Electronic Arts continued its sports-dominating ways yesterday, announcing an exclusive partnership with ESPN to use the ESPN brand, assets and talent through the year 2021. News of this 15-year deal, which goes into effect in 2006, follows a previous announcement that EA signed an exclusive agreement to the NFL's licensing rights.
Most gamers have focused on what the partnership might mean for Sega, which developed the fantastic NFL 2K and ESPN Sports football franchises. Yet others have wondered what, if anything, this means for EA's long-standing football powerhouse, Madden NFL Football.
According to the EA / ESPN announcement, existing EA Sports franchises will integrate ESPN telecast, print and online content, while the ESPN brand will be more closely integrated in future sports games. This could extend to ESPN properties such as The X-Games, but it also might signal a change for EA's Madden franchise.
According to CNN/Money, commentator John Madden's contract with EA expires at the end of 2005, and contract negotiations are still underway. With newfound access to ESPN commentators, which Sega used masterfully in its NFL games, EA may no longer need the services of its stalwart football personality. However, EA quickly notes that Madden himself has an ESPN connection via Monday Night Football, which could still make him available for future EA football games.
If you'd like to weigh in on this and other recent announcements from Electronic Arts, there are already discussions started in the DailyGame forums. You can read (and join in) the discussions by clicking the appropriate link below.
