The Justice Department is running an inquiry into how the network deals with college conferences and whether their business practices limit the exposure for some schools. ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys says the network is not commenting.
“ESPN has turned sports into a utility,” says Bob Thompson, director of the Center for Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University. “What ESPN did was to make it possible to turn on your TV and have sports come out, just like turning on your faucet and have water come out.”
