• March 8, 2004

Two top cable TV programmers, ESPN and MTV, this morning have unveiled new digital media initiatives to extend the reach of their programming. ESPN announced plans to dramatically expand both its ESPN Broadband and ESPN Video-On-Demand offerings with more original programming, including its "SportsCentury" series, as well as its critically acclaimed "The Life" and new reality TV series "Dream Job." This summer, ESPN Broadband will premiere "The Game," an original series chronicling the a surfing competition at the X Games. ESPN executives say the ramp up is intended to help its cable operator affiliates drive broadband subscriber penetration. Separately, MTV announced a deal with Motorola to begin providing MTV-created wireless programming, including and interactive series of games dubbed "Plastikulture" to Motorola phones in the U.S., Canada and Japan.