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At ESPN’s upfront event Tuesday, John Skipper VP of Programming said the company is planning its “biggest marketing campaign ever” to drive interest in next summer’s World Cup.
“All 64 games will be carried on ESPN from South Africa. While making the announcement of the coming marketing investment, Skipper mentioned the tagline “One Game Changes Everything” that ESPN used to plug the 2006 event, hinting it may return. Word of ESPN’s emphasis on the World Cup comes after it suffered a setback with soccer programming last month, losing North American rights to the UEFA Champions League, a tournament in which the best teams in Europe compete, to Fox Soccer Channel.ESPN owns the rights to the World Cup through 2014 — games are carried on Internet hub ESPN360.com and mobile platforms, as well as ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. No ads run during the game action, but sponsors receive on-air mention, as well as an opportunity to place a logo on-screen next to the score line.”
