FastTalk

Mark Shapiro is VP/GM of ESPN Classic. He oversees scheduling, program acquisition, production and program planning/development.

Was ESPN Classic formed to satiate sports fans who have been cheated?

ESPN Classic affords the viewer opportunities and programming they don't get anywhere else. These days, sports fans get everything in surplus, yet we're the only ones providing perspective on sports history on a 24-hour basis.

How is the "ESPN Classic Roadshow" going?

The response has been above and beyond what we've anticipated. People in different cities are hearing about what we did in previous weekends and are clamoring to get ESPN Classic. It's allowed ESPN Classic -- which a lot of people perceive as the History Channel of Sports -- to reach out in a modern day tense and touch the consumer by visiting their hometown.

Have the "pot luck" viewing problems that have plagued ESPN Classic in the past been addressed?

The problem was the lack of destination viewing. The network was definitely a surf channel. With the launch of the Sports Century series, the Game of the Night that follows it and more Instant Classics, we're definitely trying to retain the attention of our viewers.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Copyright by Media Central Inc., A PRIMEDIA Company. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group