World Cup helps ESPN's expansion plans

NEW YORK ESPN marketers will fan out to bars in ethnic enclaves during World Cup matches to pass out schedules and posters, just one way the sports network is using the quadrennial event to build new audiences in both the U.S. and internationally.The network’s large presence of 300 staff members in South Africa for the soccer tournament could also be seen as a dry run to help a future Olympics bid.

Either ESPN, ESPN2 or corporate sister ABC is televising every one of the 64 scheduled matches in the first year the company has the American television rights to the tournament. ESPN leased rights to televise some games in 2006, covering some of the matches with announcing teams based in a Connecticut studio.

“We think it’s a chance to advance the notion that we are a global entity,” said John Skipper, the network’s executive vice president for content.One way to do that is to start at home. ESPN will promote itself heavily in areas where the network’s emphasis on American sports makes it less interesting to residents. The Greek enclave in Queens, N.Y., San Francisco’s Italian section, Boston’s Portuguese neighborhoods and Los Angeles’ Korean communities – all with fans keen on rooting on ancestral homelands – are among the areas that will get special attention.

Besides sending people to gathering places where the games are being watched, ESPN commissioned a South African artist to make posters honoring each of the participating countries, mixing historical and soccer themes. The U.S. poster, for example, commemorates George Washington crossing the Delaware, with soccer players standing in for his troops.

The network has equipped food trucks with a giant TV on the roof, passing out specialty foods from some of the participating countries in New York and Los Angeles, said Seth Ader, the network’s sports marketing senior director.Online and on ESPN Radio, the company will give fans the option of hearing broadcasts in different languages, including Chinese, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese.

In the U.S., Univision has the rights to Spanish-language broadcasts of the matches. Although ESPN can’t offer Spanish-language broadcasts of the matches, it is moving into the territory by offering 10 hours a day of studio-based Spanish content on its ESPN Deportes network.

Getting an identification as a destination for soccer fans “is a long-term business proposition for us,” Ader said. Showing the World Cup telecast can drum up interest in U.S.-based professional soccer, which ESPN has rights to televise. World Cup soccer is also expected to be a draw for ESPN’s mobile business, too.

Soccer is also key to ESPN’s efforts to expand in international markets. The network made a big move last year by purchasing the rights to show some games in England’s Barclays Premier League.”In order to get a foothold in a number of international markets, they need to get soccer content,” said David Joyce, an analyst for Miller Tabak & Co.

Having a home team helps ESPN but isn’t vital to success, the network’s executives believe. ESPN’s experience covering the European championship in 2008 was instructive: There was no U.S. team for which to root, but ethnic pockets of fans helped the network draw a strong audience, Ader said.

For ESPN, there’s another important audience that will be watching. Following NBC’s coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, rights to future games are up for grabs, and ESPN is expected to be interested. A strong performance at the World Cup could show doubting Olympics officials that ESPN would be up to covering a large, multifaceted event.

“I never think of this as a dress rehearsal,” ESPN’s Skipper said. “We think this entity is special enough as itself to merit this sort of attention. If there were no such thing as the Olympics, we would do the same thing. Having said that, we do believe this will demonstrate to people what we can do with a big quadrennial event. That’s an ancillary benefit.” (AP)

bad behavior of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback' Ben Roethlisberger resulted Wednesday in a six-game suspension by the NFL

bad behavior of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback’ Ben Roethlisberger resulted Wednesday in a six-game suspension by the NFL and reportedly has triggered what once would have been unthinkable: The Steelers are testing the market to trade him.According to an ESPN report, Pittsburgh has been contacting teams selecting in the top 10 of this year’s draft, which begins at 4:30 p.m. PDT Thursday, to gauge interest in the two-time Super Bowl winner. By Wednesday afternoon, the network reported the Steelers had talked to St. Louis, San Francisco, Oakland, Jacksonville, Seattle and Cleveland. The 49ers are the only club without a top-10 pick (13 and 17).In a conference call with reporters, Steelers President Art Rooney II was vague on the subject but didn’t deny his team was shopping the quarterback, who last month was accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old college student in Georgia but will not face charges.

“As we’ve said before, we really can’t answer questions about trades, particularly this time of year,” Rooney said. “We go into every draft with the idea that we’re going to do anything we’ve got to do to make our team a better football team. We just have to stick with that and not discuss trades in advance.”What’s clear is the league and the Steelers have all but run out of patience with Roethlisberger, who last year faced similar accusations by a woman in Nevada. That case also did not bring criminal charges. Since then, reports have swirled that there’s a pattern of bad off-field behavior by the quarterback who once was among the NFL’s most popular players.Roethlisberger will be suspended without pay for six games — losing $2.8 million in salary — for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy, and he must undergo a “comprehensive behavioral evaluation by medical professionals,” the NFL said.

There is some flexibility to the suspension. It could be reduced to four games for good behavior after that behavioral evaluation has taken place, but Roethlisberger cannot attend any Steelers offseason activity until he completes the evaluation process.

“We’re trying to affect behavior here,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has a reputation for disciplining players who run afoul of league policies. “We’re trying to make people understand their responsibility, live up to that standard, avoid making mistakes and use good judgment.”We’re trying to have early intervention so that we can avoid people having criminal activity, deal with the issues and try to get them straightened out so they can lead productive lives. And if they can be great NFL players, terrific.”Rooney said the Steelers support Goodell’s decision and that the club was willing to suspend Roethlisberger if the league did not.

“We do have high standards here,” Rooney said. “But by the same token, we understand that we’re in the people business and people make mistakes. And when they do, we have to follow the procedures.”So far, there’s no indication Roethlisberger plans to appeal the suspension. Rooney was part of the phone call Wednesday when Goodell informed Roethlisberger of the suspension.”His intent here is to follow the program the commissioner sets out,” Rooney said. “It’s our hope and our expectation that that’s what he’s going to do.”

presenter ESPN's Erin Andrews Video was contain viruses

Videos that show presenter ESPN’s Erin Andrews sexy naked in his hotel, save a great danger. Video was there that contain viruses that can infect your computer. But once the Internet users do not care and remain diligent search for this video.According to Google Trends data search with the keyword “Erin Andrews video” position 10 of the most searched items on Google.Erin Andrews is the second high-level profile in the last weeks that are used to spread malware. Previously dangerous programs profiteer Michael Jackson’s death on July 7 by offering teaser Jacko secret song.

In addition to containing the virus fake video, nude video was reported there. Andrews and ESPN’s lawyers have protested to several sites including YouTube and NSFW POA that Erin was naked video was pulled.Although already removed, people are still busy mengobok-obok Internet to find a video of five minutes duration was reported Andrews was standing in front of the hotel’s glass.

Lawyer Andrews, Marshall B Grossman said he would sue the person who took the video, because it violates privacy and publishing indecent material. Andrews has become a sensation on the Internet, even before the video was circulated.He has been called the Erin Pageviews because of traffic caused by the video clips and photos. Playboy magazine is also referred to him as the presenter of the sexiest sport in 2008 and 2009.

ESPN reporter's stalker gets 3 years in prison

LOS ANGELES An Illinois insurance executive who secretly shot nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews was sentenced Monday to 2 1/2 years in prison after giving a tearful apology that was harshly rebuked by his victim.Michael David Barrett pleaded guilty in December to interstate stalking after prosecutors accused him of following the reporter to at least three cities and shooting the videos through hotel peepholes.

Barrett, 48, of suburban Chicago, agreed to a 27-month prison sentence after pleading guilty but it was up to the judge to decide how long he would actually serve.Andrews urged the judge at the hearing for a harsher sentence and said she fears for her life every time she enters a hotel.”You violated me and you violated all women,” Andrews told Barrett. “You are a sexual predator, a sexual deviant and they should lock you up.”After the sentencing, she said, “Thirty months isn’t enough.”Barrett admitted renting hotel rooms next to Andrews three times and shooting two videos of her while she was naked. He was accused of posting the videos online and trying to sell them to Los Angeles-based celebrity gossip site TMZ last year.U.S. District Judge Manuel Real said he gave Barrett the maximum sentence under the law.

“The victim, Andrews, will be suffering with this problem for the rest of her life,” Real said. “There is no life sentence that can be imposed upon him, except his own guilt.”Barrett cried as he addressed Andrews in court, saying he would spend the rest of his life regaining the respect of his friends and family and atoning for his mistakes.”There are no words to tell Ms. Andrews how sorry I am for what I’ve done to her,” he said. “I hope someday she can forgive me.”Andrews, visibly nervous as she spoke, said she had no sympathy for Barrett’s claim he was publicly humiliated.”It’s my body on the Internet,” she said. “I’m being traumatized every single day for what he did. … This will never be over for me.”Barrett, who has until May 3 to surrender, was ordered to have supervised probation for three years after his release, during which he will be prohibited from contacting Andrews, her family or friends.

He will not be allowed to stay in a hotel without approval of a probation officer and if he accepts employment somewhere, Andrews will be notified. Barrett was also ordered to pay $5,000 in fines and $7,366 in restitution, but the judge said further restitution may be imposed to compensate ESPN.Barrett’s lawyer, David Willingham, said his client is undergoing psychological treatment and “has sought the path of redemption.””Mr. Barrett has lost everything he built throughout his life,” Willingham said. “He’s lost his career, his fiancee and his life savings. He knows that he brought this on himself.”Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have agreed not to pursue further charges against Barrett. However, he could face criminal action in other states stemming from other videos he allegedly shot of unsuspecting nude women through peepholes.

Andrews’ attorney, Marshall Grossman, has said there could be as many as a dozen other women that Barrett taped.A sentencing memo filed last month in federal court says Barrett uploaded videos of 16 other women to an online account.Barrett also allegedly conducted 30 Internet background checks that can produce birthdays and home addresses, the document said. The filing did not name the other alleged victims or say what information he obtained or how he may have used it.Prosecutors claim that 32 videos provided by DailyMotion.com show Barrett “victimized approximately 16 other women in almost precisely the same way that he victimized” Andrews. They did not identify the women.

Andrews testified in December that Barrett’s actions had a devastating impact on her and her family because she is constantly reminded that his videos appeared online and is subjected to taunts from sports fans when she works as a sideline reporter.Andrews has agreed to appear on the new season of ABC-TV’s “Dancing with the Stars” – an offer she said ABC made before the stalking allegations. She said she doesn’t want to seclude herself from the public eye because other victims would get the wrong message.”I did nothing wrong. Just trying to live my life,” she said.”I had to deal with a lot of people who said I deserved it, that I had played to a certain audience.”Her attorney said she will not file a lawsuit against Barrett.(AP)