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ESPN New Media
senior VP John Kosner says, "Sports fans want their video everywhere they
are and on any device. Through downloadable video, online video at ESPN.com and
on your phone, plus live and on-demand events on ESPN360.com, we continue to bring
fans the very best content in sports." ESPN
video podcasting launches in the midst of ESPN’s industry-leading success
with audio podcasts and on-demand digital radio initiatives. Since beginning its
first audio podcast in July 2005, ESPN has expanded to produce more than 30 original
and edited podcasts that account for more than four million downloads each month
by more than one million unique users on ESPN’s PodCenter and the iTunes
Store.
AndoMedia Web Metrics reported that from January through March, the total amount
of time sports fans spent listening to ESPN podcasts equaled 24 years, 308 days
and 19 hours. Like
ESPN audio podcasts, ESPN video podcasts will be ad-supported. Since the launch
of audio podcasts, advertising for ESPN audio podcasts has grown by more than
200 per cent, driven by sponsorship and advertising from major marketers including:
OnStar by GM, AT&T, AutoZone, Nivea For Men, Lamisil AT, Progressive Auto
Insurance and Dick’s Sporting Goods. In
addition to free, ad-supported video podcasts, ESPN also offers commercial-free
premium downloadable programmes and complete recent and classic games via iTunes,
including packages of content tied to great college sports rivalries like North
Carolina versus Duke basketball and Ohio State versus Michigan football, major
sports events like The Rose Bowl, original ESPN events like the X Games, and ESPN
Original Entertainment programming like The World Series of Poker and The Contender | 
