The Disney Subsidiary ESPNU

37 years ago, on July 14, 1978, ESPN, the self-proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in Sports” debuted on cable television all over the United States.  In fact, when ESPN made its debut, the first words were spoken by anchor Lee Leonard, and he said, “If you love sports if you really love sports, you’ll think you’ve died and gone to sports heaven (Gamache).  This love of sports escalated immensely over the next 30 years.  This led to a large increase of the ESPN network which expanded into what we know today as ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN 3, ESPNews, ESPN Classic, ESPN Plus, ESPN Deportes, and ESPNU. (ESPN)

ESPNU, also known as ESPN University, is a channel that is primarily dedicated to the coverage of college athletics and is also used as an additional outlet for general ESPN programming. ESPNU first debuted on premium cable television on March 4th, 2005 (ESPN MZ).  ESPNU has rights to 14 major Division I athletic conferences including the coveted Big Ten, Big 12, ACC (Atlantic Coastal Conference) and the SEC (Southeastern Conference).  In 2014, the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC collected a combined $311 million just from bowl games and NCAA Tournament payouts (Smith).  ESPNU also broadcasts a multitude of collegiate sports for both men and women including Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, and Volleyball. 

The key executives for ESPN Incorporated include President John D. Skipper, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Christine Driessen, President of Global Customer Marketing & Sales Edward Erhardt, Editor-In-Chief Sambit Bal, and Senior Vice President of Multimedia Sales and Sales Professional Patricia Betron (Bloomberg).  These key executives are responsible for all of ESPN’s media relations.  The executive board is fairly diverse consisting of two middle-aged white women, one middle-aged man of Indian descent, and two middle-aged white men.  In an age where most executive board members are older white men, it is refreshing to see a company have some sort of diversity in their powerful leadership positions.  Disney, the parent company of ESPN, is a company that conceits itself as one that has developed a diverse workplace environment. (Disney)

The Walt Disney Company takes immense pride in its image that it protects childhood innocence. Disney attempts to shield children from the negative influences of the outside world and present them to a magical world where everything is happy and simple. “Disney offers children the opportunity to dream, indicating the desire of fantasies that contain utopian traces and offering an antidote to boredom, brutality, and emptiness of everyday life (Giroux p.7).”  These utopian traces fall back on Disney creating a safe space for children where they can live and dream. A space where the dangers of the outside cannot harm them.  This, in turn, translates to ESPNU creating a utopian world for the avid fan of collegiate athletics.  This is the only true purpose for ESPNU, and they have done it very well over the last 11 years.  The Walt Disney Company loves to create new worlds where everyone’s dreams can come true, and their venture into sports entertainment is no different.

The Walt Disney Company is far removed from the little animation studio that produced black and white short films.  Regardless of their claims, Disney is no longer focused on producing content solely for young children.  “Disney's view of children as consumers has little to do with innocence and a great deal to do with corporate greed and the realization that behind the vocabulary of family fun and wholesome entertainment is the opportunity to teach children that critical thinking and civic action in society should be far less important to them than assuming the role of passive consumers (Giroux p. 209).”  As with any corporation, Disney’s main purpose is to make as much money as possible. This is the best explanation as to why Disney ventured into the sports broadcasting industry.  ESPNU is one of the many ventures of Disney and their horizontal and vertical integration into different forms of entertainment.

All in all, The Walt Disney Corporation is one the largest media conglomerates in the world.  This is a result of their careful financial planning, intelligent decision making, and ability to use the emotions of consumers to their advantage.  Disney is a mainstay in entertainment and they are showing no signs of slowing.  ESPN Incorporated dominates the sports broadcasting industry, and this is a direct reflection the power given to them by their parent company in Disney.  The men and women who are running ESPNU know what it takes to be successful, they know what it takes to appeal to viewers, and they know what it takes to dominate the sports entertainment industry.

References

Bloomberg, "ESPN, Inc.: CEO And Executives - Businessweek". Bloomberg.com. N.p., 2016. ……………Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

Disney, "The Walt Disney Company Recognized For Diversity Leadership - The Walt Disney ……………Company". The Walt Disney Company. N.p., 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

ESPN MZ, "ESPN, Inc. Fact Sheet - ESPN Media zone". ESPN MediaZone. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

ESPN, "ESPN TV Listings - ESPN". ESPN.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

Gamache, Ray. A History of Sports Highlights. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2010. Print.

Giroux, Henry A, and Grace Pollock. The Mouse That Roared. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & ……………Littlefield Publishers, 2010. Print.

Smith, Chris. "Forbes Welcome". Forbes.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.