ESPN the Company: The Story and Lessons Behind the Most Fanatical Brand in Sports

by Keith Hollihan and Anthony F. Smith

Book Overview

A fascinating look at ESPN and its success as a brand

ESPN The Company reveals the inside scoop on the biggest business story in sports, detailing the creative and innovative spirit and practices that drove the programming, products, and services of the most powerful and prominent name in sports media. The authors provide a behind-the-scenes perspective on how ESPN dealt with their many partners and how they handled mistakes and missteps...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 047054211X
• ISBN13: 9780470542118
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Another Hit

I enjoyed Taboos and while this book deals with a totally different subject, Tony Smith has brought his usual unique style to the story of ESPN. While ESPN helped reinvent the way sports is reported, the background and strategy behind the story makes for great reading.

ESPN the Company

Tony Smith has written a fresh and engaging book, with lots of "insider" glimpses of this iconic company. It was filled with thought-provoking ideas and actionable principles. Highly recommended for sports fans as well as leaders-

Great Book!

Tony has written a wonderful book, detailing the successes of ESPN, and the roadmap of how they got to where they are today. His insider perspective, and tremendous longevity as a consultant for ESPN, have equipped him to lend insights that other authors just cannot provide. If you love sports, television, the study of organizational development or leadership, you will love this book!

Tony Smith's Contribution

Tony Smith has, I believe, contributed in a way that many books do not. He has contributed on a level of understanding of a company that has a true story to tell. As many of us who are sports fans know, ESPN is a unique story of a group that went from being seen with skepticism to truly a worldwide leader. But, Tony has also contributed on the level that allows us to understand organizational effectiveness and leadership in a deeper and more meaningful context. We all know that there are lots of books out there that talk about leadership. Tony's knowledge of a client with a powerful message and his own powerful message about leadership makes this an enduring contribution to both fields.

Rare Inside Expertise

Tony's work and perspective here is not only interesting, but incredibly useful. The thing about his approach that's clear is that he's far from a standard, run of the mill consultant who's lucky enough to land a cool gig at a client. Uniquely, he's able to deliver, and in this book reflect in his writing, insights about how things change in a brand's evolution. ESPN is fortunate to have retained him, as is the reader for buying this book.