It’s no secret that Disney (NYSE: DIS) would like to get another crack at the Olympics and plans to bid for rights to the 2014 and 2016 games.The last time ABC had rights to the Olympics was 1988—before e-mail was ubiquitous, broadband was even a possibility and ESPN was a…

Fox and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) narrowly averted retrans Armageddon on New Years Eve. Will Disney (NYSE: DIS) and ABC manage the same feat during the search for retransmission fees for the network and its affiliates? “We’re pretty resolute,” CEO Bob Iger told analysts during the Disney FYQ1 call, serving…

At the tres civilized Pierre in Manhattan this morning where the 8th Annual Media Dealmakers Summit kicked off with Disney’s Kevin Mayer. A lot of talk about the recent Marvel (NYSE: DIS) acquisition, a very big bet by Disney, but inevitably the question of Hulu and pay models came up.…

ESPN (NYSE: DIS) has acquired Vistas Unlimited, Inc., which will help it go even more virtual on both the programming and advertising fronts. The Plano, Texas-based technology proffers virtual insertion technology that can be used to overlay advertising or graphics into live coverage of sports, notably baseball, golf, basketball, hockey…

Microsoft’s Xbox Live internet service, which recently lost one of its trump cards when rivals Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Nintendo matched its partnership with Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX), may soon fire back with a new content deal of its own. Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) “has held in-depth discussions” with Walt Disney Co.…

With the television industry buzzing over the possibilities of bringing 3D HD pictures to the living room as it heads to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, cable sports giant ESPN (NYSE: DIS) has gotten a jump on the field by announcing that it will launch a…

ESPN (NYSE: DIS) has launched the latest in growing network of local Web sites, this time in Los Angeles. ESPNLosAngeles.com presents exclusive, original content, content from local contributors, and original locally relevant content created from ESPN’s multiple platforms, branded programming and award-winning contributors. The site, which also features local content…

ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is getting ready to launch two new local sites for a total of five across the country that could serve as the starting point for a 20-city network, ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer told Reuters at the news service’s Global Media Summit. But almost as soon as…

Part of the joy of following Bill Simmons on Twitter is the feeling that he doesn’t hold back—that, plus not only he can be snarky as all get out when the occasion demands, his tweets, snarky or not, are usually spot on. (He has one of the highest “repeat out…

While local media outlets slash sports staffs and travel, national players are coming after fans, ad dollars—and each other. ESPN (NYSE: DIS) already has launched local sports sites for Chicago, Boston and Dallas, with plans for New York and Los Angeles in early 2010. Now Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) is building…

Higher subscription revenue from virtual kids world Club Penguin and lower marketing costs for Disney Online weren’t enough to offset increased costs and lower revenue at Disney Interactive Studios for Disney’s fiscal year or for the quarter. The underlying reason is fairly simple as outgoing CFO Tom Staggs explained during…

ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is launching its third city sports news site in Dallas on Monday as it seeks to tries to solidify its presence in major markets. The Dallas site follows the launch of its first local venture, ESPNChicago last April. The Dallas site debut is timed to coincide with…

In less than a year, *ESPN* iPhone apps have been downloaded more than 4.5 million times—more than 2.2 2.7 million of the free ESPN (NYSE: DIS) ScoreCenter alone since its June debut. Most of the downloads are for ad-supported versions but twice in the past couple of weeks the Disney…

What’s missing from ESPN’s UK soccer package? A website to go with the TV coverage. But the U.S. network has confirmed to us it is preparing a UK sports portal to accompany the broadcasts. We reported this month that the company was hiring senior online editorial staff to work at…

Aided by the holes left in a new slate of cable and broadcast partners and a full platter of weekday action, USOpen.org became the go-to site for tennis fans in search of live feeds—and it shows in the first-week numbers. Unique visitors rose to 5,352,08, up 60 percent over 2008,…

ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is hoping that a virtual gaming contest and online video series will help drum up interest among teen athletes for its Elite 11 high school quarterback competition. It’s the first major cross-platform push (the Elite 11 will ultimately air on ESPNU) for the company’s high school sports…

ESPN (NYSE: DIS) is planning to revamp ESPNSoccernet and its other sports sites to coincide with the launch of its first European sports channel next month. The sports network won the rights to show 46 live English Premier League matches next season after Irish pay TV company Setanta went out…

It’s not just indie companies like ngmoco or Zynga trying to grab a slice of the mobile gaming market—TV networks like *Disney*, *ESPN* and Nickelodeon have all recently made aggressive moves into the space. Nickelodeon just launched the AddictingGames iNetwork, a mobile offshoot of its AddictingGames.com casual games portal. The…

I’m sitting outside on a lovely Friday morning, sipping a cup of tea and catching up on the news. What’s wrong with this picture? It’s the final Friday of Wimbledon and I’m reduced to either watching a pirated feed from a place where the broadcasters value live sports or following…