The media or news industry has undergone a huge makeover during the last few years. From stiff collared news readers and reporters to blue and boring sets, to repetitive show formats all have seen a tremendous amount of change. Along with the formats the entire physical appearance of shows has undergone makeovers. As older and much more established media networks have revamped their look, there are a variety of new channels or news sites which have sprouted to meet the needs of the constant requirement for news, be it in the area of current affairs, news, entertainment or physical activities such as sports.

Sports networks have emerged as among the most important segments of the media industry. Sports enthusiasts from all over the world are looking for a regular feed of news and information in connection with the number of sports which are being played around the world. Sports, too, as being a physical activity has evolved and has now gained a wider reach due to the network of the media or news providers.

Nowadays it is not only the conventional sports such as baseball, football, basketball, rugby etc that are popular but unconventional sports as action sports such as surfing, skateboarding, rock and mountain climbing, bungee jumping, sky diving etc have likewise found their group of followers. There are a variety of people who practice and take part in these adrenalin pumping extreme sports, thus increasing its popularity and encouraging several media and news networks to come up and cover these events.

Fantasy sports, too, are some of the offshoots of this media change. With the internet becoming a popular source of entertainment, physical sports have been translated into virtual games in the form of fantasy sports. Now, everyone has the ability to play their favorite games that are modeled on the lines of professional sports including football, baseball, basketball, cricket etc. These games have global championships that happen to be played mirroring the overall game pattern that the sport is founded on.

So like MLB baseball has 162 games being played in one season, fantasy baseball too has 162 games that will be played through the MLB season. Two media networks which are currently very popular in the fantasy games circuit are ESPN and Yahoo Sports. These two networks provide all of the news, games statistics, scores and player along with team standings. ESPN network even comes up with a fantasy sports newsletter that covers all of the action out of this sports world.

ESPN has also taken the initiative of making X Games popular. X Games are series major action sports championships that are organized and broadcast by ESPN. These games began in 1995 and also have gained its group of fans since.

Due to the diversities in the games there are two championships held each year; one during summer the other during wintertime covering the summer and winter sports categories respectively. The participants vie for the gold, silver and bronze medals along with the prize money award. ESPN continues to be the live broadcaster of these games and can be considered as pioneers in this genre of sports broadcasting.