Electronic Arts Signs Fifteen Year ESPN Agreement

The latest news regarding EA's moves in the football gaming industry came out this morning. Not content to simply strip away the NFL license from competitor Sega ESPN NFL 2K5, they have now licensed the use of the ESPN brand for fifteen years in all relevant areas. In gaming time, fifteen years is an eternity. They already outfoxed Sega last year by snapping up ESPN tv deals while Sega games carried the ESPN branding. All of this would seem to give EA the ability to price football and other sports games at will moving into the next console generation in 2006.

"This relationship was created to benefit consumers who are passionate about sports games," said Larry Probst, Electronic Arts Chairman and CEO. "EA SPORTS recreates the real life experience fans enjoy while watching or playing their favorite sport; while ESPN programming captures the look, sound and excitement of the sports they follow. Together, we believe we can significantly grow the interactive sports category."