"A fantastic opportunity to bring (surfing) to more viewers and new audiences across different platforms..."
A constant drumbeat of the World Surf League becoming rapidly unviable has grown louder and louder in recent days. Two of the greatest surfers ever, one Carissa Moore and Stephanie Gilmore, have chosen to step away, announcing retirement plans directly before the season. The vacated office of CEO has yet to be filled after Erik Logan’s spectacular departure. The PR interns are very in over their teenaged heads and Filipe Toledo has already been inked to win the next three tours.
Though the stink of failure merely being used as camouflage to mask unprecedented growth and success?
Maybe.
For, hours ago, it was revealed that the entire 2024 Championship Tour will be aired on “the worldwide leader in sports.
Cherie Cohen, WSL Chief Revenue Officer responsible for wins like Bailey Ladders, declared, “Working with ESPN this season is a fantastic opportunity to bring the sport to more viewers and new audiences across different platforms in the United States. They are the biggest name in sports content in the USA, and this agreement offers us the opportunity to share surfing with the millions of subscribers across their digital properties as well as on linear television.”
ESPN vice president of programming and acquisitions, Tim Reed, winked, “We are thrilled to showcase the 2024 WSL Championship Tour across ESPN platforms. Distributing the WSL CT live events rights on ESPN+ provides our audiences full access to the premier surf tour, where the top men and women will compete for the championship crown at legendary surf spots all over the world. The WSL CT is a great addition to the platform and live competitive surfing will fit well alongside an already significant content offering. We look forward to kicking off the season in Hawaii next week.”
Now, do you image that viewership of professional surfing will explode? Surfing and ESPN have a nice relationship as it relates to the famed Body Issue.
Pure sex.
Somehow, the news did not make ESPN’s main feed.
More as the story develops.
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I’ll believe it when I see it. Or not.
I don’t have or would ever think of paying for the ESPN “extra” scam sham. What a shame it’ll be to miss social influencers do to ‘CT surfers what they’ve done to professional snowboarders via, ESPN and its bastard kick-out stepchild, the X Games…
ESPN the Ocho
will it be live or on memorex?
https://youtu.be/YG8K0yl4_h…
where ever you go…I’ll follow.
no u-tube? the WSL site has never worked.
dude!
And ESPN just named Salema Chief of X sports content so, Welcome to the Paywall Everyone!!!$$😬
Steph and Carissa quit as a show of support to Elo after his unjustifiable expulsion from WSL
This will likely be the end of the webcasts on the WSL website and YouTube. You’ll have to be a subscriber to ESPN+. No Hamsammish on that one.
So you have to have a Subscription. Final Nail in the Coffin ⚰️ R.I.P. Pro Surfing. P.T. and Ian get to watch their Baby Die!
Turtle moons
What does ESPN get out of this exactly? 25 years ago this makes more sense when they started the X games and they had skateboarding BMX etc but why now? Did one of these interns go to a seminar where JMD was talking about how surfing is growing and got sucked in? WSL has sold Apple with the Watch , ABC with the Ultimate Surfer, Make or Break Amazon TV and none of those thing went as well as they had hoped… I don’t see this being any different…
Let me just echo I love you writing. It’s the most refreshing thing about surfing lately.
I’m pretty sure all this means is that contests will run to a time frame not on conditions.
what about the Babe? how much for the SI photo archive of todos los nudists…interns necessary…prefer left-handers…https://external-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne…
Even if the hermaphrodite rumours were true Lakey is smoking hot for a pro surfer
By the look of her nose,I’d fit pretty snug in there.
Fitzgibbins for me. And that accent, oh god.
make it a badge
Thanks.
Usually ESPN means you can’t watch any more without paying up.
Of all the streaming apps where I watch sports, ESPN+ is the worst and least user friendly. I canceled my subscription and stopped watching Spanish soccer because it was so bad. Hala Madrid!