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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 9,2007
》 SPORTS BUSINESS
Mobile ESPN returns
Verizon to provide sports feed by phone
BY BRUCE MEYERSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The rocketing to bring the most popular names from TV and the Web to cell phones produced another exclusive deal Thursday with Verizon Wireless nabbing a multi-year agreement to offer ESPN's flashy feed of sports scores, newscasts and video highlights on the tiny screen.
The plan to revive Mobile ESPN — initially born as a full-blown cell phone company competing with big players like Verizon before ESPN pulled the plug last year — comes on the heels of similar partnerships adding a mobile outlet to the hottest Web properties.
The most publicized deal came a month ago as Apple Inc. forged an exclusive arrangement with AT&T Inc.'s Gingular Wireless for
now installed on nearly every cell phone. ESPN, for example, will still offer mobile access to some of its content through Web links featured by numerous wireless providers.
But since the most widely used technology for adapting Web pages to mobile phones remains highly imperfect, the recent partnerships are designed to provide much smoother controls and presentation customized to the constraints of a handset's small screen and cramped buttons.
ESPN, for example, will still offer mobile access to some of its content through Web links featured by numerous wireless providers.
The partners have somewhat different motivations. The Webplayers are simply trying to pallay their success into new revenue and protect their popularity against copcats by providing access in a
the carrier to offer iPhone, the anxiously-awaited cellular manifestation of Apple's popular iPod music player and iTunes online music store.
medium that younger consumers hold dear.
Verizon Wireless notched deals in November to become the sole U.S. mobile portal for two top video-sharing sites, Google Inc's YouTube and Rever.com On the social networking side. News Corp's MySpace has granted limited exclusivity to AT&T's Cingular in the United States and to Vodafone Group PLC overseas.
for cell carriers, the deals provide a way to differentiate themselves at a time
Exclusive arrangements don't necessarily mean that customers of other wireless companies are out of luck. Regardless of the carrier, it's still possible to access most of these services through the mobile Web browser that's
when revenue from phone calls is shrinking. All of the national providers have invested billions to upgrade their wireless networks, which they are using to generate new revenue by selling multimedia content from music to video and plain old Web surfing.
The Mobile ESPN service, expected to launch in the coming months, is to be included free as part of the $15 a month or $3 a day charge for V Cast's assorted multimedia offerings.
The Verizon relationship is the first example of the new strategy that ESPN executives promised last September in announcing they were pulling the plug on Mobile ESPN as a standalone cell phone company featuring its own handsets, calling plans, customer service and monthly phone bills.
what others are Saying
Regional and national media's take on Kansas athletics
Collected by Ryan Schneider
"Biggest disappointment: Kansas. The biggest reason Kansas can look great one minute and lost the next is because the team rides the streaky shooting of enigmatical Brandon Rush, the most overrated player in the Big 12. Coach Bill Self needs to start giving more of Rush's minutes to freshman Sherron Collins, who has been a much more aggressive, scoreer and sparkplug to his teammates. Kansas has had four league games come down to the final seconds – going 2-2. In those games, Rush was 16-of-54 from the field (291) while averaging 12 points. Collins was 23-of-37 (622) while averaging 15.3 points."
"Maybe things will be different in 12 days when they meet again in Manhattan. I doubt it. While the Cats are likely to be far more competitive inside Bramlage Coliseum, Huggins simply doesn't have the talented bodies to match up with Self's collection of NBA players. It's going to take Walker, the injured freshman, and Beasley, the nation's top recruit for 2007-08, to make this series legit. Right now Kansas has every conceivable talent advantage and a million different ways to exploit those advantages."
—Dallas Morning News columnist Chip Brown's weekly Big 12 wrap up. Feb. 5.
-Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock on Wednesday's game, Feb. 8.
"The Kansas State train is coming down the tracks, don't worry about that. But it's not here yet — at least as far as being able to rise to KU's level on a night when the Jayhawks play at a high level. Kansas consumed the Wildcats. If guard Jermaine Maybank doesn't score 26 points, approaching his total in K-State's previous 14 games, the final score isn't fit for family viewing. Now, how will Kansas play Saturday in Columbia against rival Missouri? There wasn't a question as to which was the better team Wednesday, but there are lingering questions about whether Kansas can put together two consecutive great efforts."
"Saturday night was another reminder that Phog Allen, not Cameron, is the best, loudest and most intimidating basketball arena in the country. The alma mater sound, the Rock Chalk Jayhawk chant, the swaying of the crowd and the deafening noise at times, make The Phog a true treasure in the sport."
—Wichita Eagle columnist Bob Lutz on Wednesday's Sunflower Showdown, Feb. 8.
—ESPN.com columnist Andy Katz on the atmosphere at the Kansas-Texas A&M game, Feb. 6.
NBA
Former center comes out in book set to be released-
IN book set to be RELEASED NEWYORK—The small club of openly gay professional male athletes has a new member.
His admission comes three years after his playing career ended, making him the sixth professional
Former NBA center John Amae- chi, who spent five seasons with four teams, became the first NBA player to publicly come out.
male athlete from one of the four major U.S. sports — basketball, baseball, football, hockey — to openly discuss his homosexuality.
Amaechi details his life in his autobiography "Man in the Middle," which will be released Feb. 14.
NFL
Chargers safety Kiel pleads guilty to two drug charges-SAN DIEGO - Chargers safety
Terrence Kiel pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor drug charges for shipping codeine-based cough syrup to Texas, part of a plea bargain that could allow him to avoid jail time.
Kiel was ordered to do 100 hours of volunteer work, including talking to young people about the dangers of drugs, and undergo counseling for gambling.
Half-million tickets sold to regular season Europe game
LONDON — The NFL's first regular-season game outside North America already looks like a big hit.
More than 500,000 tickets were requested by about 160,000 fans in the three days following Friday's official announcement, the NFL said Wednesday.
What do you think?
Associated Press
WHAT SPORT DO YOU THINK DESERVES MORE COVERAGE IN THE KANSAN?
MIKE RATKOVITCH
Milwaukee freshman
JAY WARRING Paola junior
"More club teams like KU hockey. Hockey is a growing sport and I know a few of the guys on the team and they take it very seriously."
"Maybe more intramural sports. Floor hockey at the rec center is cool because I have a lot of friends from Minnesota here and they all play."
BY DAVID ALLEN
SCHAEFFER
COLIN BARNES
Overland Park freshman
"I would have to say rugby, I find it more entertaining than U.S. sports because it's not a stop-and-go type game."
SPIKE EVANS Topeka senior
"Any more female sports would be great. It always just men's basketball."
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