ESPN To Make Huge Committment to 2010 World Cup

According to the great EPL Talk soccer news site, ESPN have announced their plans for next year's 2010 World Cup.

Expect wall-to-wall coverage of the world's biggest sporting event, with all of the network's World Cup coverage from on-site in South Africa, totaling more than 65 hours of original content.

Not only that, there will be a nightly World Cup Live show (30 minutes) shown on ESPN's family of networks and pre-match, halftime and post-match shows, shown on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

Sounds like ESPN is going all out to show a great World Cup.

What do you think?

ESPN's Champions League Ratings Are Great!

We all know football can succeed in the United States. Here's further proof.

Wednesday's airing of FC Barcelona’s 2-0 win over defending champion Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League final averaged 1.43 million viewers (and a 1.1 rating/1.07 million homes) for ESPN, making it the most-watched UEFA soccer game in the history of U.S. Cable.

The previous record was the 2008 final on ESPN2 that averaged 1.09 million viewers.

The final was also ESPN Deportes’ second most-watched telecast ever, drawing a 9.9 Hispanic coverage ratings and 474,000 Hispanic homes. The most-watched ESPN Deportes telecast was the Euro 2008 Final where Spain beat Germany that drew a 10.1 Hispanic coverage rating.

This match marks the end of a 15-year run on ESPN networks. Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports USA outbid the Disney-owned sports network for the rights to the prestigious club tournament for the next three seasons.

MY POV: It just goes to show that soccer can make a foothold in the USA. There are just two problems.

1 - People flock to the big names. Barcelona. Manchester United. The appetite is there for big-name soccer. But what about the domestic product, the MLS? The hunger and passion isn't there for this product just yet. It's huge in places like Seattle and Toronto. But MLS still needs to catch fire in other target cities, like Chicago and New York.

2 - Now that the Champions League is moving to the Fox Soccer Channel, which isn't distributed in as many homes as ESPN, will the under exposure hurt the game?

I'm sure Fox and their vast network of resources will work hard to further their resources. Still, it's not in place like ESPN's is. This is a total 'wait and see.'

ESPN Plans Huge 2010 World Cup Media Blitz

Remember ESPN's ‘One Game Changes Everything’ ad campaign for the 2006 World Cup in Germany?



Simple. Poignant. Brilliant.

On Tuesday, ESPN executive vice president of content John Skipper said the network plans its "biggest marketing campaign ever" for the 2010 World Cup.

All 64 games will be shown on ESPN, America's biggest sports network. Skipper said the "One Game Changes Everything" byline may return next year.

Word of ESPN's emphasis on the World Cup comes after it suffered a setback with soccer programming last month, losing North American rights to the UEFA Champions League to the Fox Soccer Channel, a channel not as widely distributed in the States.

ESPN owns the rights to the World Cup through 2014 -- games are carried on Internet hub ESPN360.com and mobile platforms, as well as ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. No ads run during the game action, but sponsors receive on-air mention, as well as an opportunity to place a logo on-screen next to the score line.

MY POV: Soccer isn't a popular sport in America. But big tournaments like Euro 2008 and the World Cup generate significant ad revenue for the networks. It's surprising that Americans shun the domestic league (MLS), yet can't get enough once the big tournaments appear.

Just goes to show the American public will pay for quality football, much like the rest of the world.

Glad to see ESPN's continued commitment to the game, in lieu of losing the Champions League to Fox Soccer earlier this year.