ESPN Looking Into TV Branded Opportunities

(From Sports Business Daily)

ESPN at the CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW in LAS VEGAS in January "met with major consumer electronics manufacturers, looking for a source of ESPN-branded TV's," according to ERIC TAUB of THE NEW YORK TIMES.

ESPN Director of Media Relations SANDREA CARREON-JOHN said the network "has had preliminary conversations to explore the idea, but there’s nothing concrete." Taub notes ESPN is also considering "offering special content to owners of its TVs." If the venture "is undertaken, it will come under the umbrella of ESPN's CONSUMER PRODUCTS GROUP."

ENVISIONEERING GROUP analyst RICHARD DOHERTY, a former consultant on DISNEY's sale of branded TVs at WAL-MART, said, "An ESPN-branded TV could arrive tuned to ESPN. It would be dumb to send out a TV with a built-in (personal video recorder) if the PVR was empty."

With ESPN "looking to add original content" to its repackaged wireless offering when it launches next year, an ESPN exec said, "We may even hire talent to host wireless content."