March 3, 2010

ESPNU will soon begin to rollout a new complement of on-screen graphics – highlighted by unique college and sports-themed network logos – just as it has been announced by Nielsen Media Research that as of March 1, the 24-hour college sports network now reaches more than 70 million homes.  ESPNU – which just 15 months ago (December 2008) was in only 22 million homes – has been one of cable’s fastest-growing networks in recent months and is now seen in 70.4 million homes.  This news comes just in time to make the network’s fifth birthday Thursday, March 4, all the more special.

“We asked our creative team to refresh the look of ESPNU,” said Rosalyn Durant, ESPNU vice president and general manager.  “We set out to capture a fun, diverse, and school-spirited slice of the college sports experience, that we believe will resonate with students and alumni alike.”

 

The graphics present a surprising mix of familiar landscapes, miniature models, hand-made posters, college activities, college sports and college life that all exist on the three-dimensional ESPNU logo.  The clash of scales and styles echoes the many identities of college sports and its fans, but puts them into one cohesive world. In a tribute to college life and college sports, the ESPNU logo finds itself taking on the traits of specific sports (football, basketball, lacrosse, etc.) as well as student activity (tailgating, walking to class, going to games).

To see examples of the new graphics: Click Here

About ESPNU

ESPNU launched March 4, 2005. The 24-hour college sports television network televises more than 600 live events (regular-season and championships) annually.  Action includes a variety of top football and men’s and women’s basketball mixed with baseball, softball, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, wrestling and more. The network also has a wide-ranging, long-term agreement with the NCAA calling for extensive coverage of 22 NCAA Championships.

	Live Event Hours	HD Hours	Studio Show Hours
2005-06	894	5	101
2006-07	1190	194	227
2007-08	1468	226	281
2008-09	2163	748	316
2009-10	2649	872	399

ESPNU also offers comprehensive studio programming, such as SportsCenterU, ESPNU Recruiting Insider, SEC Weekly, The Bracket, BCS Countdown and simulcasts of ESPN Radio’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd. The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNU HD and online at ESPNU.com. In addition, ESPNU Campus Connection, a multi-platform student-generated content initiative, was introduced in August 2007.

 

ESPNU is available in more than 70.4 million households and has long-term carriage agreements with nine of the top 10 providers – Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 614), DISH Network (Channel 148), Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse.

 

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Media Contact: Keri Potts ([email protected]) at (212) 448-4841