NY Times - ESPN is set to announce a new newsmagazine today, in another effort to expand its brand beyond hardcore sports fans.
“E:60,” which will make its debut next Tuesday at 7 p.m., will tell “life stories that relate or have a basis in sports,” ESPN said in a statement. ESPN Content Development, a new arm of the company, will produce the newsmagazine.
Keith Clinkscales, senior vice president of ESPN content development and enterprises, said his colleagues want to “find new ways to bring new viewers under the tent and make them as passionate about sports as we are.”
Reality shows and scripted programming are seen as two points of entry for new viewers. Last week ESPN announced a six-part reality series, “Varsity Inc.,” which will chronicle a Louisiana high school football team’s 2007 season. The series will premiere on Nov. 29.
“We will be aggressive in the field of documentaries which allow us an opportunity to chronicle, celebrate and exhibit phenomenal sports stories that not only deal with the world on the field but show how they interlace with everyday life,” Mr. Clinkscales said.
ESPN is a huge moneymaker for its parent company, The Walt Disney Company, but previous attempts to expand its appeal have sometimes run into trouble. A fictional series, “Playmakers,” antagonized the National Football League with its depiction of drug use and sex in professional sports and was later canceled.
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