The World Football Challenge

Top international soccer teams - and their stars - help ESPN score big with affiliates.

Already the most popular game in the world, soccer can expect a surge of interest with the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup. The World Football challenge proved a testament to the local impact this global game has and has helped us prime the pumps to leverage soccer as we build our affiliate relationships.

Four of the most prestigious soccer clubs in the world - Chelsea FC, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Club America - played a round-robin of exhibitions in six cities across the U.S. this July, giving fans of "the beautiful game" yet another reason to covet ESPN networks. The ESPN brand and Affiliate Marketing team's worked together with Field Sales and National Accounts to offer on-field opportunities to meet global superstars such as John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ronaldinho, Andriy Shevchenko, Andrea Pirlo and Zlatan Ibrahimoviç, and entertain Affiliate VIP's in every stadium. The World Football Challenge created some memorable local VIP experiences for our Time Warner Cable and Comcast affiliates and will serve to lay the groundwork for talks in 2010 around the World Cup.

With World Cup coverage moving to ESPN networks, we have the content and the opportunities to help affiliates leverage the reach of international soccer and be at the forefront of this growing trend. We plan to explore local ad sales tie-ins, affiliate incentives and local market opportunities to bring the value of this investment in programming back to our affiliates.

To see examples of World Football Challenge spots that were provided, including a one-sheet, press release and media plans, click here and contact your DEMN Affiliate Marketing Rep to start planning for 2010.