ESPN2 will turn Friday nights this summer into a night more aimed at
audiences of color.
For 10 weeks starting June 20, the network will turn its 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
EST schedule into a "block party," with programs connected by host wraparounds
from New York. First on the block will be new episodes of The Life,
ESPN2's ongoing on/off-field view of athletes, followed by Street Ball,
covering street-basketball-tournament action around the country.
A show in development from ESPN's original-entertainment unit will premiere
at either 8 p.m. or 8:30 p.m., with Friday Night Fights occupying 9 p.m.
to 11 p.m.
Wraparounds will offer athlete interviews, celebrity visits and music
performances, ESPN senior vice president of research and sales development Artie
Bulgrin said.
The format will be geared toward urban youth, particularly African-American,
Latino and Asian men.
Separately, work continues on getting ESPN Deportes launched around-the-clock
this fall, Bulgrin said. The Spanish-language service has been running as a
separate Sunday-night simulcast for two years, available in about 13 million
households.
ESPN's operator-carriage appeals for Deportes are under way, concentrating on
the top 40 Hispanic markets. NFL Sunday Night Football will get a
Deportes run, as will the X Games, boxing, pro basketball, tennis and golf.
Original nonevent programming is coming together, led by a Spanish-language
SportsCenter with its own anchor and production talent.
In the works is Perfiles (Profiles), looking at Latin-American
sport stars, and a set of weekly single-sport highlight
series.
