ESPN sets Dick Vitale return date for Duke-Wake Forest
Vitale is set to make his highly anticipated return to ESPN's college basketball coverage for Duke-Wake Forest on Jan. 25.
Vitale is set to make his highly anticipated return to ESPN's college basketball coverage for Duke-Wake Forest on Jan. 25.
"Greg was a highly accomplished and pioneering figure in sports broadcasting who brought instant credibility to ESPN."
"We will know what our sports fans, what our customers are consuming, and as a result, we will have the ability to present to them a more compelling digital sports experience."
"I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited than anything I’ve been attached to or worked on."
"You have to adjust and that's what we're doing right now."
"We went into it to understanding that what is said on that show might make some people uncomfortable."
"So you can spend hours a day, which would have been unheard of not that long ago, engaging with a sport but never sit down and watch a three-hour window."
ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro made a big statement about all the bells and whistles that will come along with the new DTC streaming option.
The two sides have not begun negotiations yet, but will before ESPN's opt-out hits in 2025.
"The reason why we licensed in the show was to attract the younger audience in large part."
"It is really focused on sports fans that are not currently part of the MVPD ecosystem..."
"We are very interested in continuing to identify partnerships on a team-specific basis."
"They understand that this is where our audience is migrating — to these direct-to-consumer platforms – and so we need to be there."
Pitaro said McAfee is also bringing in important young viewers to ESPN.
NFL executives felt "blindsided" after being left in the dark on the announcement of the planned streaming service.
"Jimmy Pitaro did call Jimmy Kimmel and did a pretty good job, I believe, of talking him down."
"They should have bought DraftKings. They should have been on the ground floor."
As ESPN lays off more accomplished reporters each year and works to cut investment deals with America’s biggest...
"I’d be lying if didn’t tell you this Charter deal wasn’t critical."
"When something happens in the sports industry, people look to ESPN."