John Skipper and John A. Walsh Take Helm of ESPN Internet Group

Posted on January 19, 2000

ohn Skipper and John A. Walsh will take leadership roles at ESPN Internet Group (EIG), it was announced by Steven M. Bornstein, chairman, GO.com and George W. Bodenheimer, president, ESPN Inc. Skipper will be the senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Internet Group. Walsh will be senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Internet Group while continuing to have editorial responsibilities at ESPN as senior vice president and executive editor of ESPN Inc. Steve Zales, currently the senior vice president and general manager of EIG, will take on a new role as senior vice president, strategic development, for GO.com.

"I had the pleasure of working with both John Skipper and John Walsh during my tenure as CEO of ESPN," said Bornstein. "They know how to spark the interest of sports fans in any medium, and I am thrilled at the prospect of having this outstanding team contribute their talents to furthering the enormous success of ESPN.com."

Added Bodenheimer, "John Skipper and John Walsh have proven talent in extending the ESPN sports experience. Their guidance will deliver greater integration and creative applications of ESPN.com across all our entities and will ensure our brand's leadership in this dynamic frontier."

In his new role, Skipper will be responsible for all aspects of content development and programming, design, production and marketing for a suite of Web sites including ESPN.com, NFL.com, NBA.com, NASCAR Online, WNBA.com, ABCSports.com and Soccernet. He will oversee staffs in New York; Bristol, Conn.; and Seattle and will report jointly to Dick Glover, executive vice president, Internet media for GO.com and ABC Inc. and Bodenheimer.

Most recently, Skipper was the senior vice president and general manager of ESPN The Magazine. During its inaugural year, the magazine earned more than 20 awards including "Best New Magazine" honors from both Advertising Age and AdWeek magazines, as well as a 1999 National Magazine Award for design.

John Walsh, who will remain in his role as executive editor of ESPN Inc., will add ESPN.com and the other EIG properties to his current responsibilities. Going forward, he will oversee all creative development and editorial direction for ESPN.com, NFL.com, NBA.com, NASCAR Online, WNBA.com, ABCSports.com and Soccernet. Like Skipper, Walsh will report jointly to Glover and Bodenheimer, and will work closely with Geoff Reiss, senior vice president, programming and production, for ESPN Internet Group.

Walsh has served as executive editor of ESPN Inc. since 1990, and most recently worked with Skipper to launch ESPN The Magazine. During his tenure at ESPN, he has been involved in the creative development of a variety of projects, spanning from SportsCenter to The ESPY's to SportsCentury. He also was instrumental in launching the ESPN Radio Network and in the development of ESPN2 and ESPNEWS.

Steve Zales, currently senior vice president and general manager of EIG, will take on a new role as senior vice president, strategic development, for GO.com, reporting to GO.com President Steve Wadsworth and Glover. Zales will be responsible for developing growth strategies for ESPN.com, ABC.com, ABCNEWS.com and the other ABC online properties.