ESPN president George Bodenheimer announced Tuesday that the nearly
five-year-old ESPNews will be relaunched Sept. 7.
In development for 11 months, the revamp will combine the best elements of
television with the timeliness and depth of ESPN.com, its Web site, he said in a
prepared statement.
Bodenheimer said the network's hallmark will be a continuous bottom-line
ticker that will run during national commercial breaks -- 'a first in television
sports,' ESPN claimed -- containing scores, updates, game statistics and news
stories as they happen in real time.
In addition, the 24-hour sports-news network will increase its use of
ESPN.com news content, stats, polls and analysis from ESPN's radio and magazine
assets to augment the on-air product.
With its relaunch, ESPN senior vice president and managing editor Bob Eaton
said, 'ESPNews will significantly enhance the way it serves the sports community
in much the same way as others serve the investment community' -- an apparent
reference to CNBC and its now famous ticker.
ESPNews is currently in 23 million homes, up from 1.5 million when it
launched in the fall of 1996.
The Sept. 7 date will also mark the 22nd anniversary of ESPN's
launch.
