With Disney And Outside Partners, ESPN Goes HollywoodWhile ESPN currently dominates sports on television, the cable heavyweight is now making a run at the big screen.
Coming on March 16 is a two-part, four-hour television documentary called “Black Magic,” a portrayal of the civil rights movement as told through the lives of basketball players and coaches.
ESPN said it would collaborate with Creative Artists Agency and Walt Disney Studios to produce and distribute theatrical films with sports themes. As part of the network’s expansion in filmed entertainment, ESPN is also hiring 30 filmmakers to produce one-hour mini-movies to appear on the channel starting in September 2009.
“We see this as a new way to reach sports fans and engage them,” said Keith Clinkscales, ESPN’s senior vice president for content development. “A lot of people who spend time being engaged in ESPN also spend a lot of time going to the movies.”
Movies will be financed by Walt Disney, which owns ESPN; outside investors; or a combination thereof. ESPN executives declined to comment on financial elements, except to say budgets would vary by project.
The self-proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in Sports” is on a mission to tap into new areas of growth as it faces challenges in its core operations. ESPN, which is nearing its 30th birthday, remains one of the media industry’s biggest gold mines, with successful magazine and Internet extensions to complement its suite of cable channels.
But ESPN must also battle the exploding amount of sports video on the Web and maintain growth as cable operators resist paying higher subscription fees for the right to carry its programming (ESPN charges about $3.50 a month for each subscriber; the vast majority of cable channels charge well under $1.).
Recently, ESPN has been hiring sports journalists from magazines and newspapers to strengthen its bench of pundits while retooling its approach to live streaming video on the Web and mobile devices.
ESPN’s sports expertise, the deep talent relationships of Creative Artists and the movie-making experience of Walt Disney Studios may add up to a dream team, but producers warn that sports-themed movies are among the most difficult to execute. It is difficult to break free of the formulaic storytelling arc of win, loss and comeback.
ESPN’s core audience is young men, but women typically drive movie-going decisions. And most studios shy away from sports-themed pictures because they can be a difficult sell to international distributors.
“These movies are an incredible balancing act,” said Ron Shelton, the writer of “Bull Durham” and “White Men Can’t Jump.” Mr. Shelton, who has also had his share of misses — like “Play It to the Bone,” starring Antonio Banderas as a boxer — added that it is tricky to dramatize sports without sacrificing the kind of realistic portrayals fans crave.
As it moves deeper into filmed entertainment, ESPN also needs to be careful not to damage its symbiotic relationship with sports leagues. It is a risk the network knows all too well. In 2003, ESPN programmers drew strong criticism from the National Football League for “Playmakers,” an effort at a drama series that depicted steroid use and players hiding cocaine from the police.
Mr. Clinkscales points to ESPN’s recent experience with scripted television as evidence that the new entity, ESPN Films, will succeed. The channel’s eight-part miniseries “The Bronx Is Burning,” shown last July, was praised by critics. A 2004 made-for-television movie about the late Nascar legend Dale Earnhardt, “3,” drew raves along with stellar ratings.
Coming on March 16 is a two-part, four-hour television documentary called “Black Magic,” a portrayal of the civil rights movement as told through the lives of basketball players and coaches.
“We believe this represents a big score for sports fans and moviegoers alike,” said Richard Cook, the chairman of Walt Disney Studios. Mr. Cook noted that Disney has had success with such sports-themed movies as “Remember the Titans” and “The Rookie.”
Bringing Creative Artists into the fold signals ESPN’s seriousness to Hollywood, Mr. Clinkscales said. The agency, a leading talent representative, has in recent years expanded aggressively into sports representation, picking up clients like Peyton Manning, David Beckham and LeBron James. In addition to helping to line up financing, Creative Artists may also place its athlete-performers in the films.
David O’Connor, a Creative Artists partner and managing director, called ESPN Films a “natural and exciting” extension of the brand.
Close watchers of ESPN know that the network has been ramping up its filmed entertainment efforts for some time. Last year, the network helped create the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival to showcase the genre, and the company in January acquired “Kicking It,” about street soccer players, at the Sundance Film Festival.
By NY Times writer BROOKS BARNES
Coming on March 16 is a two-part, four-hour television documentary called “Black Magic,” a portrayal of the civil rights movement as told through the lives of basketball players and coaches.
ESPN said it would collaborate with Creative Artists Agency and Walt Disney Studios to produce and distribute theatrical films with sports themes. As part of the network’s expansion in filmed entertainment, ESPN is also hiring 30 filmmakers to produce one-hour mini-movies to appear on the channel starting in September 2009.
“We see this as a new way to reach sports fans and engage them,” said Keith Clinkscales, ESPN’s senior vice president for content development. “A lot of people who spend time being engaged in ESPN also spend a lot of time going to the movies.”
Movies will be financed by Walt Disney, which owns ESPN; outside investors; or a combination thereof. ESPN executives declined to comment on financial elements, except to say budgets would vary by project.
The self-proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in Sports” is on a mission to tap into new areas of growth as it faces challenges in its core operations. ESPN, which is nearing its 30th birthday, remains one of the media industry’s biggest gold mines, with successful magazine and Internet extensions to complement its suite of cable channels.
But ESPN must also battle the exploding amount of sports video on the Web and maintain growth as cable operators resist paying higher subscription fees for the right to carry its programming (ESPN charges about $3.50 a month for each subscriber; the vast majority of cable channels charge well under $1.).
Recently, ESPN has been hiring sports journalists from magazines and newspapers to strengthen its bench of pundits while retooling its approach to live streaming video on the Web and mobile devices.
ESPN’s sports expertise, the deep talent relationships of Creative Artists and the movie-making experience of Walt Disney Studios may add up to a dream team, but producers warn that sports-themed movies are among the most difficult to execute. It is difficult to break free of the formulaic storytelling arc of win, loss and comeback.
ESPN’s core audience is young men, but women typically drive movie-going decisions. And most studios shy away from sports-themed pictures because they can be a difficult sell to international distributors.
“These movies are an incredible balancing act,” said Ron Shelton, the writer of “Bull Durham” and “White Men Can’t Jump.” Mr. Shelton, who has also had his share of misses — like “Play It to the Bone,” starring Antonio Banderas as a boxer — added that it is tricky to dramatize sports without sacrificing the kind of realistic portrayals fans crave.
As it moves deeper into filmed entertainment, ESPN also needs to be careful not to damage its symbiotic relationship with sports leagues. It is a risk the network knows all too well. In 2003, ESPN programmers drew strong criticism from the National Football League for “Playmakers,” an effort at a drama series that depicted steroid use and players hiding cocaine from the police.
Mr. Clinkscales points to ESPN’s recent experience with scripted television as evidence that the new entity, ESPN Films, will succeed. The channel’s eight-part miniseries “The Bronx Is Burning,” shown last July, was praised by critics. A 2004 made-for-television movie about the late Nascar legend Dale Earnhardt, “3,” drew raves along with stellar ratings.
Coming on March 16 is a two-part, four-hour television documentary called “Black Magic,” a portrayal of the civil rights movement as told through the lives of basketball players and coaches.
“We believe this represents a big score for sports fans and moviegoers alike,” said Richard Cook, the chairman of Walt Disney Studios. Mr. Cook noted that Disney has had success with such sports-themed movies as “Remember the Titans” and “The Rookie.”
Bringing Creative Artists into the fold signals ESPN’s seriousness to Hollywood, Mr. Clinkscales said. The agency, a leading talent representative, has in recent years expanded aggressively into sports representation, picking up clients like Peyton Manning, David Beckham and LeBron James. In addition to helping to line up financing, Creative Artists may also place its athlete-performers in the films.
David O’Connor, a Creative Artists partner and managing director, called ESPN Films a “natural and exciting” extension of the brand.
Close watchers of ESPN know that the network has been ramping up its filmed entertainment efforts for some time. Last year, the network helped create the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival to showcase the genre, and the company in January acquired “Kicking It,” about street soccer players, at the Sundance Film Festival.
By NY Times writer BROOKS BARNES