ESPN RV Coming to Dallas on Wednesday, November 18

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2009 (EVENT DATE)

NBA on ESPN RV Coming to Dallas on Wednesday, November 18
San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks live from the American Airlines Center in Dallas

WHO:
The “NBA on ESPN RV Tour,” an experiential marketing promotion for ABC and ESPN’s NBA coverage, will be on-site at more than 20 NBA games this season, including the San Antonio Spurs at the Dallas Mavericks game on November 18, 2009.

WHAT:
The RV will be located just outside of the main entrance of the American Airlines Center, on the AT&T Plaza in Dallas, from 5:30 – 8:30 PM CST on November 18. The RV will open its doors at 5:30 PM, allowing fans to tour the RV, as well as participate in activities such as free throw contests, vertical jump challenges, souvenir photo stations, and more. NBA on ESPN branded premiums, such as mini-basketballs, T-shirts, backpacks and rally towels will also be given away at the RV.

WHEN:
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
5:30 – 8:30 PM CST (Game Tips Off at 9:30 PM EST on ESPN)
San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks

WHERE:
American Airlines Center
2500 Victory Ave.
Dallas, TX 75219

WHY:
The NBA on ESPN RV Tour is an effort to promote ESPN and ABC’s expanded NBA television coverage, airing games on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays throughout the season. Fans can track the RV’s progress online and view photos and videos of tour stops via the RV’s Facebook Fan Page and Twitter feed.

Source: rEvolution communication through sport

ESPN announces plans to come to Dallas

According to multiple sources, ESPN has announced a plan to launch localized sites in Dallas, Los Angeles and New York similar to the site already launched to cover Chicago sports. Details can be found here.

I have a bit of a mixed reaction to this story. First of all, I think that more coverage of Dallas sports teams is a good thing. There are a ton of voracious sports fans in this city, and I think that more coverage can be beneficial to fans who are looking for more coverage of our teams. ESPN Dallas is supposedly going to be launched sometime this fall, and I think that if it is similar to ESPN Chicago, it won’t fail miserably.

However, there are plenty of reservations I have when hearing about this move. One of the problems with ESPN Chicago is that, especially early in its lifespan, it didn’t seem like the reporters were actually doing any groundbreaking reporting; they were simply regurgitating what they found on other websites and putting all of that information in one place for Chicago sports fans. If that happens in ESPN Dallas, I think it will fail. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are big enough markets  to draw enough curious interest to sustain itself simply by regurgitation. If ESPN Dallas hopes to survive, I think that they must come up with original content people aren’t going to find in other places. Unfortunately for Dallas fans, that could mean more Ed Werder and Skip Bayless, since they have some experience in the area. Although it also could mean more Matt Mosley, which I would be all for.

And of course there’s the apocalyptic feelings of some blogs that ESPN is eventually going to have an outpost everywhere. I would be more concerned about this, but I kind of already figured it was going to happen anyway, so whatever. Besides, people get their sports news from ESPN most of the time anyway. If the coverage is better than what we have, I’m all for it. If the coverage of Dallas sports does not improve, I probably won’t acknowledge that ESPN Dallas exists.

No pressure, Worldwide Leader.