ESPN Classic Sport launches localized feed in Poland,
following successful subscriber pick up.
Following the successful subscriber pick up in Poland, ESPN Classic Sport is introducing a two hour local-language feed from 20.00 – 22.00, Sunday to Fridays, commencing Monday, 9 January 2006. This investment in a dedicated Polish-language block, demonstrates the network’s commitment to offering its viewers the best local and international 24/7 classic sports programming service.
To kick off the localized service, ESPN Classic Sport is televising ‘Poland at the Olympics’ at 19.30 on 9 January, which tracks the triumphs and trophies of some of Poland’s top athletes. The half hour documentary, produced by ESPN, tells the story of the country’s 88 Olympic Gold medallists, from their first Olympic Games in 1924 in Paris to Atlanta in 1996.
Since ESPN Classic Sport launched in Poland in October 2005, the channel has attracted over 1.2 million viewers, a strong fan base, and is now available on a variety of operators including UPC Poland, Polsat and Cyfra+.
ESPN Classic Sport is dedicated to delivering the best entertainment sports programming to wherever sports are watched, listened, discussed, debated, read about or played. Since its launch in 2002, ESPN Classic Sport has powered through Europe attracting over 16 million viewers in over 40 countries, including Italy, France, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Belgium, Monaco, Poland, Portugal and Croatia.
For more information, please contact:
ESPN Classic Sport
Mike McKibbin, Director of Marketing, ESPN Classic Sport, London, tel: +44 20 8233 66 31,
e-mail: mmckibbin@espn-cs.com
or
Sarah Horner, PR for ESPN Classic Sport, Madrid, Tel: + 34 91 622 16 93 or + 34 69 66 52 146
e-mail: shorner@espn-cs.com
or
Chris Bellitti, ESPN Corporate Communications, Tel: +212 456 02 65
E-mail: chris.bellitti@espn.com or visit: http://www.espnclassicsport.com/
PHOTOS & PROGRAMME INFORMATION:
Programme Highlights and a selection of sports photos are available as jpegs via lwilliams@espn-cs.com
Visit: http://www.espnclassicsport.com/
Editors’ Notes:
· ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company, featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.
· ESPN Classic Sport is 100 % owned by ESPN Inc
· In the United States, ESPN Classic is the leader in presenting classic moments in sport, and now reaches over 55 million households. ESPN also has an equity interest in ESPN Classic Canada.
· The company is comprised of seven domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU , ESPN Today). ESPN, the flagship network, reaches more than 89 million US households.
· ESPN Classic sport launched in Europe in 2002, with a 24/7 local service in France and Italy. In December 2003 a pan-European English language channel was launched in Europe, which is now available in 40 countries, reaching over 16 million subscribers.