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ESPN: The Making of a Sports Media Empire
Once a shoestring operation built on plywood sets and Australian rules football, ESPN has evolved into a media colossus. A genius for cross-promotion and its near-mystical rapport with its viewers empower the network to set agendas and create superstars, to curate sports history even as it mainstreams the latest cultural trends. Travis Vogan teams archival research and interviews with an all-star cast to pen the definitive account of how ESPN turned X's and O's into billions of $$$. Vogan's institutional and cultural history focuses on the network since 1998, the year it launched a high-motor effort to craft its brand and grow audiences across media platforms. As he shows, innovative properties like SportsCentury, ESPN The Magazine , and 30 for 30 built the network's cultural caché. This credibility, in turn, propelled ESPN's transformation into an entity that lapped its run-of-the-mill competitors and helped fulfill its self-proclaimed status as the "Worldwide Leader in Sports." Ambitious and long overdue, The Making of a Sports Media Empire offers an inside look at how the network changed an industry and reshaped the very way we live as sports fans.
- GenresSportsNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 24, 2015
I'm far from a sports fanatic, but on the other hand, I've got a long history of mostly non hands-on participation that dates back to the 1950s, when I loved to watch the Gillette-sponsored Friday night boxing matches with my dad - on our black-and-white TV set (complete with rabbit ears, no less). Later, I was a die-hard viewer of ABC's Wide world of Sports that launched in 1961, and I waited impatiently for the every-four-year coverage of my beloved Olympic games. My heart was in my throat as my hero, Jean-Claude Killy, schussed his way to wins in all three Alpine events in the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. And who could forget late sportscaster Jim McKay's emotional, "They're all gone" as he reported on the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics?
Except for the Olympics, which now come at us every two years (and with far less impressive TV coverage, IMHO), those other programs have long since come and gone. But on Sept. 7, 1979, another sports phenomenon emerged: ESPN (the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network). It hit the ground running, and - although I learned from this book that it didn't turn a profit until 1985 - it's pretty safe to say it's become a household acronym. In 2014, as the author points out, ESPN was named the "world's most valuable media property."
Today, I'd bet the farm that not a day goes by that my husband and I - separately or together - tune in to some kind of ESPN show. Virtually every weeknight, you'll find our set tuned to one of my favorite shows, Pardon the Interruption, to watch the sparring between hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon.
So it was that when I was granted the opportunity to read and review this by the publisher (via NetGalley), I jumped at the chance. Let me be perfectly clear, though: This is a scholarly publication. If you're expecting witty quotes from famous athletes or network executives or smack-on-the-butt locker room jokes, you'll be disappointed. Rather, it's a straightforward and exceptionally well-researched documentation of how ESPN and all its offshoots - from the magazine to books to made-for-TV movies and docudramas - came to be.
Initially, it was to a degree a matter of right place, right time, given more public interest in sports, the emergence of cable TV and increasing deregulation of the communications industry. But transforming that beginning into the media powerhouse as we know it certainly didn't happen by accident; the author details almost every step of the route to success, such as the launch of SportsCentury, a concept headed by Mark Shapiro that helped bring much-needed credibility to the network.
The well-written book reads almost like a doctoral dissertation - albeit a much more interesting one than the few I helped edit back in my days as a university administrator - complete with extensive references at the end (close to 25% of the book is comprised of footnote and other resources, most arranged by chapter). In short, it's exactly what I would expect from a university press. That said, there's no way I can condense all the information that's in here; but I will say that if there was a stone left untouched, I'm confident it isn't an important one.
Except for the Olympics, which now come at us every two years (and with far less impressive TV coverage, IMHO), those other programs have long since come and gone. But on Sept. 7, 1979, another sports phenomenon emerged: ESPN (the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network). It hit the ground running, and - although I learned from this book that it didn't turn a profit until 1985 - it's pretty safe to say it's become a household acronym. In 2014, as the author points out, ESPN was named the "world's most valuable media property."
Today, I'd bet the farm that not a day goes by that my husband and I - separately or together - tune in to some kind of ESPN show. Virtually every weeknight, you'll find our set tuned to one of my favorite shows, Pardon the Interruption, to watch the sparring between hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon.
So it was that when I was granted the opportunity to read and review this by the publisher (via NetGalley), I jumped at the chance. Let me be perfectly clear, though: This is a scholarly publication. If you're expecting witty quotes from famous athletes or network executives or smack-on-the-butt locker room jokes, you'll be disappointed. Rather, it's a straightforward and exceptionally well-researched documentation of how ESPN and all its offshoots - from the magazine to books to made-for-TV movies and docudramas - came to be.
Initially, it was to a degree a matter of right place, right time, given more public interest in sports, the emergence of cable TV and increasing deregulation of the communications industry. But transforming that beginning into the media powerhouse as we know it certainly didn't happen by accident; the author details almost every step of the route to success, such as the launch of SportsCentury, a concept headed by Mark Shapiro that helped bring much-needed credibility to the network.
The well-written book reads almost like a doctoral dissertation - albeit a much more interesting one than the few I helped edit back in my days as a university administrator - complete with extensive references at the end (close to 25% of the book is comprised of footnote and other resources, most arranged by chapter). In short, it's exactly what I would expect from a university press. That said, there's no way I can condense all the information that's in here; but I will say that if there was a stone left untouched, I'm confident it isn't an important one.
October 18, 2017
turrible
August 12, 2018
A review of this sharp and engaging is available through
Sport in History
and a copy of it is here
March 6, 2017
This is a very short book but with very good insights into the evolution of: the Cable industry, the sports TV and broadcasting and of course ESPN central role in all this.
If you are interested in startups, entrepreneurship and keeping up afloat of new disruptive technologies, then this book can give you some idea of why sometimes they lose money or don't have earnings despite their high revenues and great future prospects. This quote form the book comes to mind:
It is also a book about creating, managing and maintaining a brand.
If you are interested in startups, entrepreneurship and keeping up afloat of new disruptive technologies, then this book can give you some idea of why sometimes they lose money or don't have earnings despite their high revenues and great future prospects. This quote form the book comes to mind:
“Gentlemen, I would like to equate ESPN with an oil well,” he would say. “Seismic indicated there was a reservoir, and we determined that was true. Experience has shown that the reservoir is there and is a hell of a lot bigger than we originally thought. Unfortunately, it is also deeper than we thought. So I need more pipe.”
It is also a book about creating, managing and maintaining a brand.
December 8, 2021
Buy the book, read the first chapter, throw the book away. A decent history of ESPN in the first chapter quickly devolves as a reader below comments into someone's doctorial thesis. Do you want to read a thesis on ESPN written by someone who has never spoken into a microphone and may never have watched a sporting event? I've done plenty of both and believe me most of this book is a poor excuse at using limited research to fake knowledge of a subject.
Enjoy the overblown language that often hides simple reporting such as the chapter that ESPN made a documentary series, aired it on certain nights and promoted it in a certain way. This takes ten thousand words.
American academia, the less you know, the more you write.
Enjoy the overblown language that often hides simple reporting such as the chapter that ESPN made a documentary series, aired it on certain nights and promoted it in a certain way. This takes ten thousand words.
American academia, the less you know, the more you write.
January 25, 2025
ESPN The Greatest
The letters ESPN, I’m quite familiar with , as my Dad and I Watched the very first episode. The network is nothing short of spectacular.
Edwin Lloyd
The letters ESPN, I’m quite familiar with , as my Dad and I Watched the very first episode. The network is nothing short of spectacular.
Edwin Lloyd
November 2, 2015
At first you might be forgiven for thinking that this book is a little too specialised, targeting a niche of a niche as it were, yet strangely the tale of the creation and expansion of an American sports television channel is rather fascinating, managing to serve several audiences at the same time.
Unless you are particularly interested in sports programming or the broadcast television industry, ESPN might not mean so much to you; especially the further you are away from the United States. Yet this company has grown and probably exceeded the wildest dreams of its founders and there is a good chance that you could have seen some ESPN output and didn’t know it.
If you are focussed on the broadcast industry you have one great story, if you are more interested in business start-ups and development here is another. If you are a generalist there’s a good story to tell, and the professional or academic can take other things out of this for their own particular needs. Dependent on your interest, you may skip a few pages here and there, yet overall you still are given an interesting, credible and powerful read.
Whilst the trials and tribulations of “the early days” are satisfactorily covered, the book particularly focuses on the post-1998 activities of the company as it branched out to become a multi-country, multi-platform and multi-output behemoth. Some attempts at diversification failed; yet you can still learn from the mistakes of others. Rather a lot has worked though!
Some of the anecdotes placed in the book really made it shine, even if it was not the intention. Something simple as this quotation of an event straight after the channel’s launch in 1979: “…the Washington Post’s Jane Leavy asked the new outlet’s president, Chet Simmons, how he thought the public would respond to an all-sports cable TV network. ‘I guess we’ll have to have a battery of divorce lawyers standing by to handle all the cases,’ Simmons quipped. ‘Did you ever think that a television network would be named as a co-respondent in a divorce action?’ Three years later, a woman in Austin, Texas, actually did name ESPN in her divorce suit. She claimed it ruined her marriage by offering her apparently addicted husband too much sports coverage.”
Simple; and still new to this reviewer who spent nearly a decade covering the European satellite and cable television industry. Or harmless, such as this quoted factoid: “On January 26, 2000, Alisha and Chad Blondeel of Newaygo, Michigan, named their newborn son Espen — a tribute to Chad’s favorite TV channel.” (In 2004 as part of the channel’s 25th anniversary, they had a report featuring eleven children who had been celled Espen or Espn, all since the channel’s launch.)
For those who care about such things, this book also features a comprehensive index and very extensive bibliography for further reading and source checking.
This was a surprising find; the book appears to be a lot more attractive and desirable than one originally expected. It was an enjoyable read, even to somebody who cannot abide televised sports. Look past the sport towards the organisation and here, for this reviewer, was the best story.
ESPN, written by Travis Vogan and published by University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252081224. YYYY
Autamme.com
Unless you are particularly interested in sports programming or the broadcast television industry, ESPN might not mean so much to you; especially the further you are away from the United States. Yet this company has grown and probably exceeded the wildest dreams of its founders and there is a good chance that you could have seen some ESPN output and didn’t know it.
If you are focussed on the broadcast industry you have one great story, if you are more interested in business start-ups and development here is another. If you are a generalist there’s a good story to tell, and the professional or academic can take other things out of this for their own particular needs. Dependent on your interest, you may skip a few pages here and there, yet overall you still are given an interesting, credible and powerful read.
Whilst the trials and tribulations of “the early days” are satisfactorily covered, the book particularly focuses on the post-1998 activities of the company as it branched out to become a multi-country, multi-platform and multi-output behemoth. Some attempts at diversification failed; yet you can still learn from the mistakes of others. Rather a lot has worked though!
Some of the anecdotes placed in the book really made it shine, even if it was not the intention. Something simple as this quotation of an event straight after the channel’s launch in 1979: “…the Washington Post’s Jane Leavy asked the new outlet’s president, Chet Simmons, how he thought the public would respond to an all-sports cable TV network. ‘I guess we’ll have to have a battery of divorce lawyers standing by to handle all the cases,’ Simmons quipped. ‘Did you ever think that a television network would be named as a co-respondent in a divorce action?’ Three years later, a woman in Austin, Texas, actually did name ESPN in her divorce suit. She claimed it ruined her marriage by offering her apparently addicted husband too much sports coverage.”
Simple; and still new to this reviewer who spent nearly a decade covering the European satellite and cable television industry. Or harmless, such as this quoted factoid: “On January 26, 2000, Alisha and Chad Blondeel of Newaygo, Michigan, named their newborn son Espen — a tribute to Chad’s favorite TV channel.” (In 2004 as part of the channel’s 25th anniversary, they had a report featuring eleven children who had been celled Espen or Espn, all since the channel’s launch.)
For those who care about such things, this book also features a comprehensive index and very extensive bibliography for further reading and source checking.
This was a surprising find; the book appears to be a lot more attractive and desirable than one originally expected. It was an enjoyable read, even to somebody who cannot abide televised sports. Look past the sport towards the organisation and here, for this reviewer, was the best story.
ESPN, written by Travis Vogan and published by University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252081224. YYYY
Autamme.com
January 30, 2016
Detailing the birth of the sports channel all the way into how it grew into the behemoth we see today, this book consolidates information that is mostly public record and adds interviews to round out what could have been a highly entertaining read, had it been written in a different tone.
The most intriguing tidbit, very topical today, was the story of ESPN pulling out of a documentary by PBS on concussions in football. They of course instantly denied it had anything to do with their massive TV deal with the NFL, but all the excuses ring false. Another interesting part is how much they charge the cable and satellite subscriber; as stated here, they average $6.04 compared to the next highest, TNT, which gets $1.48. Can’t help but wonder if it was that way before ever-greedy Disney got their hands on the network, and is especially noteworthy when compared to their very humble beginnings.
While there’s some interesting tidbits here, it reads more like a textbook for a media class than an actual book intended to be read by those who view the channel.
The most intriguing tidbit, very topical today, was the story of ESPN pulling out of a documentary by PBS on concussions in football. They of course instantly denied it had anything to do with their massive TV deal with the NFL, but all the excuses ring false. Another interesting part is how much they charge the cable and satellite subscriber; as stated here, they average $6.04 compared to the next highest, TNT, which gets $1.48. Can’t help but wonder if it was that way before ever-greedy Disney got their hands on the network, and is especially noteworthy when compared to their very humble beginnings.
While there’s some interesting tidbits here, it reads more like a textbook for a media class than an actual book intended to be read by those who view the channel.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews