New Round of SportsCenter Commercials Debut on ESPN Networks

New Round of SportsCenter Commercials Debut on ESPN Networks Star Wars Characters Join SportsCenter Anchors for Award-Winning Campaign Along with Lennox Lewis, Andy Roddick and ESPN Deportes Talent BRISTOL, Conn., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- A new round of "This Is SportsCenter" commercials roll out this week on all ESPN Networks, it was announced by Lee Ann Daly, executive vice president, marketing, ESPN. The award-winning mocumentary-style campaign theme continues with new commercials that feature popular Star Wars characters, including R2-D2, C-3PO, Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper, as well as tennis star Andy Roddick, heavyweight boxing icon Lennox Lewis, U.S. soccer team gold medalist Heather Mitts and spelling bee champion David Tidmarsh. Also included are ESPN Deportes talent Fernando Palomo, Michele LaFountain and Ciro Procuna and SportsCenter anchors John Anderson, Linda Cohn, Mike Greenberg, Dana Jacobson, Stuart Scott and Scott Van Pelt. "In the typical spirit of 'This Is SportsCenter' fun, we're delighted that these heroic characters from Star Wars came to the rescue to help us run our new ESPN HD studio," said Daly. "We are also always delighted to have world- class athletes join in all the fun we have every time we go up to Bristol to shoot this campaign." The six new spots, created by Wieden + Kennedy New York, were shot in October on the ESPN Bristol, Conn. campus. Descriptions of the promos follow: * Nickname - Roddick stops by Stuart Scott's office and is curious as to why Stuart no longer calls him "A-Rod." * Idle Hands - Roddick passes time waiting outside an office at SportsCenter with a few friends, among them the UMass Minuteman mascot. * Space Anchors - With the addition of SportsCenter's new HD technology, ESPN had to hire a more sophisticated staff, including Chewbacca, C-3P0, R2-D2 and other Star Wars favorites to help with the new technology. * Accent - Soccer star Heather Mitts and Linda Cohn are enthralled with Lennox Lewis' British accent. * Spelling Bee - When Scott Van Pelt gets stuck on the spelling of an athlete's name, it is a good thing the National Spelling Bee Champion is there to bail him out. * Expansion Team - ESPN puts up a few players for the expansion draft to help recent addition, ESPN Deportes, fill its roster. SportsCenter is ESPN's flagship news program and provides television's most thorough and entertaining presentation of the day's news in sports. Having revolutionized televised sports news, SportsCenter anchors ESPN, Inc.'s 24-hour news and information franchise. ESPN televises more than 23 hours of live SportsCenter each week -- three times daily at 6:00 p.m. ET, 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. Additional live editions of SportsCenter are featured Saturday mornings at 10:00 a.m. and Sunday mornings, currently at 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The 1 a.m. (10:00 p.m. PT) SportsCenter is re-aired at 2 a.m., with live updates as needed each night, and on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Saturdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and Sundays from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Source: ESPN CONTACT: Alison Lazar, ESPN, +1-212-456-0226, Alison.lazar@espn.com Web site: http://www.espn.com/ NOTE TO EDITORS: For photos contact photodesk@espn.com ------- Profile: International Entertainment