Dave looks at ESPN as the owner of B.A.S.S.

ESPN and BASS
by Dave Ochs
dave@vabass.com

It's still too soon to know exactly what impact ESPN's purchase of B.A.S.S. will have on the tournament fisherman and the weekend warrior. There is, however, a lot of hope that good things are on the way.

HIGH HOPES AND A LOT OF WORK AHEAD

Former B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year and BASS Masters Classic champion Denny Brauer says he thinks this "could be the biggest thing that ever happened to the sport of bass fishing. Time will tell." Brauer's TV show, The Bass Class, is televised by ESPN, and he says "I have a working relationship with the people at ESPN and know how they operate. My first impression of people at ESPN is they're really on the ball. For them to own our sport, I would think the future looks bright."

There might eventually be some changes, maybe just subtle ones, in Bassmaster Magazine, B.A.S.S. Times, or the Bassmaster TV show. But that remains to be seen. There are no announced plans for any major changes as of this time. Both companies are large media/communication firms. B.A.S.S., sometimes described as a publishing company that sponsors fishing tournaments, publishes marketing material for the fishing industry and several non-fishing magazines. ESPN has several cable channels, a magazine and restaurants. It also sponsors several competitive events. Both companies have investments in event management, merchandising, TV distribution, the Internet and more. It will take some time to blend all of this.

Dave Nagle, ESPN's Communications Coordinator, says that, despite the amount of investigation that is done before an acquisition of this size, "there is still a great deal of getting-to-know-you after the purchase." He says that over the two months since the purchase, a group from ESPN has visited B.A.S.S. headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama, and a delegation from B.A.S.S has done the same, visiting the Bristol, Connecticut, ESPN offices.

B.A.S.S. President and Chief Executive Officer Helen Sevier did not return phone calls requesting more specific comments about the impact the sale would have on the typical member of B.A.S.S., preferring to let stand her comments that were part of the original news release announcing the sale. In that release, Sevier said B.A.S.S. "is thrilled to team with an organization such as ESPN that has extensive multi-media resources, enormous promotional power and a track record for growing properties."

Al Smith, the B.A.S.S. Federation Director, says that the joining "will certainly strengthen our Federation Program as we strive to reach new levels." That's an encouraging quote, but his statement doesn't tell us what those new levels and new goals are, and it doesn't say how the purchase will strengthen the Federation Program. Hopefully, the merger will strengthen us and prove true the wish of B.A.S.S. touring fisherman Skeet Reese, who, like Brauer, says it's "potentially the best thing that has ever happened to bass fishing and could truly take it to the next level."

IMPACT ON TOURNAMENT PAYOUTS

Asked if pro fishing's touring anglers might see more money in their tournament payout pools because of the acquisition, Nagle said, "it's hard to be that specific. We hope that they will benefit from this. Our point of view is, the first thing you've got to do is make life better for the anglers, both the professional and all the membership, and everything else will follow." Nagle also says "it's too early at this point to say anything definitive" about how this purchase will affect the average weekend fisherman.

Brauer says "we're all hoping" there will be payout increases. He points out, "Every sport has grown through TV. I think everything is in place" for bass fishing to get the same boost. He says the exposure that ESPN ownership could bring the touring fishermen means that the stars of the sports could become "mainstream superstars beyond industry superstars."

Roger Fitchett, the president of the Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation, says "ESPN opens up a lot of exposure for fishing, and I hope the Federation is included in that."

ESPN's ORGANIZATION AND LONG REACH

There are organizational steps that have already been taken since the purchase. ESPN has formed a division called ESPN Outdoors, which will coordinate all of the company's outdoor events. This will include B.A.S.S, ESPN's Great Outdoor Games and all of the network's outdoor television programming. Michael Rooney, the senior vice president of ESPN The Magazine, oversees the division. Before joining ESPN, Rooney was a senior vice president and publisher for Field and Stream and Outdoor Life, and was the first publisher of Men's Health. He fishes, boats, cycles, and is a member of the board of trustees for Outward Bound USA. Sevier will report to Rooney. Nagle says it will be Rooney's job to "look at what we have and what we can do with it."

One of the things ESPN has now is access to us, the 600-thousand members of B.A.S.S. The company will want us watching Bassmasters shows on ESPN2, and you can expect to see some kind of cross-promotion growing from that. That ability to cross-promote among all of ESPN's television, radio and print outlets might attract more non-traditional advertisers from outside the fishing industry. That would bring more money in to ESPN and, hopefully, some of those funds would filter into payouts for the tournament anglers and to the Federation.

Eventually, ESPN might create an all-outdoors cable network. Upon announcement of the purchase, ESPN President George Bodenheimer said the acquisition "could serve as the foundation for the launch of a dedicated ESPN outdoors network." Company officials haven't commented further about the idea since then.