Mobile ESPN to relaunch in deal with Verizon

NEW YORK — The jockeying to bring the most popular names from TV and the Web to cellphones produced another exclusive deal Thursday with Verizon Wireless nabbing a multiyear agreement to offer ESPN’s flashy feed of sports scores, newscasts and video highlights on the tiny screen.

The plan to revive Mobile ESPN -- initially born as a full-blown cellphone company that would compete with big players such as Verizon before Burbank-based Walt Disney Co. pulled the plug late last year -- comes on the heels of similar partnerships adding a mobile outlet to the hottest Web properties.

The most publicized partnership came a month ago when Apple Inc. forged an exclusive arrangement with AT&T; Inc.’s Cingular Wireless for the carrier to offer iPhone, the eagerly awaited cellular manifestation of Apple’s popular iPod music player and iTunes online music store.