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Sports programmer, ESPN, is syndicating its video content through a
third-party Internet portal for the first time, thanks to a new deal with
AOL that sees it offering short-form video on AOL’s AOL Video and
AOL Sports services (note: ESPN.com’s own video portal has proven
fairly popular: according to ESPN, consumers viewed its videos over
1.2 billion times last year, representing a 54% increase over 2006). The
video content includes highlights from games and major sporting
events and clips from ESPN’s original programs, and is presented in an
embedded ESPN player on a dedicated ESPN channel page.
“ESPN.com video is second to none, and we are excited by the
expanded reach afforded us through this syndication agreement,” Matt
Murphy, ESPN’s SVP of digital video distribution, said in a prepared
statement. “Working with AOL allows us to offer new benefits to fans
and advertisers–viewers can now access the programming they want,
whether they are on ESPN.com or AOL’s portal, while our advertisers
benefit from a larger online video audience than ever before. The
potential is tremendous and we hope fans will be seeing more
syndicated video from ESPN.com in the future.”

Content available on ESPN’s embedded video player on AOL includes
“SportsCenter Right Now,” a twice-daily round-up of sports headlines,
highlights and breaking news; clips from such shows as “Mike and
Mike in the Morning,” “Pardon the Interruption” and “Around the
Horn”; and breaking news and game clips from major professional and
college teams. The player also provides links to ESPN.com content
related to the video it is playing.