• by Wayne Friedman , March 3, 2010

San Francisco, Calif. -- ESPN will be launching a cross-platform research effort, ESPN XP, in the coming months.

Artie Bulgrin, senior vice president of research for ESPN, in speaking at the 4As media conference, says the new research effort will measure cross-media audiences, usage by platform and advertising efficiencies.

XP will start this summer around the FIFA World Cup soccer event.

"We don't believe in replacing currencies," says Bulgrin. "We want to reveal the value of cross-platform."

The cross-media platform is a key for ESPN, since users access the network on many platforms for its real-time live sports programming.

Bulgrin says 46% of ESPN users are multiplatform users -- which represents 71% of its overall media time. He says this activity has doubled recently. TV is a major factor; only 5% of ESPN users use non-TV platforms without TV. Heavy users of ESPN cross-media platforms total up to 40 hours a week on its platforms.

The cross-media effort will work in conjunction with the Disney-ABC Television media lab that started up in 2008 in Austin, Texas. "The great thing about the lab is that we can isolate specific areas like brand integrations," says Bulgrin.

Some recent findings of the lab include improved results for dynamic ad insertions of live events -- in which messaging pops up in a split screen with live sports action. ESPN says there are big gains in brand recall and other advertising measures.

For another digital video finding, using the new "skin" monitoring effort, Bulgrin says there was heightened "arousal."