ESPN3’s Big Saturday: 93 Live Events in 24 Hours

ESPN executive John Lasker recalls an interview he gave in 2007 where he told a reporter his goal of delivering 10 events at one time.

The Lasker of five years ago surely would be smiling – or picking his jaw up off the floor – upon seeing what the network’s digital platform ESPN3 will pull off tomorrow.

ESPN3, for which Lasker is now senior director of programming and acquisitions, is set to raise the bar for even the juggernaut that is the “Worldwide Leader.”

The blossoming digital service will have its biggest day yet, carrying more than 195 live hours and 93 live events in a 24-hour time frame. Center pieced by men’s and women’s college basketball “Championship Week” coverage, ESPN3 will aslo carry live baseball, softball, lacrosse, and wrestling, boys and girls high school basketball, rugby, soccer, and tennis. Forty-Four of those live events are ESPN3 exclusives.

“We were kind of hoping for 100,” cracked Paul Gavalis, Senior Director, Product Development & Operations with ESPN Digital Media. “But we’ll take 93. We’re going to be cranking here tomorrow.”

There will be as many as 20 events streaming simultaneously at any given time throughout the day. In addition, there is added opportunity for exposure and distribution with ESPN3’s new Facebook player.

“I think we are well positioned for success on this one,” says Gavalis. “We have arrangements in place with our CDN providers that account for what we consider to be enough for this type of usage. It’s a great fan opportunity to access a huge amount of content.”

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