We've dreamed up a whole new world for female athletes & fans.As Laura Gentile and fellow ESPN executives batted around ideas for pockets of expansion inside the sprawling company, there appeared to be an opportunity to target female athletes more extensively. High school sports would be an important part. So would athletes looking to stay involved after college as they segue into the next phase of their lives.
"Thinking about that as an untapped audience makes a lot of sense," she said.
The concept has roots in Gentile's previous role as a de facto chief of staff for ESPN president George Bodenheimer. In addition to any pressing operational duties, Gentile said there is time to gamble as a visionary, to decide where the company should place some of its chips next.
After extensive research and pitching to a gauntlet of top executives, a business plan that resulted in an espnW business unit -- the lower case "espn" is intentional -- got the go-ahead.
The vice president and assistant to the president's role in Bodenheimer's office that Gentile held is a rotating position. And now she's heading the "W" project that falls under the wide-reaching content group. Its role is evolving and perhaps still being clarified, but functioning as a nexus in the female space seems to be the goal.
Gentile noted that ESPN's on-air coverage of women's college sports has grown, and peaks this month with the NCAA basketball tournament. But she said, "A dedicated team as the real focus allows us to take it to the next level."
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