ESPN, LLC, previously known as ESPN, Inc., is an American multinational sports media conglomerate founded by Bill Rasmussen on September 7, 1979 and currently majority-owned by the Walt Disney Company via indirect subsidiary ABC Inc. as one of its three major business segments, with Hearst Communications and the National Football League as equity stakeholders.
Currently headed by executive James Pitaro since March 5, 2018, it owns and operates the ESPN-branded cable television, satellite television and streaming media channels and services including ESPN itself, ESPN DTC, ESPN+, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ACC Network, SEC Network, 20% of TSN and the sports division of ABC. It also operates the international variants of ESPN via ESPN International.
Programming on its television networks include broadcasts of live or tape-delayed sporting events and sports-related programming including talk shows and original documentary series and films.
Contents
History
ESPN Inc. was founded by Bill Rasmussen, Scott Rasmussen, and Ed Egan initially as an attempt to broadcast sports in Connecticut over an "Entertainment and Sports Programming Network" (ESPN) cable channel, and soon became a nationwide cable sports network. Shortly after being terminated as the World Hockey Association's New England Whalers communications director in 1978, Rasmussen conceived of a plan to produce Connecticut sports events for Connecticut cable systems. With his son, Scott, they had moved beyond that, considering a national sports channel doable. RCA had an underused satellite and was pushing for customers. Finding it cheaper by the hour to rent a satellite transponder full-time, instead of 5 hours a day, the Rasmussens changed their plans from creating a Connecticut sports channel to creating a national cable network.
On February 7, 1979, Bill Rasmussen got the NCAA to agree, in principle, to grant ESPN broadcast rights for NCAA sports. The next day at the Texas Cable Show exposition, he was able to get cable companies on board. An advertising contract with Anheuser-Busch was in talks at that time, and Getty Oil came on board as its major source of capital. In 1979, Rasmussen purchased the first acre of land for ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. With a reasonable payment plan in July 1979, Rasmussen leased RCA's Satcom 1 transponder using his credit card. Anheuser-Busch became a major sponsor, signing a $1.4 million ad contract, a record at the time. Getty Oil invested $10 million into ESPN getting a controlling stake in 1979.
On September 7, 1979, the ESPN cable channel went on the air, with 24 hours of programming on the weekends and limited hours during the week. 625 cable system affiliates were signed up at launch and they had one million household subscribed total (out of 20 million households with cable). The channel's first game featured the Milwaukee Schlitz and the Kentucky Bourbons in the deciding game of the championship series of the American Professional Slo-Pitch League.
In 1980, the company was named in a Texas divorce filing. Groundbreaking for its headquarters took place one year earlier. Full-time broadcasting began in September 1980. Additional programming at the time included weekly boxing matches.
NBC Sports President Chet Simmons was hired to help run the cable channel. Simmons and Rasmussen were at odds with Getty Oil executives siding with Simmons. At the end of 1980, Rasmussen was removed as company president by Getty Oil executive for ESPN, Stuart Evey, relegating him to a ceremonial role. Rasmussen left in 1981 and sold his remaining stock in 1984.
Executives
James Pitaro – Chairman
Judy Agay – Executive Vice President, People & Culture
Chara-Lynn Aguiar – Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Research, Strategy and Office of the Chairman
Tony Chambers – President, EMEA
Eleanor "Nell" DeVane – General Counsel
Rosalyn Durant – Executive Vice President, Programming & Acquisitions
John Lasker – Senior Vice President, ESPN+
Rita Ferro – President, Global Advertising
Martín Iraola – President, The Walt Disney Company Latin America
Luke Kang – President, Asia Pacific
Josh Krulewitz – Executive Vice President, Communications
Burke Magnus – President, Content
Chris Calcinari – Senior Vice President, Content Operations
Kaitee Daley – Senior Vice President, Digital, Social and Streaming Content
Mike Foss – Executive Vice President, Executive Editor, Sports News and Entertainment
Brian Lockhart – Senior Vice President, Original Content
Mike McQuade – Executive Vice President, Sports Production
Assets
Television
ABC (2006–present)
ACC Network (2019–present)
ESPN (1979–present)
ESPN2 (1993–present)
ESPNews (1996–present)
ESPNU (2005–present)
ESPN Deportes (2004–present)
ESPN Events (1996–present), also called ESPN Regional Television
ESPN Films (2001–present)
ESPN International (1989–present)
ESPN PPV (1999–present)
SEC Network (2014–present)
ESPN8 (2023–present as a standalone channel)
NFL Network (2026–present)
NFL RedZone (2026–present)
Under the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's rules regarding foreign broadcasters, ESPN has been prohibited from acquiring majority ownership of any channel operating in Canada. Instead, ESPN partnered with several Canadian firms to form a privately held consortium named NetStar Communications in 1995, which then acquired the sports networks TSN and RDS. These Canadian partners then sold their shares in 2001 to CTV Inc. (now Bell Media). ESPN continues to own 20 percent of what is now CTV Specialty Television while Bell Media owns the remaining 80 percent.
The sports channels owned by the CTV Specialty Television subsidiary:
TSN – five feeds
RDS
Radio
ESPN Radio (1992–present)
ESPN Xtra (2008–present)
Internet
ESPN.com (1993–present), flagship site
ESPN3 (2005–present), known as ESPN360.com from 2005–2010
ESPN Motion (2003–present), broadband video
ESPN+ (2018–present), subscription streaming service available in the United States
ESPN on Disney+ (2023–present), available in the United States, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa
ESPN DTC (2025–present)
Andscape (2016–present), formerly The Undefeated, describes itself as "the premier platform for exploring the intersections of race, sports and culture.
espnW.com, focusing on women
ESPN.mobi, mobile site
ESPN Deportes.com (2000–present), Spanish language
ESPN FC (1995–present), soccer, formerly ESPN Soccernet
ESPNF1.com, Formula 1
ESPNcricinfo (1993–present), cricket
ESPNScrum.com, rugby union
EXPN.com, extreme sports
ESPNBoston.com, operates in conjunction with Entercom-owned WEEI AM
ESPNChicago.com, the site for Good Karma Brands-owned (former ESPN O&O) WMVP
ESPNCleveland.com, joint site for GKB-owned WKNR and WWGK
Other
ESPY Awards (1993–present)
The ESPN Sports Poll (1994–present)
ESPN Broadband (2002–present)
ESPN Books (2004–present)
ESPNU.com (2005–present)
ESPN Deportes La Revista (2005–present)
ESPN Integration (2006–present)
ESPN Online Games (2006–present)
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (2010–present)
College football bowl games, owned by ESPN Events
Premier Lacrosse League (minority stake)
Divested
X Games (1995–2022)
DraftKings (2019–2023), minority investment
Defunct
ESPN College Extra (2015–2023)
ESPN Classic (1997–2021)
ESPN Classic (Canada) (2001–2023)
ESPN Deportes Radio (2005–2019)
ESPN Digital Games (1998), short-lived joint venture with Radical Entertainment
ESPN Goal Line & Bases Loaded (2010–2020)
ESPN Player (until 2023), subscription streaming service available in select international markets
ESPNU Radio (2017–2023)
ESPN Videogames (2003–2005), joint venture with Sega
Longhorn Network (2011–2024, joint venture with The University of Texas at Austin and IMG College)
WatchESPN (2011–2019), known as ESPN Networks from 2010–2011
ESPN The Games (1999–2002), joint venture with Konami and Disney Interactive
ESPN The Magazine (1998–2019)
Screensport (1984–1993), joint venture with WHSmith
United Kingdom
ESPN entered the United Kingdom in 2006 when pan-European ESPN Classic was added to Sky Digital.
In December 2006, the North American Sports Network, which operated as a joint-venture between Benchmark Capital Europe and Setanta Sports announced the sale of the channel to ESPN for €70 million. The sale's closure in March 2007 added NASN to the ESPN family, although it remained as part of the Setanta Sports Pack on satellite television. On October 2, 2008, it was announced that NASN would rebrand as ESPN America. The rebranding took place on February 1, 2009, to coincide with Super Bowl XLIII.
On June 19, 2009 it was announced that Setanta Sports UK had lost their local rights package to half of the UK Premier League matches, with ESPN as one of the interested parties to acquire the rights. On June 22, 2009, a day before Setanta UK collapsed into administration, ESPN announced they had snapped up the rights from the 2009–10 season to the 2012–13 season, and would launch their own domestic channel. ESPN UK launched in August 2009, forming as part of a new TV package with America and Classic, by acquiring much of the ex-Setanta slots.
By 2012, the network had begun to lose many of its key sports rights, including the Premier League, to BT Group. On January 25, 2013, ESPN reached a deal to sell its television business in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including ESPN America's programming rights, to BT Group. The ESPN channel in the United Kingdom was placed under the control of BT Sport, while ESPN Classic and ESPN America shut down. ESPN continues to operate digital properties targeting the United Kingdom, including its ESPN.co.uk, ESPN FC, ESPNcricinfo, and ESPNscrum websites. Two years later, ESPN reached a long-term deal with BT Sport for the British rights to ESPN original programming and international event rights.
The main ESPN network following the BT purchase transitioned to airing North American Sports programming, and in June 2015 was renamed BT Sport ESPN. On May 11, 2022, BT announced that the BT Sport networks would form as part of a new joint venture with Disney rival Warner Bros. Discovery and to merge with their existing Eurosport networks at a later date. Due to this, ESPN decided not to renew their name licensing deal with BT, and on 1 August 2022, the channel was renamed BT Sport 4, although it continues to mainly focus on North American sports.