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because Michael Eisner wanted to strike back at Mouth-from-the-South Ted Turner and his aging Sports Illustrated. In a move so obvious that no one tried to hide or deny it, “The Body Issue” would become ESPN’s answer to SI’s famed Swimsuit Issue, but with more exposed skin.

ESPN International involves more than two hundred countries situated on every continent. More than 350 million subscribers tune in to at least one of ESPN’s forty-six networks, broadcasting in sixteen languages throughout the world. There are also thirteen local versions of SportsCenter produced in eight languages: Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, Hindi, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Japanese.

Where Content Is King, It’s Good to Be the King—of Content. John Skipper (left) had virtually no television background when George Bodenheimer put him in charge of the most visible chunk of the ESPN empire. Here Skipper stands with humble but fearless standout Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd, one of Bristol’s top alpha males.

On the lush lawn outside the ESPN Café, the countdown to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa looms large. Virtually every corner of the company was caught up in this, the most enormous effort in ESPN history. Some on the staff referred to it as “Skipper’s Cup,” after Skipper had made it his top priority, upon succeeding Mark Shapiro, to take the rights away from NBC.

Contents

Front Cover Image

Welcome

Dedication

Epigraph

Introduction

1. Blood: 1978–1979

2. The Utility Of Daring: 1980–1986

3. Ripeness Is All: 1987–1991

4. Manifest Destiny: 1992–1994

5. Jonah: 1995–2000

6. The Garden of Forking Paths: 2001–2004

7. Reconciling the Dream: 2005–2008

8. Parade of Horribles: 2009 and Beyond

Acknowledgments

Photo Insert

Also by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales

Copyright

Also by James Andrew Miller

Running in Place: Inside the Senate

Live from New York: An Uncensored

History of “Saturday Night Live”

Also by Tom Shales

On the Air

Legends: Remembering America’s Greatest Stars

Live from New York: An Uncensored

History of “Saturday Night Live”

Copyright

Copyright © 2011 by Jimmy the Writer, Inc.

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Little, Brown and Company

Hachette Book Group

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First eBook Edition: May 2011

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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-316-12576-5