ING New York City Marathon Returns to Live National TV in 2012 as Part of Five-Year Deal with ESPN/WABC-TV
ESPN2 to televise live race coverage beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET
Marathon-day coverage to include live five-hour local show on WABC-TV and two-hour national highlight show on ABC
New York, January 9, 2012ÛÓThe
ING New York City Marathon will be shown on live national television in
2012 for the first
time in almost 20 years as the cornerstone of a new comprehensive
year-round national and local five-year television package jointly
announced today by WABC-TV/ESPN and NYRR officials. The Marathon will be
televised live nationally on ESPN2 and available through
WatchESPN from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET/6:00 to 9:30 a.m. PT, and in
New York on WABC-TV and 7online.com from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. That
same afternoon, ABC will broadcast nationally a two-hour Marathon
highlight show. The agreement begins with this year’s
event on Sunday, November 4.
The
unprecedented partnership will also feature coverage of ING New York
City Marathon weekend events and other marquee NYRR races throughout the
year, as well as quarterly public service
announcements on WABC-TV that highlight NYRR’s efforts to encourage
running as part of a child’s healthy lifestyle. The deal reunites NYRR
with ABC, which carried the first live national broadcast of the
Marathon in 1981 and where it aired until 1993.
“The
ING New York City Marathon is one of the greatest spectacles in all of
sport, and today’s announcement is a huge step forward in bringing all
of the event’s passion and excitement
into homes, live, across the country,” said Mary Wittenberg, president
and CEO of NYRR and race director of the ING New York City Marathon.
“We’re
thrilled that for the first time in almost 20 years, a nationwide
audience can experience the 26.2 exhilarating miles that combine the
spectacle of great racing with the triumphant
celebration of the human spiritÛÓa captivating drama starring more than
47,000 runners, including the world’s best, played out on the vibrant
streets of New York City,” said Wittenberg. “The scope of this
agreement, which also showcases the events surrounding
the Marathon as well as other marquee NYRR races throughout the year,
is a significant step forward as we seek to develop and promote our
sport.”
Dave
Davis, president and general manager of WABC-TV, said, “As New York’s
number one station we are proud to be the home of New York’s biggest
sporting event. It’s great to have the ING
New York City Marathon back where it belongs and in a way that more
people than ever before will be able to see it. We also look forward to
helping NYRR spread its message about the health benefits of running to
all New Yorkers.”
John
Wildhack, ESPN’s executive vice president of program acquisitions and
strategy, said, “From all over the world runners come to New York to
participate in one of road racing’s signature
events. Working with our partner and New York affiliate WABC-TV, we
will provide sports fans with first-class coverage of the ING New York
City Marathon and showcase the athleticism and heart of its competitors
live on our national platforms.”
The
ESPN2 telecast will be the centerpiece of a robust schedule of
programming. The 26.2-mile race annually draws the world’s top
professional runners, a field of more than 45,000 participants
from all 50 states and more than 125 countries, and 2.5 million
spectators against the backdrop of all five boroughs of New York City,
while raising tens of millions of dollars for charity and having an
economic impact of more than $340 million. In addition
to the telecast, the event will be available online at WatchESPN.com
and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app. Programming will
begin with a two-hour pre-race show from 7:00ÛÓ9:00 a.m. on WABC-TV. All
of WABC-TV’s local coverage will be streamed
on its website, 7online.com, and on authenticated mobile devices.
WABC-TV’s
commitment includes coverage of several NYRR events surrounding the ING
New York City Marathon Road to the Finish, including Marathon Opening
Day in April and the Marathon Opening
Ceremony featuring the Parade of Nations on Friday, November 2, as
well as a half-hour Countdown preview show on Marathon Eve, Saturday,
November 3.
A
combination of live and tape-delayed coverage of select NYRR marquee
events throughout the year is also part of the extensive broadcast
package, including the NYC Half on March 18 and
the Fifth Avenue Mile in September.
IMG will continue to be the production company of the Marathon telecast as well as other NYRR programs and events in the deal.
New York Road Runners
Headquartered
in New York City, New York Road Runners is dedicated to advancing the
sport of running, enhancing health and fitness for all and meeting our
community’s needs. Our goal is
to use the expertise acquired in our 53-year history to empower all
people to live fitter, healthier lives through participation in our
races, community events, instruction and training resources and youth
programs. Our races and other events draw more than
300,000 people each year. The ING New York City Marathon, NYRR’s
premier event, is the largest and most inclusive marathon in the world,
attracting the world’s top professional runners every year and raising
$34 million for charity in 2011. NYRR’s running-based
youth programs, which currently serve more than 100,000 children in
hundreds of schools and community centers, promote children’s health and
fitness, character development and personal achievement in underserved
communities. For more information, visit
www.nyrr.org.
The ING New York City Marathon
The
premier event of New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon
is one of the world’s great road races, drawing some 140,000 applicants.
The race attracts many world-class professional
athletes, not only for the $650,000 in prize money, but also for the
chance to excel in the media capital of the world before two million
cheering spectators and a worldwide broadcast reach of 330 million. As
any one of the more than 923,000 past finishers
will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the
great thrills of a lifetime. For more information, visit
www.ingnycmarathon.org.
WABC-TV
WABC-TV
has been the leader in local news and entertainment programming in the
New York City area for more than 60 years. Producing more than 41 hours
of live, local news and weather
each week, Channel 7 Eyewitness News is the most watched local news in New York and the United States. WABC-TV also produces
LIVE! with Kelly, weekdays at 9:00 a.m., which is seen in more
than 200 markets across the U.S. Quality news and programming, cutting
edge technology and ongoing community outreachÛ¢ a commitment to
excellence that has consistently kept WABC-TV New York’s
#1 station and the most watched television station in the nation.
ESPN
ESPN,
Inc., is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports
entertainment company featuring a portfolio of more than 50 multimedia
sports assets. The company is comprised of eight
24-hour domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN
Classic, ESPN Deportes, ESPN 3D and the regionally focused Longhorn
Network) and five HD simulcast services (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and
ESPN Deportes). Other businesses include ESPN
Regional Television, ESPN International (48 networks, syndication,
radio, websites, mobile, apps), ESPN Radio (broadcast, satellite, online
and apps, a growing category led by ScoreCenter), ESPN.com (plus a
variety of sport-, college- and market-specific sites),
ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises, ESPNHS and espnW. Multi-screen
offerings include WatchESPN (access to several ESPN networks online and
via an app) and ESPN3 (live multi-screen network available online, on
the go and via Xbox LIVE). Based in Bristol, Conn.,
ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary
of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent
interest in ESPN.
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