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| | Friday, August 4 The BASSMASTERS joins ESPN2 lineup | |||||
| The long-running the BASSMASTERS tournament fishing series will be joining the ESPN2 outdoor programming lineup in January 2001. The multi-year agreement with Tulsa-based Winnercomm calls for the production of 18 one-hour programs covering the BASSMASTERS Tournament Trail, including the season-ending BASSMASTER Classic. These programs will be aired on Fridays at 5 p.m. ET. Winnercomm will also produce 13 30-minute programs, which will be aired as part of ESPN2's Sunday morning block of outdoor programming. "We are thrilled to add the longest-running competitive bass fishing series to our extensive lineup of ESPN and ESPN2 outdoor programming," said Gary Morgenstern, ESPN director, brand management, in the programming department. Diehl Unger, Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) television executive producer, said "The opportunity to televise our programming on ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, is the next logical step for our company and our sport" Sam Youngwirth, Winnercomm vice president , said, "ESPN and B.A.S.S. represent a natural partnership, with the true benefactors being the fans. Unquestionably, future generations of fishing enthusiasts will look to the ESPN/B.A.S.S. partnership as a major milestone in the sport's development." ESPN has televised outdoor programming for nearly 20 years, including a block on Saturday mornings. ESPN2 features a block on Sunday mornings as part of a weekly schedule of 14 hours. In addition, event programming in outdoor sports, such as The BASSMASTERS series, is aired in afternoon time slots. In June, ESPN2 became the fastest network to reach the 70-million household mark, reaching that milestone in 80 months, more than a year faster than any other network. ESPN2 is now seen in 70.5 million homes, nine out of 10 ESPN homes. The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society is the world's largest fishing organization with over 600,000 members and over 2,800 local clubs merged into 51 federations in the United States and abroad. The BASSMASTER Tournament Trail, celebrating its 32nd year, continues to be the most prestigious bass fishing circuit in the country.
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