Mobile ESPN to relaunch in deal with Verizon

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.