ESPN

Extracted Attributes

• Founded

  1979-09-07

• Founders

  Bill Rasmussen, Scott Rasmussen, Ed Eagan

• Headquarters

  Bristol, Connecticut, United States

• Original Name

  Entertainment and Sports Programming Network

• Noted Criticism

  Allegations of biased coverage

• Current Chairman

  James Pitaro

• International Presence

  Regional channels in Africa, Australia, Latin America, Netherlands

• Interest in The Sports Network (TSN)

  20%

• Ownership Stake (Hearst Communications)

  20%

• US Pay Television Households Peak (2011)

  100 million

• Ownership Stake (The Walt Disney Company)

  80%

• US Pay Television Households (December 2023)

  70 million

Timeline

• ESPN is founded by Bill Rasmussen, Scott Rasmussen, and Ed Eagan. (Source: summary, wikipedia)

  1979-09-07

• The company's original name, Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, is shortened to the initialism ESPN. (Source: wikipedia)

  1985

• ESPN reaches its peak of 100 million pay television households in the United States. (Source: wikipedia)

  2011

• John Skipper resigns as chairman of ESPN. (Source: wikipedia)

  2017-12-18

• James Pitaro becomes chairman of ESPN. (Source: wikipedia)

  2018-03-05

• As of this date, ESPN is available to approximately 70 million pay television households in the United States. (Source: summary, wikipedia)

  2023-12-01

• The early termination of ESPN's exclusive U.S. online sports betting agreement with PENN Entertainment becomes effective. (Source: web_search_results)

  2025-12-01

• DraftKings becomes the exclusive Official Sportsbook and Odds Provider of ESPN, as per a new agreement. (Source: web_search_results)

  2025-12-01

ESPN

ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network until 1985) is an American international multiplatform sports media company owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Communications (20%) through the joint venture ESPN Inc. The company was founded on September 7, 1979 by Bill Rasmussen, Scott Rasmussen and Ed Eagan. ESPN broadcasts primarily from studio facilities located in Bristol, Connecticut. The network also operates offices and auxiliary studios in Miami, Orlando, New York City, Las Vegas, Seattle, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. James Pitaro has been chairman since March 5, 2018, following the resignation of John Skipper on December 18, 2017. As of December 2023, ESPN is available to approximately 70 million pay television households in the United States—down from its 2011 peak of 100 million households. It operates regional channels in Africa, Australia, Latin America, and the Netherlands. In Canada, it owns a 20% interest in The Sports Network (TSN) and its five sister networks. Despite the network's success, criticism of ESPN includes accusations of biased coverage.

Web Search Results

• ESPN - Serving Sports Fans. Anytime. Anywhere.

  - [x] Selling, Sharing, Targeted Advertising [...] Image 185 Football Image 186 Baseball Image 187 Hockey Image 188 Men's Basketball Image 189 Women's Basketball ESPN Sites ESPN Deportes Image 190 Andscape Image 191 espnW Image 192 ESPNFC Image 193 X Games Image 194 SEC Network ESPN Apps Image 195 ESPN Image 196 ESPN Fantasy Image 197 Tournament Challenge Image 198: ESPN [...] ESPN - Serving Sports Fans. Anytime. Anywhere. Search Sports Sports Sports Sports

• Press Releases - ESPN Press Room U.S.

  PENN Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) (“PENN”) and ESPN, Inc. (“ESPN”) today announced that they have mutually agreed upon the early termination of their exclusive U.S. online sports betting (“OSB”) agreement, effective December 1, 2025. The league's top stars take the court on Wednesday as the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama visit the Los Angeles Lakers and Luka Dončić in a Western Conference showdown. [...] PENN Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN) (“PENN”) and ESPN, Inc. (“ESPN”) today announced that they have mutually agreed upon the early termination of their exclusive U.S. online sports betting (“OSB”) agreement, effective December 1, 2025. ### PENN Entertainment and ESPN Mutually Agree to Early Termination of U.S. Online Sports Betting Agreement [...] ESPN and DraftKings Inc. (Nasdaq: DKNG) (“DraftKings”) today announced an agreement, naming DraftKings the exclusive Official Sportsbook and Odds Provider of ESPN, effective December 1, 2025. This agreement, which unites two of the most iconic brands in sports, will deliver fans premium sports betting content and experiences.

• ESPN Events: Home

  attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans. Follow ESPN Events on Facebook, Twitter/X and YouTube. [...] ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2024, the 34-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, the premiere regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and [...] Skip to content # ESPN Events About ESPN Events ## Live In Person Entertainment In the 2024-25 academic year, the 34-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, the premier regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences. In-Person Live Events Every Year 4000+

• ESPN - latest news, breaking stories and comment - The Independent

  News + News + US + UK + Europe + World + US Politics + Global Aid + US Crime News + UK Politics + Health + Business + Money + Science + Space + News Videos Sports + Sports + US Sports + Soccer + Formula 1 + UFC + Rugby Union + Cricket + Tennis + Boxing + Cycling + Golf + Sports Videos Voices + Voices + Editorials + Letters Culture + Culture + Movies + TV & Radio + Music + Games + Books + Art + Photography [...] Best Home & Garden Tech Fashion & Beauty Food & Drink Kids Books Travel & Outdoors Sports & Fitness Deals TV Behind The Headlines On The Ground Decomplicated You Ask The Questions Binge Watch Music Box Love Lives Travel Smart Watch on your TV Indy100 Crosswords & Puzzles Most Commented Newsletters Ask Me Anything Virtual Events Deals ### Thank you for registering [...] ## Bill Maher and Dr. Phil spar about going on Trump’s ICE raids News ## Here's what you need to know about ESPN's new steaming service and its deals with the NFL and WWE Culture ## WWE heads to ESPN: Sports network gets $1.6 billion deal for events News ## ESPN reaches multi-year extension to air NFL Draft as well as additional rights for DTC service News ## NFL and ESPN reach nonbinding agreement for sale of NFL Network and other media assets ### Thank you for registering

• ESPN (@espn) / Posts / X

  ESPN (@espn) / X Don’t miss what’s happening People on X are the first to know. Log in Sign up []( ESPN 155.4K posts See new posts Image 1 Image 2: Square profile picture and Opens profile photo Follow Click to Follow espn ESPN @espn Serving Sports Fans. Anytime. Anywhere. Sign up for ESPN! Questions about your subscription? espn.com/espn/apps/espnJoined March 2007 434 Following 58.9M Followers Posts Affiliates Replies Highlights Media ESPN’s posts Pinned [...] By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, including Cookie Use. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Accessibility | Ads info | More © 2025 X Corp. [...] Image 3: Square profile picture ESPN @espn · Aug 21 Coach @JohnCena is fired up Image 4: 🙌 The enhanced ESPN App is your home for the most and best live sports Image 5: ➡️ 0:43 1.4K 867 4.6K 3.5M Image 6: Square profile picture ESPN @espn · 1h Breaking: Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola is out for the year with a broken fibula, sources told @PeteThamel . He suffered the injury against USC on Saturday night. Get breaking news alerts from Pete Thamel through the ESPN app:

• Country

  United States

• Founder

  Bill Rasmussen

• Instance Of

  Q561068

• Headquarters

  Bristol

• Inception Date

  1/1/1979