ESPN mobile rises again

US operator Verizon Wireless relaunched the ESPN brand on the mobile on Wednesday morning for its V Cast subscribers.

ESPN VPN gives subscribers access to video highlights, alerts for scoring updates, breaking news and ESPN Gamecast, which has scoreboards and play-by-play detail, as well as news on players, teams and leagues.

ESPN bailed out of the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) space in September, after failing to get a strong enough foothold in the US market.

The service provider, which some analysts said was one of the most promising MVNO launches of the last year, targeted a specific market with unique sporting content. But the operator fell short of its targets.

“It’s more of a case of being overambitious than failing – it would have been very hard to succeed without a very low cost base,” said Julie Ask, an analyst with Jupiter Research. “It’s better to exit than stubbornly pour more money into an operation and business model with so many challenges,” she added.

Verizon Wireless customers with select phones can download ESPN MVP for free if they subscribe to the Verizon Wireless monthly VPak. For $15 per month access, the V CAST VPak includes unlimited basic V CAST Video clips, access to the mobile web and ESPN MVP.