ESPN and the Changing Sports Media Landscape

ESPN and the Changing Sports Media Landscape considers the ways the network is reinventing itself as it enters its fifth decade. In their previous book, The ESPN Effect (2015), the editors made the observation that ESPN was a pervasive branded-content provider across multiple media platforms, delivering programs and information 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to influence how sports fans think and feel about the people who play and control these games. ESPN and the Changing Sports Media Landscape asks whether that will hold true in the 2020s and beyond. The past decade has seen momentous changes in the sports media landscape, among them the massive proliferation of mobile platforms as a major source of sports content, astronomical growth in fantasy sport and esport industries, and the increasing entanglement of sports media in contentious sociopolitical debates. The contributors to this book analyze how ESPN has navigated the shifting playing field and speculate on what the next decade might bring for ESPN and the global sports media industry.

Greg G. Armfield (Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia) is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at New Mexico State University. His research explores the role of cultural identity in sports and organizations.

John McGuire (Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia) is Professor in the School of Media and Strategic Communications at Oklahoma State University. His research interests focus on the sports media business, sports announcing, and political reporting.

Adam Earnheardt (Ph.D., Kent State University) is Chair and Professor of Communication Studies in the Department of Communication at Youngstown State University. His research focuses on the intersection of sports fandom, parenting, and social media.