ESPNNewYork.com To Launch Just in Time for Yankees-Red Sox Opener

ESPN has announced plans to a launch local local New York Website, ESPNNewYork.com, on April 2. The site represents yet another step into the local sports market, as it will be the fifth ESPN Local Website launched in the past 12 months, following outlets in Chicago, Boston, Dallas, and Los Angeles. The launch will coincide with the New York Yankees opening day at Fenway Park against the rival Boston Red Sox on April 4.

Former New York Daily News sports editor, Leon Carter, will serve as executive director of the new site. Carter, a long-time veteran of the New York sports scene, has also served as sports editor at Newsday and was presented with the Legacy Award from the National Association of Black Journalists in 2009.

“New York is one of the world’s greatest sports cities, home to one of most passionate fan bases and some of the most storied franchises in sports,” says Rob King, VP and editor-in-chief, ESPN.com.  “Leon is a veteran of the NY media world who truly understands the NY area sports landscape.  His leadership will drive the editorial direction of ESPNNewYork.com and build a sports site for true NY sports fans.”

Content will resemble that of other ESPN Local sites and cover all of the New York area professional sports teams, collegiate sports programs and, eventually, regional high school coverage. ESPNNewYork.com will also produce a daily edition of ESPNNewYork SportsCenter, a 3-6 minute roundup of the region’s sports news complete with highlights and hosted by SportsCenter anchors.

ESPNNewYork.com will also become the new home of ESPN’s owned and operated radio station, ESPN Radio 1050 AM, which will have its on section on the new site. ESPN Radio 1050 AM will also debut a new lineup coinciding with ESPNNewYork.com’s launch, including an hour-long ESPN New York segment at 10 a.m., which will provide a look at the morning’s top New York stories with contributions from ESPNNewYork.com reporters.

“We are dedicated to finding contributors and authentic voices that have a passion for all things New York, an expertise on the hometown teams and a real, meaningful connection with fans in the NY area,” says Jim Pastor, SVP and GM, ESPN Local.  “In just one year, we’ve managed to establish a deeper relationship on a local level with fans in Chicago, Boston, Dallas and Los Angeles.  They are each among the top local sports destinations for fans in their respective markets, and we have high hopes for New York as we build our presence from the solid foundation we’ve established through the success and reach of our owned and operated station, ESPN Radio 1050 AM.”

The site will feature a custom New York video hub, offering a library for the latest highlights, news, analysis, and original content from ESPN programs including original New York content from ESPN programs like Baseball Tonight, NFL Live, College Football Live and more. The video will run on ESPN’s 16×9 video player while audio from 1050 ESPN will run on ESPN Radio’s SuperStream audio player.

Other features include: A New York Yankee “dream team” application, a Headline Machine that allows users to customize their news/photo feeds, social media tools, and clubhouse pages for all New York area teams.

For a preview of ESPNNewYork.com, click here.