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ESPN Inc. is an American multinational sports media conglomerate majority-owned by the Walt Disney Company, with Hearst Communications as an equity stakeholder. [1] Headed by James Pitaro, it owns and operates local and global cable and satellite television variants of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN+ and other related ventures. [2] [3] [4]
ESPN (an abbreviation of its original name, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network [2]) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by The Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Communications (20%) through the joint venture ESPN Inc.
Jimmy Pitaro was named Chairman, ESPN in February 2023, responsible for full operational control and financial responsibility for ESPN, one of the three core business segments of The Walt Disney Company.
- Origins
- Initial Financing and Development
- College Sports Rights
- Leadership and Personnel
- Debut
- Professional Sports Arrive
- Expansion
- International Expansion
- 2017 Layoffs
- 2020–Present
ESPN was founded by Bill Rasmussen, his son Scott Rasmussen, then 43 year old eye doctor and Aetna insurance agent Ed Eagan. Bill, who had an affinity with sports for much of his life, was fired from his position as the communications manager for the New England Whalers in 1978. During his tenure with the hockey team, Rasmussen had met Eagan, who d...
The Rasmussens received financial aid from J. B. Doherty and K. S. Sweet Associates on an interim basis, but they were interested in finding permanent investors. Doherty shared a similar sentiment and after several failed attempts to do so, he approached Stuart Evey, a Getty Oil Company executive who was the vice president of non-oil operations.Eve...
With the newly found financial assistance, Bill, aware that ESP would struggle to secure rights to professional sports at the time, felt the company could strike a deal with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for the rights to rebroadcast their college sporting events. College basketball at the time was popular, and Rasmussen felt ...
Rasmussen, realizing that ESP needed additional sponsors and advertising, decided to distinguish the network from the "Big Three three-letter networks," ABC, NBC and CBS, and renamed ESP as ESPN-TV. The name was shortened to just ESPN prior to the channel's launch. Evey, who had essentially gained control of the company, sought out ESPN's first pre...
On September7, 1979, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, an estimated 30,000 viewers tuned in to witness the launch of ESPN. Simultaneously, ESPN debuted its first SportsCenter telecast with anchors Lee Leonard and George Grande. The first words spoken were from Leonard who informed viewers: "If you're a fan, if you're a fan, what you'll see in the next min...
ESPN (along with the USA Network) was among the earliest cable-based broadcast partners for the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lasting from 1982 to 1984, the network's relationship with the association marked its initial foray into American professional sports. After an 18-year hiatus, ESPN (by then, under the auspices of the ABC network) s...
ESPN set itself apart from its competition by using the top reporters for each of their respective sports by the early 1990s. Some examples include: Peter Gammons (baseball), Chris Mortensen (football), Al Morganti (hockey), David Aldridge (basketball) and Mel Kiper, Jr. (NFL Draft). Other well-known reporters have included Andrea Kremer, Ed Werder...
In the early 1990s, ESPN established a new division, ESPN International, to take advantage of the growing satellite markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America. ESPN would also purchase a minority stake in a consortium known as NetStar Communications, which was formed to acquire the Canadian sports networks TSN and RDS from Labatt; due to rules regar...
On April 26, 2017, approximately 100 ESPN employees were notified that their position with the sports network had been terminated, among them athletes-turned-analysts Trent Dilfer and Danny Kanell, and noted journalists like NFL beat reporter Ed Werder and Major League Baseball expert Jayson Stark. The layoffs come as ESPN continues to shed viewers...
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a pandemic. This declaration, along with sporting leagues having their players test positive for the disease, resulted in cancellations to almost all traditional sporting events globally over the next few weeks in the most severe disruption to the sporting c...
ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst. It features eight U.S. television networks, the leading sports app, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, leading social and digital platforms, and more.
Jun 24, 2024 · Learn how ESPN, the sports broadcasting giant, evolved from a risky cable TV venture to a media empire. Discover the key partnerships, acquisitions, and milestones that shaped its ownership structure, with Disney holding 80% and Hearst 20%.
Jun 17, 2024 · Getty and ABC Video, a wholly owned subsidiary of ABC, Inc, announce letter of intent for pay sports venture involving ESPN. Deal involves supplementary coverage by ESPN of various events from ABC and an option for ABC to acquire 10% of ESPN. 1984.
