Well I guess it isn't exactly "introducing", but rather reintroducing. ESPN has decided to go with daily coverage of Action Sports online and apparently one website wasn't enough. The "Leader" plans on taking it's one X-games like site, EXPN.com and turning it into a vast hub of multiple platforms for your viewing pleasure....

Signaling ESPN's dedication to complete, daily coverage of action sports, ESPN is re-branding its online home for action sports. The site will become ESPN Action Sports this fall as part of a new multimedia initiative that will also mark the launch of the ESPN Action Sports Network - a group of interconnected sites, including sport-specific vertical sites from ESPN (ex: ESPN Skate) and other premiere action sports destinations such as Surfline.com, Vans.com, Active Ride Shop and more. The new network of sites, with ESPN Action Sports as its central hub, will create multiple drop in points for action sports participants and enthusiasts, with the mission of developing the best, deepest, most useful network of action sports content and community anywhere.

"ESPN Action Sports signifies an ongoing focus to bringing ESPN.com's standard of excellence and comprehensive coverage to the action sports arena," said Dave Finger, senior director, action sports, ESPN Digital Media. "We have been building towards this vision for more than a year - piece by piece - and this marks a new starting point for the next stage in the evolution of what our digital media assets will deliver to athletes and enthusiasts around the globe."

Seems like a lot of work for an X-Games event that comes only twice a year, but there has to be a market for this sort of thing, or they wouldn't be trying it. I personally thought the fad had run its course, but you're going to get ratings and viewers with dudes falling 40 feet out of the air (ala Jake Brown above). The demo is an advertisers dream, so if they tap into something other networks couldn't (NBC), they'll be raking in the dough. It will more than certainly come at our expense over on ESPN, but what's new right?

The added use of sites like Vans.com is curious to me as well, but not something ESPN hasn't done before.

(Via ESPN PR)