ESPN and the World Cup
Editor's Note: From time to time we have guest bloggers here at Comcast Voices. Today Justin Connolly, SVP nation accounts for Disney and ESPN media networks, blogs about the World Cup and ESPN. Thanks, Justin.
Greetings from Bristol, Connecticut. It’s hard to believe, but this week marks the last week of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. I am fortunate that watching the World Cup is - technically - part of my job. Whether on our ESPN television networks, ESPN3.com or the recently launched ESPN 3D (all available to Comcast customers), it’s been an unbelievable few weeks. At ESPN, we think it represents a sea change in the way this country views the event overall. The excitement has been palpable. Even Team USA’s exit hasn’t diminished American’s interest in the sport. We’ve had World Cup fever for a few years at ESPN - and it’s hugely gratifying to see that the rest of the country does, too.
As I mentioned, with Comcast’s support, we recently launched our 3D network to rave reviews (check out this column from the New Yorker). By the end of the tournament, we will have televised 25 matches from South Africa in 3D. Having seen it for myself, I can tell you it is truly spectacular. The 3D experience is the next best thing to being at the tournament. It’s striking to see the depth of field as the action unfolds in 3D and I felt like I had a seat with the fans in South Africa. The cross-field passes and shots on goal are particularly impressive in 3D; and really, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a Vuvuzela pop out of the screen in three dimensions.
So please enjoy these last few days of the tournament with us. It’s been a tremendous ride thus far. And don’t forget to watch the 2010 State Farm Home Run Derby on ESPN (also available on ESPN3D!) on Monday, July 12. The summer keeps rolling on, and we’ll continue to work with our partners at Comcast to bring you the best live sports, news and information - both on your TV screen and your computer.
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Comments (5)
Max, I hear what you're saying and I understand. Generally speaking we don't give out detailed information about the specific timing of feature rollouts for a variety of reasons.
I like to think that we do a pretty good job on the blog covering a variety of topics here on the blog (of course since I run the blog I would think that), however, I'll work on more video topics.
I won't deny that customers are interested in sports and 3D. I am very interested in both.
However, most customers are probably more interested in things like increased HD options and are concerned over the lack of information from Comcast about what improvements will happen at what time. So why must we wait for weeks and months to come in order to get more detailed information? Why not provide that information now?
Max and bmfc1,
First off, thanks for reading!
Secondly, I hear what both of you are saying about this post. However, 3D and sports are of interest to a large number of our customers. That being said, we try and cover a large number of topics here on the blog.
We'll certainly be posting more about Xfinity, HD, On Demand, and other good stuff in the coming weeks and months.
Entries like this one are an utter waste of time and resources for all concerned. Save stuff like this for press releases to the concerned media and spare your customers who are not interested in such fluff and want far more concrete information about their services.
What we want is news and information about the following:
- Addition of more HD channels. In Minneapolis I have about 35 or so. Other areas have in the neighborhood of 100 due to the reclamation of bandwidth from the former analog channels.
- Why is next to no news, apart from uninformative propaganda pieces, available to consumers about Project Cavalry, World Of More, Xfinity or whatever the process of ultimately adding HD channels is called?
- Talk about improved equipment, including more DVR storage space.
- Tell us what is being done to improve customer service. The local people on the phone never seem to have any information beyond the most rudimentary facts. The online chat people are based in Asia and seem to type answers out of a form book and occasionally don't seem to have a full command of the English language. Get people who have answers and can communicate information properly.
- Explain in greater depth why certain channels are favored for dial position or being carried at all over others.
- Delve into why DirecTV and Dish are able to add HD channels more quickly than Comcast.
- Properly explain what the difference between Comcast and Xfinity is. None of the service people can give a straight answer.
- Get into why Comcast counts On Demand options in the manner it does when determining the number of HD channels for advertising purposes. Most viewers don't share Comcast's opinion on this.
Sometimes this blog is very informative. Unfortunately it is too often not used to its full potential.
I appreciate that you're communicating with your customers in this manner but I wish that you would keep us better informed as to what you're doing for us. News about the proposed erger and what you're doing for local communities is interesting but not as interesting what channels you are adding, whether you giving us even more HD, what are you doing to improve your customer service, etc. That's here, but not to the extent that we would like.