ESPN facts for kids
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Bristol, Connecticut |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 2160p 4K UHD (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | The Walt Disney Company (80%) Hearst Communications (20%) |
| Parent | ESPN Inc. |
| Sister channels |
List
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| History | |
| Launched | September 7, 1979 |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| ESPN+ | (U.S. pay-TV subscribers only) |
| Service(s) | DirecTV Stream, FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV |
ESPN is a very popular American TV channel that shows sports. It is mostly owned by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and also by Hearst Communications (20%). They own it together through a company called ESPN Inc.. The channel started in 1979. It was first called the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. It was founded by Bill Rasmussen, Scott Rasmussen, and Ed Eagan.
ESPN broadcasts most of its shows from its main studios in Bristol, Connecticut. It also has offices and smaller studios in other big cities. These include Miami, New York City, Las Vegas, Seattle, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. James Pitaro is currently the chairman of ESPN. He has been in this role since March 5, 2018.
In November 2021, about 76 million homes in the United States could watch ESPN. By June 2023, this number was about 72.5 million homes. Besides its main channel and seven other channels in the U.S., ESPN also broadcasts in over 200 countries. It has special channels for different regions like Africa, Australia, Latin America, and the Netherlands. In Canada, ESPN owns a part of The Sports Network (TSN) and its five sister channels.
Contents
How ESPN Started and Grew
Bill Rasmussen first thought of ESPN in May 1978. He and Ed Eagan, along with Bill's son Scott, rented an office. They wanted to start a sports channel. They found a good place to build their main studio in Bristol, Connecticut. This is where ESPN is still located today.
Getty Oil helped fund the company in February 1979. They bought 85% of the company from Bill Rasmussen. This helped ESPN gain trust. Another important step was when Anheuser-Busch agreed to advertise with them. They invested $1 million in the spring of 1979.
ESPN officially started broadcasting on September 7, 1979. The very first show was SportsCenter. This show is still a main program for the channel today. It was broadcast to 1.4 million homes that had cable TV.
ESPN took another big step in March 1980. It got the rights to show the early games of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. This helped make the tournament, now known as "March Madness," very popular. This coverage also started the career of famous sports commentator Dick Vitale.
In April 1980, ESPN began showing the NFL Draft. This made the draft a big TV event. The network also started broadcasting professional boxing shows. For a while in the 1980s, ESPN even held its own boxing tournaments.
A major change happened in 1984. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) bought all of ESPN. Before this, ESPN couldn't get rights to show many big sports events. With ABC's support, ESPN could now compete for major sports contracts. This gave it much more importance in the sports TV world.
Later in 1984, a court ruling changed how college football games could be shown. The NCAA could no longer control all the TV rights. This meant each school could make its own deals. ESPN used this chance to broadcast many NCAA Division I college football games. This let fans watch more games every weekend.
ESPN had a huge moment in 1987. It signed a deal with the NFL to show eight games during that year's season. These games were all on Sunday nights. This was the first time NFL games were shown in prime time on Sundays. ESPN's Sunday Night Football became the most-watched NFL show for 17 years. This showed that ESPN was a serious competitor to other major TV networks.
In 1992, ESPN launched ESPN Radio. This is a national radio network that talks about sports. It also broadcasts live sports events.
On October 10, 1993, ESPN2 was launched. This was a second channel that showed different sports. It became very popular and reached many homes. In 1996, The Walt Disney Company bought ABC, which meant they also gained control of ESPN.
In the 2000s, ESPN faced some challenges. It started to lose viewers, even though it paid a lot of money for rights to big sports events. These events included the NFL, NBA, and College Football Playoff.
To save money, ESPN made some changes in 2017. They moved some studio operations and reduced some shows. On April 12, 2018, ESPN launched ESPN+. This is an online streaming service.
In March 2021, ESPN and ABC made a deal to show NHL games again. This included some Stanley Cup Finals games. In August 2023, ESPN and Penn Entertainment announced a deal. Penn's sports betting app, Barstool Sportsbook, would be renamed ESPN Bet. This new app launched in November 2023.
Popular ESPN Shows
Besides live sports, ESPN also has many shows about sports highlights, discussions, and documentaries. Some of these popular shows include:
- Around the Horn – A show where four sports writers debate different sports topics.
- College GameDay (basketball) – A weekly show about college basketball.
- College GameDay (football) – A weekly show that previews big college football games.
- E:60 – A show that investigates different stories in American and international sports.
- First Take – A daily morning talk show with Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim.
- Get Up! – A daily morning show that talks about the previous night's games and current sports issues.
- Monday Night Countdown – A weekly show during the NFL season that previews Monday Night Football.
- Pardon the Interruption – A daily afternoon talk show where Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon discuss sports.
- SportsCenter – ESPN's main show, which gives the latest sports news and highlights every day.
- Sunday NFL Countdown – A weekly show that previews NFL games on Sunday mornings.
- The Pat McAfee Show – A daily afternoon talk show with news and opinions.
Many of ESPN's documentary shows are made by ESPN Films. This part of ESPN was created in 2008. One famous series is 30 for 30, which started in 2009. These films are made by well-known filmmakers. The 30 for 30 film O.J.: Made in America won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2017. This was the first Oscar for ESPN.
In March 2019, ESPN started a new show about sports betting called Daily Wager. In 2023, The Pat McAfee Show moved to ESPN as part of a big deal.
Other ESPN Channels
ESPN has several other channels that focus on different sports or types of content.
ESPN on ABC
Since September 2006, ESPN has worked closely with its sister network, ABC. Sports events shown on ABC are now called ESPN on ABC. ABC often shows games that ESPN also has rights to, like NBA games and NHL games.
ESPN2
ESPN2 started on October 1, 1993. It used to show a mix of traditional sports and extreme sports like snowboarding and skateboarding. In the late 1990s, ESPN2 began to show more mainstream sports. The "ESPN BottomLine", a moving text bar with sports news and scores, first appeared on ESPN2 in 1995. Now, all ESPN channels use it.
ESPNews
ESPNews started on November 1, 1996. It used to focus only on sports news and highlights. Now, it also shows replays of other ESPN shows and live broadcasts of ESPN Radio shows. It also helps when other ESPN channels have too many live events at once.
ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes means "ESPN Sports" in Spanish. It started in July 2001. It first showed Spanish versions of some baseball games from ESPN. In January 2004, it became a 24-hour sports channel in Spanish.
ESPNU
ESPNU started on March 4, 2005. This channel focuses on college athletics. It shows games like college basketball, football, and baseball.
Longhorn Network
The Longhorn Network started on August 26, 2011. It focuses on the sports teams of the University of Texas at Austin, called the Texas Longhorns. It shows games from 20 different sports.
SEC Network
SEC Network started on August 14, 2014. It focuses on sports events from the Southeastern Conference. This channel is a partnership between the conference and ESPN.
ACC Network
The ACC Network started on August 22, 2019. It focuses on sports events from the Atlantic Coast Conference. This is also a joint effort between ESPN and the ACC.
Other Ways to Watch ESPN
- ESPN HD
ESPN launched its high definition (HD) broadcast on March 30, 2003. Most live events and studio shows on ESPN are now shown in HD. ESPN uses a special 720p resolution for its HD broadcasts. This helps show fast sports action more clearly.
- ESPN App
The ESPN app is a popular way to watch ESPN shows and live sports on phones, tablets, and computers. It used to be called WatchESPN. ESPN+ is an extra subscription service within the app. It gives access to even more live sports and original shows.
- ESPN Regional Television
ESPN Regional Television helps broadcast college sports games to local TV stations. These stations are usually not the main networks. They show college football and basketball games from different conferences.
- Snapchat
ESPN also shares content on Snapchat Discover. This includes a special version of SportsCenter made just for Snapchat.
ESPN Around the World
ESPN owns and runs channels in many parts of the world. These include Brazil, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Netherlands, Oceania, and Sub-Saharan Africa. In Canada, ESPN owns a part of The Sports Network (TSN). ESPN also has a small share in J Sports in Japan.
ESPN Bet
ESPN entered the sports betting world in November 2023. They launched their sports betting app called "ESPN Bet" on November 14. This was done with a partner called Penn Entertainment. ESPN Bet started in 17 states. Once it was live, ESPN began showing betting odds from its own sportsbook on its content.
Awards and Recognition
ESPN has won many awards over the years. It has won 232 Sports Emmy Awards. In 2016, it won an award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition. This was for its "Outstanding Commitment and Outreach to the Latino Community."
See also
In Spanish: ESPN para niños
