X Games 2015 Press Conference

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Will X Games Stay in Aspen?

UPDATE: 1/22/14  ESPN announced a 5 year renewal of Winter X Games in Aspen.  X Games will compete in Aspen through at least 2019.  AspenSpin was wrong.

This week in Aspen Winter X Games is back for the 13th year in a row. Everyone in town knows that the contract between Aspen and ESPN (Disney) is set to expire after the 2014 huck fest.  Will they stay or will they go?  The emotions seem mixed.

ESPN and Aspen Skiing Company have gotten to know each other pretty well by now.  They have been in bed together for 13 straight years. The relationship between them is sort of like Godzilla vs. King Kong.  Disney has a market cap of $130 billion and Ski Co. is privately held by the Crown Family who also control General Dynamics which has a  market cap. of only $33.5 billion. The two behemoths are deep into negotiations for a renewal.  Maybe it'll happen.

The following is pure speculation on my part.  Call it an educated guess, but I don't think ESPN will renew X Games in Aspen.   Most will disagree.    I don't even know who, if anyone is bidding against Aspen. But I'm going with the rogue idea that X Games will be sending it's last nose-butter triple cork 1620 in Aspen in 2014.  Here's why;

ASPEN has NOTHING LEFT to GIVE.  

Gretchen Bleiler and Louie Vito. X Games Stars.The City of Aspen and Aspen Skiing Company have already pulled their pants down.  They've given away everything they have to give in order to keep Disney happy for 13 years.  Ski Co. has already given them Buttermilk.   RFTA brings in special busses. The City is willing to close off roads and fence in the park. Basically, we have nothing left to offer.   Disney is a gargantuan company.  "The Mouse" is used to getting what they want in Hollywood, on Wall Street and on Main Street.  For the past 13 years we've rolled out the red carpet and accommodated almost every X Games request under "the benefit of the community" jurisdiction.   It's been a good ride for both sides...but Aspen's barrels are empty. ESPN offers up "priceless" TV exposure to a younger demographic.   But Aspen has no more negotiating points to concede.  The reality is Aspen can't  help X Games get any bigger.

BEEN THERE DONE THAT.  

Change is good, so they say.  We've watched as the events and tricks and athletes and the entire spectacle has evolved.  The X Games is a huge media property now.  We witnessed Shaun White progress from a punk-a$$ teen into an international conglomerate.  X Games just seems a wee bit played out here in Aspen.  Last year X Games mis-judged their world-wide dominance.  They failed in their attempt to expand internationally holding six X events around the globe.   X Games has pulled in their horns a smidgen and are now re-focused on their original 2 event, Summer / Winter strategy. Summer X Games will be moving to Austin, Texas in 2014 after an 11 year run in L.A.  Austin beat out Detroit for Summer X Games. Detroit has 50 square miles of vacant land that they were willing to devote to X Games.  

Sal and Senior Blanco. $500 million dollars ago.The ASPEN PREMIUM.

Those of us that live here and anyone who visits realizes that everything is more expensive in Aspen. Lodging, transportation, meals, pay roll costs, security, logistics, staging, venues...everything simply costs more in Aspen.  That's not a new phenomenon, but the cost spread between Aspen and anywhere else is measurable.  The sled heads (snow mobile events are a huge part of Winter X) are not exactly shopping at Prada and Gucci. X Games core demographic might be impressed by aspirational Aspen...but does Aspen really move the needle on TV ratings and advertising rates.  I think not.

SIZE MATTERS (accessibility too) 

Aspen is not getting any bigger or any easier to get in and out of..  The unpredictable weather, the one lane drive on Highway 82 and our right-sized  Airport are constants.  In a perfect scenario, X Games needs a stadium and a major airport to satisfy their hunger for growth.  In the world of action sports...bigger is always better, right?   Aspen has style which counts for a lot...but progression dictates growth.  Last year ESPN reported that 114,500 people attended the X Games in Aspen.  That may or may not be an accurate count, but no matter what it feels as if Aspen is at capacity.  The stakes are high, this year's prize purse will exceed $1 million for the first time.

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So the town of Aspen waits.  Will they or won't they strike a deal?  Will they or won't they make an announcement at the 13th annual X Games Aspen press conference this Wednesday?

I'm not afraid to be wrong.  Aspen Ski Co. has put up a very confident front.  The City of Aspen is willing to do almost anything to placate big money.  So maybe we can pull a rabbit out of our hat and Aspen will continue to host Winter X Games moving forward  beyond 2014.  

Either way...it's been a helluva ride and some great times.

Fitty made the scene at Buttermilk in 2010.Aspen needs to appeal to the younger demographic. We use the oldest trick in the book. Sponsored Bar.

X Games 2013: The 6-peaters.

History was made on the final day of X Games 2013 in Aspen.  Both Tucker Hibbert (Snowcross) and Shaun White completed their 6th straight Gold Medal performances.   The winners for Day 4:

Adaptive Snowcross:                     Mike Schultz, 31  USA

Ski Slopestyle (Men):                     Nick Goepper, 18  USA

Ski Slopestyle (Women)                 Tiril Sjastad Christiansen, 17 NOR

Snowmobile Snowcross                  Tucker Hibbert, 28  USA

Snowmobile Best Trip                     Daniel Bodine, 28  SWE

Snowboard Super Pipe (men)         Shaun White, 26  USA

Mike Shultz topped the field for his 3rd Gold in Adaptive Snowcross. He built his own leg/. Photo: AspenSpin18 year old Nick Goepper from Indiana claimed Gold in Ski Slopestyle. Photo: Tom Zuccareno / ESPN Images.17 year old Norwegian Tiril Sjastad Christiansen scored Gold in Slope. Photo: Matt Morning / ESPN Images.Tucker Hibbert 6-peated Gold in Snowcross. Photo: Allen Kee / ESPN ImagesSwede Daniel Bodine went MASSIVE in Best Trick. Photo: Eric Bakke / ESPN ImagesShaun White 6-peated in Snowboard Superpipe to cap off X Games 2013. Photo: Tom Zuccareno / ESPN Images

X Games 2013 (Inside the Press Tent)

Winter X Games 2013 starts Thursday in Aspen. Wednesday is press day.

AspenSpin shot tons of sick pix.

Please click 'em.

*PRESS CONFERENCE

*RED BULL MEDIA EVENT

*THE CRASH REEL / KP RIDES AGAIN

Skiers & Snowboarders....Can't we all just get along. X Games 2013 Press conference.Things got loose at The Red Bull Media Lounge. click 4 pix.Kevin Pearce hosted a showing of The Crash Reel ..a film about tragedy and triumph, family and love. A great film. Click 4 pix.

Sports, Money and Rock & Roll

L.A. is like a car wreck.  You don't want to watch...but you can't look away.   Los Angeles is not really my kind of town...but I always enjoy it in short spurts.   AspenSpin rolled 101 miles North to Los Angeles in order to plug into the sports and entertainment media mainstream for a few days.   In addition to some off-line debauchery, we attended 2 enormous events, the 2012 ESPY Awards and the Variety Sports Entertainment Summit.

See Pix:   THE 2012 ESPY Awards  /  VARIETY SPORTS SUMMIT  / HOLLYWOOD ROCKS

The 2012 ESPYs. Click 4 Pix. Bode MillerBucket List Item scratched: The ESPY's fulfilled my desire to attend a glamorous Hollywood Awards Show. The ESPYs is basically the Oscars for Athletes.  A-Spin scored a seat in the last row (literally) of the Nokia Theatre at L. A. Live for the 20th annual ESPY Awards.  While ESPN is a friend of A-Spin's program, we did not get the full-on hook-up, so no RCE (red carpet experience).  It was just cool to be there, in person even if it was in the nose bleeds. 

Rob Riggle , who hosted the show...is a very funny guy.  His icy stare at Kentucy hoops coach John Calipari during the opening monologue got plenty of laughs.  Riggle brought out media superstar TIM TEBOW within the first 2 minutes just to confirm that the show had started.   The ESPY's annually occur on the quietest night in sports.  The night after the MLB All-Star Game is one of two nights every year when all 4 major sports leagues are dormant. The ESPYs was broadcast to 175 countries in 52 languages.   Tebow took home the ESPY for "best moment" for his 80 yard TD pass to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of OT against Pittsburg in last years NFL playoffs.  This award ignited a twitter war with the Tampa Bay Rays, who thought their Game 162 heroics deserved the win.  Coach Pat Summit recevied the Arthur Ashe Award in a very emotional presentation, with her son Tyler by her side.   New Bronco QB, Peyton Manning delived the hardware to Coach Pat.  LeBron James took home two individual awards and the Miami Heat won best team.  Local favorites the L.A. Kings had to settle for "best upset". According to AEG's CEO Tim Leiweke (owner of the Kings) "it was no upset" . Our boyieee Shaun White won "best male action sports" and Bode Miller was in the crowd with a smokin hot date.  The ESPYs was fun and it was good to be there, but it's basically the same as you see it on TV. Very few athletes made it up to the Mezz level at Nokia, and I had to smuggle my camera in but we got a few sick pix.  Click  SPORTS, MONEY and ROCK & ROLL.

Click here to see all the ESPY Winners: 

UFC's Dana White held session at Variety. Click 4 pix.Variety Magazine hosted The Sports and Entertainment Summit at the newly re-flagged Loews Hollywood.  Over 400 attendees enjoyed a full day of speakers and presentations from sports media industry leaders, top executives, athletes and entrepreneurs.   The list of speakers and panelists was extremely impressive.  Keynotes from Tim Leiweke (CEO of AEG, the 2nd largest live entertainment company in the world) Dana White (President of UFC) and Tony Hawk (skater and businessman) provided tremendous insight into the Sports and Entertainment media business.   The event was live-streamed to 145 countries in 52 languages...not bad.

A few take home points.

* Ad Revenue from the London Olympics... will exceed $1 billion. 

*The Beijing Olympics produced 52 million unique visits and over a billion page views for NBC's website. In London 2012, NBC is poised to blow those numbers away.

* NBC will produce over 5500 hours of content in London.  The much ballyhooed 3 platform deal between Facebook and NBC will have "no money changing hands".

* Olympic Sponsorship is way more integrated in 2012.  Fewer sponsors, more activation.

* Ambush marketing... keep your eye on Subway.

* The USOC has 12 million Facebook fans (seems low??) and has established rules and guidelines for the athletes....on tweeting.

*AEG (Anschultz Entertainment Group) Owns or manages over 70 major venues and has 24,000 employees worldwide

* L.A. traffic even beats the BIG Shots.  Tim Leiweke was a late for his keynote and offered up some choice rhetoric ... " the Highland off ramp was jammed".

* 12 years ago when Staples Center was built, L.A. was the "most immature sports market in the world" and #26 in the U.S. for conventions behind Omaha. Leiweke is very confident about NFL Football coming back to L.A., hopefully in the proposed privately funded Farmers Field in Downtown.

*Leiweke spoke about obstacles ahead for the stadium.  "The L.A. City Council can't run a 7-11, let alone a municipality" and he added "the problem with L.A is that anyone can sue, and they do".

* Sports is social.  It's the last bastion of live TV ..no time shifting.  People now consume on  multi screens and multi-platforms and age group is a key determination to how fans consume their sports.

* Data collection is the key...know your customer.  

* Dana White did not attend College and had zero business experience when he bought the UFC (with partners) for $2 million.   Last Saturday UFC 148 generated over $50 million in one per-per-view event as well as $7 million at the gate.   UFC has licensenced an underwear line in Brazil.  Over 200,000 units sold the first day.  UFC's first bout in China is scheduled for November.

* Dana White is incredibly honest and authentic and his personality reflects his business.  He has 2.1 million twitter followers.  He stuck around for an hour after his talk to personally meet and greet over 100 people...individually.  You can feel his passion for UFC.

* Social Media and the connection to fans today is like a "virtual autograph".

* NFL Red Zone is for "those with A.D.D. and a gamblers dream".

* Tony Hawk is the most chill dude on the planet.

* Kids think Tony Hawk is "named after a video game".

* His clothing line started when he had kids and could only fine "small versions of lame adult clothes". His sister and business manager started it in her garage  His 19 year old son is now a pro skater. 

*Tony admitted to being "a little old for a pro skater" but says he "walks the walk" every day and that he only associates with products that reflect his skater ethos.  He has also sold more than $1 billion in video games with his name on it.

Fox Sports at the Variety Sports Summit Click for PixVariety's Sports Entertainment Summit was a fabulous event.  We all know that sports media is an ENORMOUS business.  Sports are not just games for kids anymore as billions and billions of dollars are riding on it.  AspenSpin would like to thank Variety for hosting us at the Sports and Entertainment Summit.  It gave us an opportunity to mingle and meet with athletes, agents, producers and execs from ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports and more.  It was entertaining and informative and confirmed the age old adage....CONTENT is KING.

As far as Rock and Roll goes...we stayed in Hollywood at the center of the R & R world.  We also caught a phenomenal photo exhibit, WHO SHOT ROCK and ROLL at the Annenberg Photography Space in Century City.   I highly recommend this show if you're in L.A. Annenberg has a no photo policy...so we can't share any images, but it's an outstanding show that depicts Rock's history on film.. 

See our sick pix.   SPORTS, MONEY and ROCK & ROLL.

Shaun White and Olivia Munn were dressed to thrill at the 2012 ESPY AWARDS.Variety Editor Stuart Levine and Tony Hawk "winged it" at the Variety Sports and Entertainment Summit. Click 4 pix.It's only ROCK & ROLL. Hollywood, Ca. Click for pix.