Mobile ESPN to launch at Superbowl

ESPN today revealed the first details of its much-anticipated MVNO, announcing that it would be a 3G service running over Sprint’s new EV-DO network and is scheduled to launch on the biggest sports day of the year, Superbowl Sunday.

ESPN also renamed the service from ESPN Mobile to Mobile ESPN. The Disney division said it would begin offering the service on a limited basis on its website www.mobileespn.com during the Holidays, but it’s nationwide rollout will commence Sunday Feb. 5, the day of the Superbowl. At that time Sprint is expected to have completed the first phase of its 3G rollout, covering 143 million people in the U.S. with its EV-DO footprint.

ESPN also unveiled its first phone for the network, the Sanyo MVP, an EV-DO handset the vendor has designed exclusively for the MVNO. In addition to high-end smartphone features like a 1.3 Megapixel camera and MP3 player, the handset is being optimized for multimedia content with a QVGA display and special user face elements designed to display real-time sports scores and other statistics as well as special engine called Gamecast, which creates a graphical representation of sporting events.

The company also announced it is contracting with West Corporation to handle the new virtual operator’s customer service.