Eight Hours of Original Content on ESPN 3D
In a continuous effort of being the leading content provider of action sports coverage, ESPN will telecast 31 hours of live programming from X Games 16, July 29 – August 1, 2010, in Los Angeles, Calif. In addition to the thirty-one original hours on ESPN and ESPN2, the worldwide leader in action sports will telecast eight hours of X Games 16 competition in 3D on ESPN 3D. X Games 16 content will also be distributed across ESPN’s family of international networks and global platforms, including ESPN3.com, ESPN.com/Action, ESPN Mobile TV and X Center.
X Games 16 will be delivered to more than 382 million homes and will be telecast live to 175 countries and territories, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Israel, Mexico, Middle East, South America, New Zealand.
“It is always our goal to serve the fans, athletes and sponsors in as many ways as possible, while still growing the reach of our telecast and brand each year,” said Scott Guglielmino, Senior Vice President programming and X Games Franchise. “ESPN has once again proved why the X Games are the definitive action sports franchise. This year we will deliver the most compelling action sports content to fans on more platforms than ever before.”
•Television: ESPN will increase its X Games coverage to 31 hours in 2010, compared to 20 last year. ESPN and ESPN2 will feature eight windows of original competition coverage. ESPN2’s X Center, nightly highlight show, will air each night of the event.
Hosted by Sal Masekela, the X Games telecast will once again feature a talented collection of on-air commentators. ESPN anchor Dana Jacobson will return to host Burger King X Center nightly on ESPN2. Each episode of Burger King X Center will run for one hour in length and will air immediately following the X Games telecast. Veteran X Games reporter Keir Dillon will host eight hours of live X Games 16 coverage on ESPN 3D.
A roster of action sports icons including Tony Hawk, Jeremy McGrath, Dennis McCoy and Boris Said will join Masekela for the X Games 16 telecast and serve as analysts for the Skateboard, Moto X, BMX Freestyle and Rally Car events, respectively.
In 2009, X Games 15 delivered a 1.0 HH coverage rating, 988,058 HHs and 1,393,420 viewers (P2+) on ESPN making it the most-viewed X Games ever among viewers (P2+).
•Online: ESPN3.com will carry 27 hours of simulcast coverage from X Games 16, plus an additional ten hours of exclusive content.
ESPN.com/Action will provide on-site coverage of X Games 16 and will deliver instant results, photos, live commentary and daily recaps.
The 24/7 action sports website will feature a live landing page called X Stream which will feature numerous extensions including athlete chats, expert sport commentary, audience questions and participation, live results, schedules, Facebook wall stream, athleteTweets and more. X Stream will be live for all four days of X Games 16.
•Mobile: ESPN Mobile TV will carry 28 hours of live coverage of X Games 16, including live coverage of Burger King X Center. ESPN Mobile TV will also deliver encore content from X Games 15 Classix. ESPN Mobile TV viewers will once again be able to participate in text voting opportunities and receive 24/7 mobile alerts.
An X Games 16 Mobile App will also be available on Android, iPhone/iPod Touch, and Blackberry devices. The X Games 16 app features complete venue info, customizable schedules, athlete bios and more. The app cab be downloaded for free by texting GUIDE to 43776 or visiting XGames.com/App.
•ESPN International: Outside the United States, X Games 16 will be delivered to more than 224 million homes and will be telecast live to 175 countries and territories, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Israel, Latin America, Mexico, Middle East and New Zealand.
In addition, X Games 16 will be syndicated to 46 countries around the world reaching over 58 million homes for which ESPN will produce 10 one-hour syndication shows for networks to air two weeks following the event.
ESPN Deportes will telecast live on Saturday and Sunday with 14 hours of Live X Games 16 coverage. And more than 27 hours of live coverage will air on ESPN’s 360 platforms in Australia, Europe and Latin America.
•iTunes: On July 26th, go to www.iTunes.com/XGames for all things X Games 16. The page will include current X Games 16 content (daily highlights and discipline highlights), ESPN Films (30 for 30: The Birth of Big Air, 199 Lives: The Travis Pastrana Story, Shaun White: Don’t Look Down, Moto X: Evolution of the Trick, and Down the Barrel), Athlete Music Playlists (from Mat Hoffman, Kenny Brack, Blake “Bilko” Williams, and Josh Hansen), As Heard at X music playlists (from our on-air broadcast), Phone Aps, and Free Podcasts.
•X Box Live: X Games 16 content will include Days 1-4 highlights, Best of Skate, Best of BMX, Best of Motors, and X Games 16 Slammed/Stomped.
•YouTube: ESPN will produce Let’s Talk About X segments which will live exclusively on ESPN’s X Games YouTube channel. Let’s Talk About X will be produced by the ESPN Digital Media team and will feature daily content giving a fans point of view from the X games 16 venues. All X Games 16 content can be found by visiting youtube.com/xgames)
•Facebook: ESPN’s X Games page will feature a daily X Games 16 photo gallery, video content, athlete chats, and a daily morning and afternoon show called Inside X. The page will also feature an X Games Gear photo contest where users can upload photos and vote to win autographed X Games 16 items.
•Twitter: ESPN’s Twitter feed will feature event updates, breaking news, competition results, ticket giveaways via Twitter scavenger hunts, and a behind the scenes look at X Games 16 athletes and courses.
•Hookit: The X Games 16 community on Hookit.com will feature an interactive chat board, sport-specific tabs with X Games 16 athlete bios, an integrated XGames.com news and headline feed, daily member promotions, and custom X Games badges that users can create and share virally.
●Fantasy & Games: Fans on ESPN.com will be able to join the excitement of this year’s “X16” in Los Angeles with ESPN’s 2010 Summer X Games Pick’em presented by Samsung. Players select the “winning pick” for each of the listed match-ups through four days of Summer X to accumulate the most points. Daily picks must be submitted before the scheduled start time of the first event each day beginning Thursday, July 29. Prizes will be awarded for the top two overall entries.
Additionally, ESPN Arcade will highlight its Action Sports section of casual games, including popular X Games branded titles like Rally Racing and Rally & Super X as well as Epic Air and Vert Star.
•X Games 16 Music: Once again a full X Games 16 music page will be featured on ESPN.com. Individual tracks featured in the X Games 16 telecast will also be listed on iTunes.
X Games 16 will feature the television premier of the new Linkin Park single, The Catalyst. The X Games 16 telecast will also feature music from A Day to Remember, Stone Temple Pilots, Ozzy Osbourne, Eninem, NERD, Jared Evan, Paper Tounges and many more. The song X Games Without Frontiers, by Peter Gabriel featuring Lord Jamar, will once again be a featured song in the X Games telecast.
-30-
Media Contact:
Katie Moses Swope, ESPN (310) 642-1507; [email protected]
Alex Rozis, ESPN (310) 642-1509; [email protected]
