/scores scroll. Replays of ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2 and ERT Games: Many of the top college sports events televised on ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2 and through ESPN Regional Television's syndicated outlets will be replayed on ESPNU. In many cases, those replays will immediately follow the original telecasts. Specials: College sports-themed specials from ESPN Original Entertainment -- such as movies, The Season documentaries and College SportsCentury profile series -- will have a home on ESPNU, as will classic games and more. Editor's Note: For the logo and related photos, go to http://media.espn.com/MediaZone/ESPNU_photos.htm |
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