ESPN staged its upfront May 13 at a new venue and packed its presentation with many sports stars before concluding with an elaborate samba dance finale.
The cable network seemed to be trying a bit harder this year to please advertisers, which is never a bad thing. Instead of holding the event in the basement of the Best Buy Theater, which had been the venue for the past three years, ESPN chose the Minskoff Theater, which is home of "The Lion King" Broadway musical.
ESPN also staged two musical numbers for the first time in three years: a samba number to bring home the fact that ESPN has rights to the World Cup in Brazil and a closing number evoking a scene from "The Lion King."
The number of celebrity guests was also unprecedented in recent years: former quarterback now ESPN analyst Tim Tebow; tennis star John McEnroe; New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony; Keith Olbermann, a former MSNBC talk show host now at ESPN; and Matt Harvey from the New York Mets, among other athletes.
John Skipper, president of ESPN, emphasized to a crowd of media buyers and advertisers that his network remains the premiere destination for sports in a sea of rising national and regional sports networks.
"ESPN has the broadest and deepest set of rights in the industry and the length of these deals ensure that our position is unassailable," he said.
"Unassailable!" repeated ESPN host Michelle Beadle, who has returned to the network after her show "The Crossover" at NBC Sports was canceled last fall.
After the event, ESPN talk show host Scott Van Pelt told SNL Kagan that ESPN is not pressured by the presence of other sports networks.
"There's plenty of room at the table for everyone," he said.
Of course, one of the major highlights for the sports network is this year's World Cup in Brazil.
ESPN will cover all 64 matches live and in high definition on multiple platforms and even on demand, with pre-event programming already on the air. For example, the network is airing daily profiles of each of the 32 national teams through June 11.
ESPN also signed PTI co-hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon to new multiyear deals.
Moreover, EPSN and parent Walt Disney Co. announced a joint initiative called "Fan for Life" to celebrate parents for supporting their kid by becoming their biggest fans. It kicks off next Mother's Day and concludes on Father's Day in 2015.
ESPN also noted its new 10,000-square-foot "SportsCenter" set — which is in Bristol, Conn. — will open in June.
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