t began, in 1979, as a modest idea of televising local sporting events throughout Ithe state of Connecticut, on a new cable channel called “Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.” Today, ESPN is arguably the most successful network in modern television history, spanning eight channels in the United States and around the world. Online or mobile, in HD, 3D, or print, it is an unprecedented media empire. Presidents have applauded it, parents have named children after it, and some of its personalities have become more celebrated than the superstar athletes they cover. But the inside story of its rise has never been fully told—until now. Drawing upon over five hundred interviews with the greatest names in ESPN’s history—among them Keith Olbermann, Dan Patrick, Chris Berman, Bob Ley, Linda Cohn, Tony Kornheiser, Robin Roberts, Bill Simmons, Jim Rome, Erin Andrews, Lou Holtz, Barry Melrose, Tom Jackson, and Dick Vitale—and an all-star collection of some of the world’s finest athletes, bestselling authors James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales take us behind the cameras, into the locker rooms, and deep inside the ESPN “campus” in Bristol, Connecticut. Here, in their own words, the men and women who made ESPN great reveal the secrets behind its success—as well as the many scandals, rivalries, off-screen battles, and triumphs that have accompanied that ascent. From the unknown producers and business visionaries to the most famous faces on television, it’s all here. JAMES ANDREW MILLER is the author of Running in Place: Inside the Senate and coauthor of the national bestseller Live from New York: An Uncensored History of “Saturday Night Live.” He has worked in virtually all aspects of journalism—as well as on the entertainment side of television production and development—for more than twenty years. TOM SHALES is America’s foremost television critic, having won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1988. His books include On the Air!, Legends, and, as coauthor, Live from New York. For twenty-five years, he was film critic for National Public Radio.
Cover photographs, l–r: Dan Patrick by Michael J. LeBrecht II /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images; Keith Olbermann by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images; Chris Berman by Zuma Press/Icon SMI; Robin Roberts by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images; LeBron James by Peter Yang/AUGUST; Kirk Herbstreit by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images; Mike Tyson by Bettmann/Corbis; Bob Ley by Brad Barkett/Getty Images; Landon Donovan by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images; Peyton Manning by Scott Halleran/Getty Images; Jeff Gordon by Jerry Markland/Getty Images; Erin Andrews by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images; Stuart Scott by Scott Cunningham/ Getty Images; Dick Vitale by Bloomberg/Getty Images; Shaun White by Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Cal Ripken by Larry Goren/ ACTUAL SIZE Getty Images; Michael Wilbon by Evan Agostini/Getty Images; Tony Kornheiser by William E. Amatucci Jr./Getty Images
Running Time: Approx. 28.5 Hours • Unabridged Copyright © 2011 by Thomas Shales and Jimmy The Writer, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the US Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this production 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. Copyright 2010 by Hachette Audio. All rights reserved. A division of Hachette Book Group, 237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Produced by Michele McGonigle. Directed by Tommy Harron and Michele McGonigle. Edited by Pete Pantelis, Chris Fogg, and Barbara Vlahides. Mixed and Mastered by Pete Pantelis. Cover Design by Keith Hayes. www.HachetteAudio.com
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