ABC, ESPN bowl over iTunes

ESPN and ABC Sports are getting into the iTunes business. The two Disney divisions are following their entertainment counterparts by offering up a variety of content for sports fans interested in downloading video content to a laptop or, in turn, an iPod.

Two condensed BCS College Football Games, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the Nokias Sugar Bowl, are already available. The Orange Bowl will be
available on Jan. 4 while the Rose Bowl will be available on Thursday.

Our mission is to serve fans wherever they are by delivering high-quality content across dozens of multi-media platforms, now including the iTunes Music Store and viewing on the iPod, said George Bodenheimer, ESPN and ABC Sports President and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks. We are thrilled to be the first content provider to offer sports content on iTunes.

Later this month, ESPN will make additional content available, including the Best Of The X Games; SportsCentury interviews from ESPN Classic’s award-winning biography series; the popular “This is SportsCenter” commercials; and select ESPN Original Entertainment programs including “Knight School,” the forthcoming reality program featuring Texas Tech basketball coach Bobby Knight, which will premiere on iTunes.