With last week’s launch of ESPN Boston, I got in contact with the Senior Vice President of Business Divisions at ESPN, Jim Pastor. Jim serves as the day-to-day operational lead for ESPN’s local Website expansion, as well as serving as one of the two regional general managers to better coordinate ESPN Radio’s five owned radio stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Pittsburgh.
Pastor previously served the general manager of WMVP-AM/ESPN 1000 in Chicago. When the regional general managers positions were created in 2007 he became additionally responsible for oversight of ESPN Radio 710 in Los Angeles and KESN-FM/ESPN 103.3FM in Dallas/Ft. Worth. He has added responsibilities related to ESPN local Websites in 2009, beginning with the launch or ESPNChicago.com in April.
Prior to ESPN, Pastor joined ABC Radio in 1993 and was named director of sales for Radio Disney network in 1997. He became vice president, sales & marketing for Radio Disney network in 2000, and was named president, general manager of WMVP-AM and WZZN-FM in June 2004.
Last week, I conducted an e-mail interview with Pastor about the decision to launch ESPN Boston and what we can expect to see in terms of content and the company’s plans for an accompanying radio station with 890 ESPN out of the picture.
Fang’s Bites: When ESPN announced local sites, Chicago was launched first, then New York, Los Angeles and Dallas were slated to be next. It seemed to be out of the blue for Boston to launch? Why was this not announced in the first batch and was there a rush to launch Boston?
Jim Pastor: When we announced that we were going to launch New York, Los Angeles and Dallas we had not made a decision to go to Boston, but we were exploring it. From day one we have said we are going to be smart and thoughtful in our approach to how we grow. That means evaluating each market individually and not assuming that what works in one will work in the other. Boston is unique and we have a different presence and connection in Boston (and New England) than we do in those other markets. Once we determined that it was a market we were definitely going to go into, it just seemed that the timing lined up better for it to launch quickly — for a combination of reasons, including the sports calendar, our own business and resource reasons and the overall competitive landscape.
FB: One thing that was mentioned about launching Chicago and in the other three cities was having a strong radio station to go along with the local website. You don’t have that in Boston. Will ESPN look to launch another station there?
JP: As you probably know by now, we have in fact ended our affiliation with 890AM and we are exploring multiple options in the market in regards to radio. I do expect radio to play a role in Boston, but we don’t have any specifics in place. We’re excited about the chance to explore new radio opportunities in Boston and we’re encouraged by some of the options we’re exploring.
FB: Is ESPN seeking another affiliate or look to buy a station in Boston?
JP: Radio will certainly play a role in our local connection in Boston, but at the moment we’re looking at multiple options.
FB: ESPN was able to hire noted Patriots beat writer Mike Reiss from the Boston Globe. Are there other similar hires coming?
JP: Yes. We are committed to hiring additional local, authentic editorial voices like Mike. We recently added Tedy Bruschi to the list of contributors, and we have contributions from a local writer named Matt Kalman, who is covering the Bruins. We expect to add others that will cover the Celtics and Red Sox and other local teams as well. There is no set time table for that though. We are committed to building this in a smart, sustainable way. To do that, you have to be willing to take time and get the right people.
FB: ESPN Chicago has become the second most popular sports site in the Windy City in a short amount of time. Does that givc you optimism for Boston and the other cities?
JP: Chicago has definitely exceeded even our own expectations. Its a testament to the collaboration that we’ve had from all over the company in supporting it, and to the exceptional, multi-talented people that create, produce and support the great content. That certainly is encouraging, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have anything to do with our belief that we can grow in other cities as well. But we definitely don’t take that for granted. What we are doing is going to people’s communities and talking with them about their greatest sports passions. You have to do that with humility and commitment to quality. If we create great content consistently, deliver value to sports fans and create a destination that holds a place in their busy day…then we’ll be able to build a good business around it also.
FB: Now website has been launched, what will ESPN do to market the site? Will there be ads taken out in newspapers, TV, radio?
JP: We’ll definitely market it. We’re still working through exact plan and the kinds of media we may explore for advertising. I think you’ll continue to see integration of the site into other ESPN platforms where applicable and appropriate also. If the site is reporting a breaking story in Boston, it may make its way onto other media platforms at ESPN. As we determine what we will do in the radio space in Boston also, I imagine that will play a role in promotion and advertising also.
FB: Will ESPN look to hire area bloggers to give the site more of a local feel?
JP: We will be looking to add voices that are part of the community and well connected to the teams and sports they cover. We don’t consider them “bloggers” so much as multi-talented voices that serve fans across various media. We have the resources and know how to put people in position to create great content in words, video, audio and more. So we want to add people that are excited about doing all of that.
FB: Can you talk about the thoughts behind launching the local sites and what other cities ESPN is looking to launch local hubs?
JP: Right now, we’re focused on Boston, Dallas, New York and L.A. Those are the markets that we have evaluated and decided were a good fit right now. As for the thought behind launching them, I really think it is not more complicated than we believe we can create a good product that can play a role in the daily life of the fans in these cities. I know that we’re a big company with an international brand, but people forget that we started locally and we have been local for many years. This is just an evolution of that. Its about recognizing that sports passions begin, and are often strongest, locally. Its about making it easy for those fans to have a single place where they can get all the local sports news and information they want. Its about creating destinations. When you do that effectively, you can also create value for advertisers and build a good business.
FB: The Chicago site has a local SportsCenter and columns geared towards the local fan. Can Boston sports fans expect similar features with the ESPN Boston site?
JP: Yes. In fact you can see it today. Each day we’ll have a fast-paced ESPN Boston SportsCenter, produced originally and covering all the latest news and developments in Boston. It will be produced to the same high standard that fans expect of SportsCenter, but will focus in on Boston for a fast-paced three-to-seven minute program.
FB: Do you foresee a day when ESPN has a site in each of the Top 50 markets?
JP: I don’t know that I want to think that far into the future. Our focus is on creating great sites in the cities we’re in, and then explore where it makes sense for us to grow and where we can provide a good product to fans. Can we grow beyond these five cities? yes, definitely. And I think we will. But I want to be sure we are well on the road to giving fans in Boston the best site we possibly can before we look to other cities.
I want to thank Jim Pastor of ESPN for taking the time to do the interview as well as Paul Melvin from ESPN public relations for his help in coordinating the interview.
