Heading into the 18th-consecutive year of X Games Aspen, ESPN and Aspen Skiing Company (ASC) announced today that they have reached a five-year extension agreement to host X Games Aspen through 2024.
Already the longest-tenured X Games host city, Aspen has been home to the winter edition of X Games since 2002. This new agreement with ASC follows on previous extension agreements made in 2004, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014. By the end of this five-year deal, the X Games will have been in Aspen Snowmass for 23 consecutive years (2020-2024).
“Aspen Skiing Company, in partnership with the local community, have been critical to the success of the X Games throughout our first 18 years,” said Tim Reed, X Games vice president. “The local support creates a special environment that all of the athletes, sponsors, staff and fans love. Aspen is truly a special community and we could not be happier to commit to another five years.”
Aspen Skiing Company senior vice president, John Rigney, added: “This is terrific news for Aspen Snowmass, for aspiring skiers and riders and for our community as a whole. The brands of X Games and Aspen have played well together for an entire generation, evolving and yet always focused on youthful energy, vibrant experiences and athletic excellence. I’m psyched to continue working with ESPN as they are the best, and to see the party roll on for another five years.”
“The renewal to keep X Games in Aspen is a huge success for both parties involved,” said 4-time X Games medalist and Aspen native, Alex Ferreira. “I feel blessed and honored to have the ‘Super Bowl’ of freestyle skiing in my hometown, on my home pipe and share it with my home crowd.”
ESPN’s X Games Aspen 2019 will celebrate the world’s top action sports athletes January 24-27, including more than 75 Olympians, as they return to the biggest stage in action sports, competing in 17 disciplines televised across ESPN, ABC and ESPN2. In addition to ESPN’s U.S.-based media, X Games Aspen 2019 will be televised globally in 192 countries and territories to more than 500 million homes, including live coverage in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and multiple countries in Europe, including Norway, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and U.K.
Additionally, X Games Aspen will host sold-out musical performances by Lil Wayne, Louis The Child, The Chainsmokers and Kygo alongside the competitions. Fans can also follow X Games across digital and social media platforms to watch behind the scenes, athlete curated and complementary content that enhances the X Games Aspen 2019 telecasts.
SOURCE: ESPN
