An Idea: ESPN's regional sports network opportunity?

[Tiger1983]

I have thought about this idea since this morning. Perhaps it is time for ESPN to consider launching their own regional sports network that focuses on live coverage of their "hometown" teams as well as their regional edition of SportsCenter dedicated to the local sports market, just like how FOX and NBC are doing. Call it ESPN LA, ESPN New York or ESPN Miami. ESPN NY can carry all Mets games during baseball, or on the other hand, ESPN LA carries all Lakers games, since the national ESPN network cares much more about them and Kobe Bryant. In all cases, they will have the same graphics modeled on the regular ESPN channels.

If they decide to launch such a regional network, would they use some of the sports anchors from ABC O&O stations within their market for their own version of SportsCenter?

What do you think about this idea?

 

[lugnuts6]

Didnt ESPN try that when disney owned the angels ???

 

[aguyinradio]

ESPN currently does that for football season. They have numerous packages to choose from and your market gets the regional games. They even supply the satellite recievers and can tune them to the correct games. They also have basketball packages as well. It's known as ESPN Regional TV.

 

[Robnoxious]

ESPN LA carries all Lakers games...

ESPN will have to wait another 19 years to get Lakers exclusivity.
The Lake Show are tied to a lengthy broadcast contract with Time Warner Sportsnet.

 

[crainbebo]

How about STOP with all the sports channels? There are TOO many. If I could take sports networks, I'd take ESPN/ESPN2 and Root Sports. That is ALL. I don't need the horse racing, I don't need the channel showing junior hockey, and heck no I do not need the Golf or Tennis Channel!

-crainbebo

 

[udfan07]

Mets also own part of SNY channel so their games air on there, no way the ESPN NY channel would happen

 

[Morgan Wick]

Another random idea unburdened by any actual knowledge of the circumstances involved.

 

[azumanga]

ESPN currently does that for football season. They have numerous packages to choose from and your market gets the regional games. They even supply the satellite recievers and can tune them to the correct games. They also have basketball packages as well. It's known as ESPN Regional TV.

Weren't they also known as "ESPN Plus", which syndicated regional sports to local stations?

 

[nomadcowatbk]

ESPN currently does that for football season. They have numerous packages to choose from and your market gets the regional games. They even supply the satellite recievers and can tune them to the correct games. They also have basketball packages as well. It's known as ESPN Regional TV.

Weren't they also known as "ESPN Plus", which syndicated regional sports to local stations?

they're distribute the games not good enough for the main ESPN channels on the (insert conference here) Network to local stations in the conference footprint, but most of those games are moving to conference cable networks (or the Longhorn Network for the Big 12)

 

[mgsports]

Yankees/Dodgers/Knicks/Rangers/Heat/Bulls/Blackhawks/Spurs and so on is who they would want to carry.

They are better then NBATV and MLB Network because only once a week does MLB Network use their own crew to call a Game and NBATV only does it in Postseason and not even for Fan Night Game.

We have ESPN LA/Chicago/Dallas/Boston/New York and some what Miami.com and need a Detroit/Phil/Pittsburgh and so on .coms to.

Maybe they could hook up with Metro Sports,Sun Sports,Yes Network and other none Fox Sports Net channels.

 

[aguyinradio]

ESPN currently does that for football season. They have numerous packages to choose from and your market gets the regional games. They even supply the satellite recievers and can tune them to the correct games. They also have basketball packages as well. It's known as ESPN Regional TV.

Weren't they also known as "ESPN Plus", which syndicated regional sports to local stations?

Yes they still have a game package or two that still uses the "ESPN Plus" branding.

 

[Rube Dali the DodoHorse]

They already tried to do this when Disney owned the Angels. No cable operator agreed to carry their proposed channel. ESPN hasn't tried to launch a regional network since.

 

[Nate Wesley]

I have thought about this idea since this morning. Perhaps it is time for ESPN to consider launching their own regional sports network that focuses on live coverage of their "hometown" teams as well as their regional edition of SportsCenter dedicated to the local sports market, just like how FOX and NBC are doing. Call it ESPN LA, ESPN New York or ESPN Miami. ESPN NY can carry all Mets games during baseball, or on the other hand, ESPN LA carries all Lakers games, since the national ESPN network cares much more about them and Kobe Bryant. In all cases, they will have the same graphics modeled on the regular ESPN channels.

If they decide to launch such a regional network, would they use some of the sports anchors from ABC O&O stations within their market for their own version of SportsCenter?

What do you think about this idea?

I believe this idea had already been kicked around 10-15 years ago, and as others have mentioned--it'd be damned impossible for them to do so now.

Now, what you have seen is regionalized ESPN New York and ESPN LA websites that sync with Disney-owned ESPN Radio affiliates, effectively becoming the new go-to digital sports page for local sports fans.