TV/Radio

ESPN explores on-the-go sports

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published December 9, 2005

With Christmas right around the corner, it's never too soon to start thinking about gifts for your sports-addicted couch potato.

In fact, some developments this year might mean you can get that potato off the couch and to the gym with the right buy.

Start with an iPod, which just a few years ago was a clunky music player that held 1,000 songs.

Now, it's a sleek entertainment player that includes a video version muscled with loads of memory. It has the potential to transform the way many of us watch sports, believe it or not.

ESPN announced this week it is looking into distributing some of its television programs on Apple's iTunes music and video service (which is just like saying your iPod).

No more straining at the gym to watch SportsCenter with no volume, or sitting in lines or waiting rooms stuck watching soap operas or listening to Barry Manilow. Just fire up the iTunes in the morning, download what you want and away you go. You can catch up on what happened last night at your leisure, not miss a single episode of the World Series of Poker (since they're hardly ever replayed) and save your favorite highlights to show friends.

ESPN is owned by Walt Disney, which owns ABC, which already offers episodes of some shows for download ($1.99 per). NBC and DirecTV are considering similar ventures.

"We're not just in the TV business anymore, ... We're going to the table as a sports media company," ABC and ESPN Sports president George Bodenheimer said Monday.

Imagine, if you will, this soon-to-be-familiar scene:

Bob: Did you see that Vince Carter dunk last night?

Already, sports-related podcasts (no pictures, just sports talk) have become a hit, with dozens of titles available from iTunes for free. The Times offers a Bucs podcast, which you can download here: sptimes.com/podcasts.

ESPN also has announced plans to launch a cell phone service, Mobile ESPN, through Sprint Nextel's network by February. It seems pretty serious too, flying out St. Petersburg boxer Jeff Lacy (and others) to film a commercial for the service, which will provide video snippets to subscribers.

And, of course, there's still satellite radio from XM or Sirius, providing a wealth of talk shows and game coverage for just about every sport.

Satellite radio, so cutting edge just a few months ago. Now, in light of recent developments, it's like so 2005.

[Last modified December 9, 2005, 01:19:17]