Let’s give you some general sports press releases. I’ll begin with ESPN’s SportsNation which set a record for Brett Favre mentions.
Guinness World Records® Recognizes SportsNation for Most ‘Favre’ Mentions in an Hour
In a matter of one hour Monday, SportsNation – fleetingly known as FavreNation – became a Guinness World Record holder.
In anticipation of ESPN’s Monday Night Football matchup of Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings against the Green Bay Packers, SportsNation’s “Brett Favre Blowout” on Monday afternoon featured hosts Colin Cowherd and Michelle Beadle attempting to reference Favre at least 200 times and as many as 275 times during the show.
Guinness World Record Adjudicator Stuart Claxton was on hand at ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios for the show, during which he officially witnessed and kept track of the legitimate mentions of Brett Favre in order for SportsNation to qualify for the Guinness World record for the “Most Mentions of a Name in a Television Program.”
Guinness World Records’ guidelines for the record attempt:
- The television program must be live and last a maximum of one hour.
- Only clearly audible mentions of the name on-air in the final broadcast count towards the final total. References in on-screen text are not eligible for inclusion.
- The mentions must be made as part of the show’s primary dialogue or discussion; inclusions of the name in background noise, audience chatter or music do not count.
- Mentions of the name must all be in the context of a discussion and used in sentences which are ostensive and make statements of either fact or value.
FavreNation on Monday included Weird Web Stories featuring Brett Favre, a mock interview in which Michelle posed questions to the world’s most famous No. 4, Michelle sporting a different Favre T-shirt in each show segment and numerous instances of the word “Favre” becoming a verb, an adverb or an adjective. After the first 10 minutes of the show, Claxton had counted 53 Favre references.
At the “End of the Day,” SportsNation was officially recognized for mentioning Favre 203 times and is now the rightful owner of a Guinness World Record for most mentions of a name in a television program. The show’s record is now in line for inclusion in the 2011 edition of the Guinness World Records.
“It is great to see ESPN celebrate multiple Guinness World Record-holder Brett Favre’s achievements in the NFL,” said Stuart Claxton, Guinness World Records adjudicator. “SportsNation are now officially the Guinness World Record holder for Most Mentions of a Name in a Television Program with a total of 203 mentions of the name Brett Favre. Congratulations to Colin and Michelle and everyone involved at ESPN.”
“All of us at SportsNation are humbled to have a record that will be listed in the same book as the world’s largest pizza and the world’s longest fingernails,” said coordinating producer Jamie Horowitz, a co-creator of the show along with Kevin Wildes.
For more information on the Guinness World Records, visit the official Web site: www.guinnessworldrecords.com.
On SportsNation, Colin Cowherd and Michelle Beadle interact with fans throughout the telecast, essentially making sports fans the third host of the show. The show regularly airs weekdays at 4 p.m., and re-airs at midnight, on ESPN2. Fans can deliver their input via Twitter (@SportsNation); Facebook (ESPN-SportsNation); ESPN.com’s SportsNation Web page; e-mail (sportsnation@espn.com); and phone calls (1-888-FAN-ESPN) before, during and after the show.
ESPN UK came to an agreement with FIFA to air classic World Cup matches on ESPN Classic across the pond.
ESPN SECURES FIFA WORLD CUP ARCHIVE FOOTAGELegendary FIFA World Cup matches to be screened on ESPN and ESPN Classic
October 2009: ESPN today announced a rights agreement with the world governing football body, FIFA to show extensive archive matches and footage from the history of the FIFA World Cup Finals, from 1930-2006. These games will be available immediately and will continue on the channels in the run-up to the World Cup in South Africa, on ESPN Classic and ESPN. The multi-year deal also includes broadcast rights for a range of other content on ESPN’s channels. ESPN’s agreement with FIFA includes:
- 150 Classic Matches
- 14 x FIFA World Cup Official Films from 1930-2002
- Top 20 FIFA World Cup Moments (1 x 52 minutes)
- FIFA World Cup Stories (6 x 30 minutes)
The Official FIFA Films and classic FIFA World Cup matches will also be shown on ESPN’s recently launched UK channel (Sky, Virgin Media, Top Up TV, BT Vision & Tiscali) mid-next year, in the run up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.Jeroen Oerlemans, ESPN, Vice President, TV Channels Europe, Middle East and Africa said: “With the 2010 FIFA World Cup just around the corner we are pleased to add more first class international football content to the channels. With 150 classic matches on ESPN and ESPN Classic, fans will be able to see some of the greatest ever football games played at the world’s legendary FIFA World Cup tournaments. The FIFA Films archive helps us deliver top quality archive football to a wide audience across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”“We are proud of this deal primarily because it will benefit fans of soccer as well as the sport itself,” said Niclas Ericson, Director of FIFA’s TV Division. “Opening up the FIFA Film Archives to a global broadcaster will allow viewers access to classic footage from the very first World Cup right up to the present, and keep the passion for the sport alive long after the final whistle at the FIFA World Cup.”ESPN Classic is available on Sky and Virgin Media on the following channel numbers:Sky: ESPN Classic (channel 429)Virgin Media: ESPN America (channel 533)ESPN is available on Sky, Virgin Media, BT Vision, Top Up TV, Tiscali and UPC (in Ireland) on the following channel numbers:Sky: ESPN (channel 417), ESPN HD (channel 442)Virgin Media: ESPN (channel 529), ESPN HD (channel 530)BT Vision: ESPN (channel 34)Top UP TV: ESPN (channel 34)Tiscali: ESPN (channel 555)UPC (in Ireland) ESPN (channel 407)
Here is what ESPN is covering on its various networks for motorsports.
Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABCNASCAR Sprint Cup Series Live from California on ABC
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup continues this weekend as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races for 500 miles on Sunday, Oct. 11, at Auto Club Speedway i
n Fontana, Calif. ESPN’s live, flag-to-flag coverage of the Pepsi 500 will air on ABC. The telecast begins with NASCAR Countdown at 2:30 p.m. ET and the race’s green flag is at 3:31 p.m.ESPN’s coverage of the final 11 races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will air on ABC, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. ESPN’s coverage from California includes NASCAR Sprint Cup final practice on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 3 p.m. airing on ESPN2.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.
Also this week, ESPN Classic will air an episode of the ESPN signature series SportsCentury on Monday, Oct. 12, at 8:30 a.m.
Tom Cruise Narrates Hendrick Motorsports Documentary Sunday on ABC
TOGETHER: The Hendrick Motorsports Story, NASCAR Media Group’s documentary-style film chronicling the history of the eight-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship team, will air Sunday, Oct. 11, at 1:30 p.m. ET on ABC, prior to the network’s live Pepsi 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race coverage from Fontana, Calif.
Narrated by three-time Academy Award nominee Tom Cruise and presented by Pepsi, TOGETHER employs exclusive interviews, never-before-seen archival footage, thrilling racing sequences and rare family photography to detail the personal relationships and emotional events that have shaped one of NASCAR’s most decorated organizations.
Cruise, an auto racing enthusiast, starred in the 1990 NASCAR-themed motion picture Days of Thunder. The script was co-written by Shawn Truax and Ray Didinger and directed by Rory Karpf.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Live from California on ESPN2
ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend as the series races at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. The live, flag-to-flag telecast airs Saturday, Oct. 10, at 4 p.m. ET, with the green flag at 4:46 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.
Marty Reid will be lap-by-lap announcer for ESPN’s coverage, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.
Allen Bestwick will host the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.
Evernham, LaJoie, Craven on NASCAR Now Roundtable
NASCAR on ESPN analysts Ray Evernham, Randy LaJoie and Ricky Craven will be panelists on NASCAR Now’s weekly roundtable discussion program on Monday, Oct. 12, at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Mike Massaro will host the edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program.
Nicole Manske hosts half-hour episodes of NASCAR Now airing Tuesday through Friday of this week at 5 p.m. Massaro will be joined by Said for the one-hour weekend edition that airs Sunday, Oct. 11, at 10 a.m. with a preview of that day’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. The weekend wrap-up edition airs at 10 p.m. Sunday. Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis will report from California for both programs. .
NASCAR Now is hosted by Massaro, Bestwick and Manske and originates from ESPN’s high definition studios in Bristol, Conn. Contributors include NASCAR Insiders Marty Smith and Angelique Chengelis, analysts Ray Evernham, Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Boris Said, Ricky Craven and Randy LaJoie, and ESPN.com reporters Ed Hinton, Terry Blount and David Newton. The NASCAR on ESPN team event coverage team of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Spake and Vince Welch also make frequent contributions to NASCAR Now.
Countdown to 1 Continues in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues its Countdown to 1 playoffs as the series visits Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, Va., this weekend. ESPN2 will air qualifying and eliminations action from the Virginia NHRA Nationals, with qualifying airing Saturday, Oct. 10, at 10:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations action airs Sunday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m., with a re-air Monday, Oct. 12, at 5 p.m. on ESPN Classic.
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing returned to Virginia in 2006 with a race that shattered professional performance barriers, and the two races held there since also produced eye-popping performances. The track’s reputation for being able to handle all that the teams can dish out makes it a perfect venue for the Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock teams to begin their crucial three-race run to the world titles.
Paul Page anchors ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 22-time NHRA winner Mike Dunn. Gary Gerould, Dave Rieff and John Kernan report from the pits. Rieff and Dunn host NHRA RaceDay on Sunday at 11 a.m. to set the stage for that day’s eliminations action.
Other NHRA programming airing on ESPN Networks this week includes highlights from the 2004 K&N Filters NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J., airing Monday, Oct. 12, at 3 p.m. on ESPN Classic.
Dale Jr. – Shifting Gears Returns to ESPN Classic Saturday
Two episodes of Dale Jr. – Shifting Gears, the 2008 sports documentary chronicling NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his unprecedented move from the team founded by his father to Hendrick Motorsports, air Saturday, Oct. 10, on ESPN Classic. The programs air at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. ET.
The five-part series produced by Earnhardt’s Hammerhead Entertainment originally aired in February and July of 2008, Earnhardt’s first season with Hendrick Motorsports.
Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League Action Airs Sunday on ESPN2
The Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, which features modified trucks, tractors and other vehicles, will be in action on Sunday, Oct. 11, in a half-hour program beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2.
The programs will feature highlights from an event held in Hamburg, Ky. The league is sanctioned by the American Tractor Pulling Association.
And NESN set a ratings record for televising its first Bruins game on Saturday.
NESN SETS BRUINS SEASON OPENING RATINGS RECORD ON SATURDAY WITH 3.9 HH RATINGBOSTON, MA – NESN, New England’s most watched sports network, earned a 3.9 HH rating in the Boston DMA for Saturday’s Bruins – Hurricanes game, the network’s highest rated Bruins season opening broadcast in 25 years of covering the team. NESN’s 3.9 rating was also the highest average household rating recorded in the Boston DMA during the game’s 7:00 PM to10:00 PM window, besting all other broadcast and cable networks.
“Bruins fans have picked up right where they left off after a record setting 2008-2009 season,” said Sean McGrail, NESN President and CEO. “We are delighted to start the season with another strong rating, demonstrating that Bruins fans are excited that hockey is back in season here in Boston.”
NESN’s Bruins pre-game show Bruins Faceoff LIVE also reached a major benchmark on Saturday. The season-opening edition generated a 1.1 HH rating in Boston and was seen in 28,000 homes, more than any Bruins pre-game show during the 2008-2009 season.
The network’s previous high rating for a season opening broadcast came on January 23, 1995 when the network earned a 3.8 rating for its first broadcast of that lockout shortened season.
That’s it. Links are next.
