Premier Winter Action Sports Event will be Staged and Televised January 24-27, 2004; ESPN SportsCenter to Feature Onsite Live Coverage.

Aspen/Snowmass, Colo. — ESPN modified its Winter X Games VIII competition dates in order to feature an unprecedented schedule incorporating new enhancements to the event, most notably daily live telecasts. Winter X Games VIII will take place January 24-27, 2004 and will feature nighttime events, a consistent competition / telecast schedule and a live presence within SportsCenter, ESPN's flagship daily news program.

The Winter X Games features more than 250 athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in Moto X, Ski, Snowboard and Snowmobile.

"X Games events are the most significant competitions in the action sports genre," said Ron Semiao, senior vice president, ESPN Original Entertainment. "For the first time in X Games history, we will feature a live telecast of Winter X Games VIII, further reinforcing that these athletes and sports are on the same level as traditional major sports."

The original dates were January 22-25, 2004. Enhancements to the Winter X Games include:

Telecast Highlights
On January 24, the X Games telecast will once again kick off on ABC, and will continue on ESPN throughout the remainder of the television windows. ESPN will feature primetime telecasts from 9-11 p.m. ET every night live from Aspen/Snowmass.

Date | Network | Eastern Time
Saturday, Jan. 24 | ABC | 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. (3-5 p.m. Pacific Time)
Saturday, Jan. 24 | ESPN | 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 24 | ESPN | 9:00 - 11:00 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 25 | ESPN | 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 25 | ESPN | 9:00 - 11:00 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 26 | ESPN | 9:00 - 11:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 27 | ESPN | 9:00 - 11:00 p.m.

In addition, ESPN2 will present daily late-night highlight programs from Sunday, January 25 through Wednesday, January 28. ESPN International will distribute the Games to more than 110 million homes in more than 145 countries and territories around the world.

SportsCenter
For the first time, SportsCenter will report live from Aspen/Snowmass on Monday, January 26 and Tuesday, January 27. Each of those nights, the 11 p.m. ET SportsCenter will contain live event coverage from Winter X Games VIII.

Nighttime Events
Each night of Winter X Games VIII and for the first time in its history, competitions will be staged and televised live under the lights. The complete competition schedule for Winter X Games VIII, including the nighttime competitions, is forthcoming.

Additionally, construction will begin shortly to move the competition SuperPipe closer to the base of the mountain for better interaction between the athletes, spectators and Aspen/Snowmass guests.

Aspen/Snowmass was the host resort for the past two events — Winter X Games VI (2002) and VII (2003). This will mark the first time a city has hosted an X Games event (summer or winter) for three consecutive years. Primarily, X Games events change sites every two years.

All Winter X Games VIII events will be held at Buttermilk, an Aspen/Snowmass area mountain. There are four ski areas in the Aspen/Snowmass area — Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk — all operated by Aspen Skiing Company.

ESPN, The Worldwide Leader in Action Sports, first developed its X Games franchise in 1995. The X Games, Winter X Games, EXPN 2Day and X Games Global Championship are just some of the original action sports programming currently shown on ESPN and ESPN2. The brand has also grown to include international X Games events, EXPN.com, EXPN Radio, the large format film ESPN's Ultimate X and X Games branded skateparks. Information on all X Games events can be found on www.expn.com.