ESPN drove over 50 million individual mobile visitors to its website, the most of any other brand studied by MPA and comScore last month. The sports site has a winning digital strategy attracting roughly 336 million viewers to its site monthly, a number that dwarfs most other publications.
ESPN got its start in 1979 on cable, and while other cable companies have struggled to adapt to the cord-cutting world, ESPN has followed users online and on mobile, repurposing cable content for those platforms. Its mobile success comes from two important parts of its strategy: keeping the screen size and format for mobile devices in mind when producing content, and centering what the mobile audience wants. Those two central issues inform how everything from its homepage to its stories and videos appears.
Additionally, ESPN knows who it is looking to attract. Instead of focusing on any and every possible internet user and attempting to drive them to its site, the sports-centered outlet focuses on drawing in and engaging sports fans, who are far-reaching and fanatical about its content.
People in the U.S. spend over a quarter of their day with digital media, with 3.6 hours of that time spent on mobile devices. Advertisers and publishers need to follow and revamp content for those users, in order to fully benefit from how people are engaging with digital media.
Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, Zion Williamson, Kevin Durant, Simone Biles, Alexander Ovechkin, Chloe Kim, Drew Brees, Mookie Betts, and more among nominees at The 2019 ESPYS hosted by entertainer extraordinaire, Tracy Morgan, airing July 10 on ABC
WHAT: Nominees for The 2019 ESPYS presented by Capital One were revealed today and fan voting has begun.
WHERE: Fans can cast their vote at ESPYS.com, and a list of The 2019 ESPYS nominees is available to members of the media here. You may also access the complete 2019 ESPYS Media Kit.
WHEN: Voting is now underway and all categories will close at the start of the live show Wednesday, July 10, at 8PM EDT.
HOW: Fans can vote for the nominees at ESPYS.com up to the start of The 2019 ESPYS (Voting for “Best Team” will open the first week of July).
The 2019 ESPYS Facts and Figures:
For the first time since 1994 – the 2nd ESPYS ever – all the nominees for “Best Male Athlete” are newcomers to the category. Patrick Mahomes, Mookie Betts, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brooks Koepka all vie for their first “Best Male Athlete” honor.
In “Best Female Athlete,” newcomer Alex Morgan joins a field of returning nominees, including Breanna Stewart, Simone Biles, and Mikaela Shiffrin. At least one of those three women has been represented in the category since 2014.
For a third-straight year, James Harden graces the “Best NBA Player” category, alongside first timer Paul George and returning nominees Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant.
In “Best Record-Breaking Performance,” returning nominees Drew Brees and Klay Thompson are joined by two young newcomers – Oregon basketball’s Sabrina Ionescu and high school runner Matthew Boling.
Rising tennis star Naomi Osaka is nominated in three categories this year – “Best Breakthrough Athlete,” “Best Upset,” and “Best Female Tennis Player.”
The 2019 ESPYS return to ABC for the fifth consecutive year with a star-studded event in celebration of this year’s greatest achievements in sports. The 2019 ESPYS will relive the highlight moments of the year, honor leading athletes and performances, and bring together the sports industry’s fan favorites and biggest stars.
Top celebrities from sports and entertainment will gather to recognize nominees and honor winners in categories such as “Best Male Athlete,” “Best Female Athlete,” “Best Game,” “Best Record Breaking Performance,” and introducing for the first time, “Best Boxer,” “Best MMA Fighter,” “Best Esports Moment,” “Best WWE Moment,” and “Best Viral Moment.”
Per tradition, The 2019 ESPYS will also showcase the achievements of inspiring and courageous athletes who embody the spirit of The ESPYS through three pillar awards – the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and The Pat Tillman Award for Service. As previously announced, the awards will honor Celtics legend Bill Russell, Former Marine Corps Sergeant Kirstie Ennis, and High School Football Coach Rob Mendez, respectively. The show supports ESPN’s ongoing commitment to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, launched in 1993 by ESPN in partnership with the late Jim Valvano.
The 2019 ESPYS will be hosted by Tracy Morgan and will be broadcast live on ABC from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 10 from 8PM – 11PM EDT.
