FACT SHEET
About ESPN
What is ESPN?
ESPN is an international sports network.
It was founded in 1979 in Bristol, Conn.
John Skipper is the current president.
ESPN is the first network to have complete sports coverage 24/7.
It broadcasts 65 sports in more than 200 countries.
In 2012, it broadcasted 30,000 hours of sports coverage.
The company has over 50 business entities including cable
networks, websites, magazines, and event management.
Who owns ESPN?
The company is 80% owned by ABC Inc., a Walt Disney Company
affiliate.
The Hearst Corporation owns the other 20% of ESPN.
ESPN contributes to 40% of Walt Disney’s value.
It generated approximately $11 billion in revenue in 2012.
Where is ESPN located?
It primarily operates from Bristol, Conn.
There are offices located in Beijing, New York, Sydney, Mumbai,
Shanghai, Toronto, London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and other
international locations.
There are 7,000 employees worldwide.
Contacts:
Brooke Rightnour, Ashley Loiacono
Directors of Public Relations
860-766-2358, 860-766-2357
brightnour@espn.com, aloiacono@espn.com, www.espn.com
###
ESPN is Kicking-Off its First Ever Art Show with Notorious NFL Players
Who:
ESPN is teaming up with Fresh Artists Organization, a nonprofit
organization devoted to saving art programs for all children.
What:
Star NFL Players are holding a free art show exhibiting student artwork
from around the nation. Paintings, photographs and drawings will be on
display both inside and outside of the ESPN Club. Artwork will be
auctioned to special invited guests like NFL Players Eli Manning, Reggie
Bush and Tom Brady. The day festivities will also include a
complimentary lunch for the invited guests and media, as well as a photo
opportunity with the players and a Q&A session with the president of
ESPN, John Skipper.
When:
The event will take place Monday, December 23, 2013 from
9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The auction will begin at 3 p.m. Media check in
will be at 8:30 a.m.
Where:
ESPN Club in Walt Disney World
2101 Epcot Resorts Blvd
Orlando, FL 32836
Why:
ESPN wants to help spread awareness regarding the importance of art
courses in public education. Art classes have been overshadowed in school
districts by sports and are typically the first program to be cut when school
funds are low. By teaming up with Fresh Artists Organization, ESPN
wants to showcase the significance art classes have on student creativity
and learning.
Press:
Interviews with Eli Manning, Reggie Bush and Tom Brady will be
available for the media at the following designated times: Tom Brady 9:45
a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Reggie Bush 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Tom Brady
12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. These interviews will not be one-on-one therefore all
questions may not be addressed. Photographs are permitted if the
photographer is approved beforehand. The Q&A session will be taking
place after the auction; depending on the length of the auction, the time of
the Q&A Session will be determined the day of the event.
Contacts:
Ashley Loiacono & Brooke Rightnour
Directors of Public Relations
860-766-2357 & 860-766-2358
aloiacono@espn.com, brightnour@espn.com, http://www.espn.com ###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ESPN Displays Art
Suggested Radio News Release Copy
(30-Seconds)
ART PROGRAMS IN PUBLIC EDUCATION ARE BEING CUT. HELP ESPN SAVE
ART COURSES IN SCHOOLS ACROSS THE NATION BY ATTENDING THEIR
FIRST EVER ART SHOW IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA. STUDENTS CAN SUBMIT
ARTWORK ONLINE THAT WILL BE DISPLAYED AT WALT DISNEY WORLD.
THE ARTWORK WILL BE AUCTIONED OFF TO SPECIAL GUESTS INCLUDING
NFL HALL OF FAMER JOE MONTANA AND ACTOR WILL SMITH. FOR MORE
INFORMATION, GO TO W-W-W (DOT) FRESH ARTISTS (DOT) ORG.
(20-Seconds)
HELP ESPN SAVE ART PROGRAMS IN PUBLIC EDUCATION. ATTEND THEIR
FIRST EVER ART SHOW AT WALT DISNEY WORLD AND SUBMIT ARTWORK
ONLINE THAT WILL BE AUCTIONED OFF TO SPECIAL GUESTS INCLUDING
NFL HALL OF FAMER JOE MONTANA AND ACTOR WILL SMITH. GO TO W-WW (DOT) FRESH ARTISTS (DOT) ORG.
(15-Seconds)
JOIN ESPN IN SAVING ART PROGRAMS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS BY ATTENDING
THEIR FIRST EVER ART SHOW AT WALT DISNEY WORLD AND SUBMIT
ARTWORK ONLINE FOR AUCTIONING. GO TO W-W-W (DOT) FRESH ARTISTS
(DOT) ORG.
Contacts:
Brooke Rightnour
Director of Public Relations
860-766-2358
brightnour@espn.com
www.espn.com
Ashley Loiacono
Director of Public Relations
860-766-2357
aloiacono@espn.com
www.espn.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
America’s Votes Crowned A Churchill High School Student As The
Artist’s Touchdown Competition Winner
Super Bowl XLVIII Champions, The Philadelphia Eagles, Will Ride
Matthew Baldric’s Float at Disney World’s Super Bowl Parade
BRISTOL, Conn. (Feb. 3, 2014) — ESPN (NYSE: DIS) announced at last night’s Super
Bowl halftime that Churchill High School freshman Matthew Baldric is The Artist’s
Touchdown float design winner. Baldric’s painting “The Art of Sports” was transformed
into an 11 by 13 foot float for the Eagles to celebrate their victory on in Disney World.
Along with transforming his creation into reality, Baldric will have the opportunity to
ride on the float with the team members of the Eagles.
The winning design featured the unification of art and football by creating a football field
made out of art supplies. Showcasing multiple art styles, Baldric made a field goal out of
paintbrushes and yard lines out of ceramics. Baldric was one of the 4,522 students who
submitted his work for The Artist’s Touchdown and his creativity moved him on to the
final round of judging. Out of the 25 selected finalists, the Eugene, Ore. native received
45 percent of the total 3 million votes, against all the other student submissions
nationwide.
In Baldric’s submission, he discussed the difficulties of expressing his creativity after last
year’s budget cuts at Churchill High School. He heard about the competition through his
football coach, James Wall, who encouraged the team to submit drawings to The Artist’s
Touchdown.
“Art was my favorite subject, it allowed me to use my imagination and put my skills to
use. So when they cut art programs I had difficulty stimulating my mind. The
competition’s cause affected me personally, I’m a strong supporter of saving the arts, and
I wanted to show how sports is an art form as well,” said Baldric.
Baldric’s art will debut in its 3-D form to thousands in Disney World. While other
finalists will have their drawing submissions displayed throughout the theme park,
Baldric’s was the only one that was used to create the float.
ESPN is proud of the support and donations made for The Fresh Artists Organization
through this process and have already contributed funds to reestablishing Churchill High
School’s art program. Due to art classes being cut in the previous years, the funds will
allow the school to revitalize the arts and rehire the teachers who were recently let go.
ESPN President, John Skipper, hopes by showcasing athletes on the winning design,
schools will realize the equality of the two programs.
– more –
“We did not expect such a great turnout and cannot stress how much of an impact this
competition has made to schools nationwide. Baldric’s design highlighted the importance
of art and how prominent art is to every aspect of our lives. He truly redefined the divide
between sports and art,” said Skipper.
Congratulations to Matthew Baldric for winning the first annual The Artist’s Touchdown
float design competition. Make sure to check out the picture of the float at Churchill High
School.
Due to the success of the competition, ESPN and Fresh Artists Organization made plans
to renew the competition for 2015. Details will be available on both http://espn.go.com/
and http://freshartists.org/. To help save the art programs in schools donate to
http://freshartists.org/ and spread the word.
About ESPN
ESPN is an international sports network. It is the first network to have complete sports
coverage 24/7. With over 50 business entities, ESPN brought in approximately $11
billion in revenue in 2012. It is also known as “ The World Wide Leader in Sports,”
broadcasting 65 sports in more than 200 countries.
Contact:
Ashley Loiacono
Director of Public Relations
860-766-2357
Aloiacono@espn.com, www.espn.com
###
Social Media Plan
Current Usage
Twitter: We are utilizing twitter to comment on sport news and report game scores. We
include pictures and videos to better illustrate our tweet. We interact with our fans by
asking questions and actively “retweeting.” Our purpose is to inform and entertain our
followers. We are striving to improve our account by interacting with more players and
companies.
Facebook: Our Facebook page is dedicated to sharing sports news and engaging with
fans. We update our page daily with links, pictures and videos that are commonly shared
or liked. Similar to our Twitter account, our purpose is to entertain our viewers with our
clever comments and covering news across various leagues. Our team is developing more
interactive and exclusive contests for our page viewers.
YouTube: Our channel consists of sport highlights, commercials and clips from our
broadcasts. YouTube serves to connect the viewer to ESPN at a more personal level with
insider access to employee and player interviews. We have also developed a sports show,
solely for our YouTube audience with news and game commentaries.
Pinterest: Our communications department manages our ESPN PR Pinterest account. We
have over 10 boards including “ ESPN PR Team,” “Life at ESPN” and “ESPN News.”
Our account focuses on an inside look into our company’s culture and employees. Boards
are also dedicated to sports, company images, news, and announcements. We are
improving on sharing more personal posts to provide a deeper insight into our company.
Blogs: We contribute to 25 blogs varying from different sport leagues to major cities in
which we operate. Our blogs can be found through our website with contributions from
ESPN researchers, journalists and even broadcasters. They vary in content including
news, commentaries and statistics.
Posts
Twitter:
December 23rd: @FreshArtists we can't wait to touch down with you in February after
previewing the young talent in Orlando. #Superbowl #SavetheArt
January 2nd: @KingJames Great game last night! You must be busy with breaking
records, but check out http://www.freshartists.org. #ArtistsTouchdown
November 23rd: @WaltDisneyWorld can’t wait to make young artist’s dreams come true
next month. Thanks for holding this event for! #ArtistsTouchdown
Facebook:
November 30th: If you thought last night’s game was unbelievable, check out the art
submitted by students on www.freshartists.org. After reviewing the art, like this post and
comment to tell us your favorite piece. One lucky winner will get the chance to see all of
these submissions in Orlando, Florida on December 28th after our first annual art show
with a full expense trip on us. READY, SET GO!
December 21st: With less than one week until our first ever student art show in Disney
World, we want you to comment and tell us what YOUR favorite activity in art class!
January 24th: Have you voted for your favorite float design yet? If the answer is YES,
than you could be the lucky winner of two Super Bowl tickets and maybe you will see
your favorite float design winner during the halftime show! Check out the submissions at
www.freshartists.org!
YouTube:
December 22nd: A video following NFL superstars Eli and Peyton Manning as they tour
an elementary school. Instead of interacting with the kids by playing football, the
Manning brothers enter the art room and paint pictures with the class.
January 1st: A video collaborated with various NFL players including Tom Brady and
Reggie Bush, making a statement for public schools to save their art programs. The end
of the video asks viewers to visit the Fresh Artists website to make a donation today.
February 1st: A video the day before the Super Bowl showing the players after practice on
their phones in the locker room and visiting FreshArtists.Org. They remind the audience
that they still have time to vote for the best float design on the website and that every vote
makes a difference.
Pinterest:
November 17th: A page highlighting the student submissions, encouraging all the
followers to vote for their favorite.
December 25th: A behind the scenes look of the sports center set during the holidays with
decorations and employees in the holiday spirit, wishing all of the followers a “Merry
Christmas.”
January 15th: A look at some of the players that are participating in the Super Bowl
outside of football, including shots of them with their families, friends and relaxing.
Blogs:
December 29th: We start a blog series asking various NFL players their favorite subject in
art or a memory in art class. Then, we would highlight a particular player and his favorite
topic and possibly show a picture of a piece of art they saved from school.