| ESPNEWS | |
|---|---|
| Launched | November 1, 1996 |
| Owned by | ESPN, Inc. (joint venture of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Corporation) |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 720p (HDTV) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Broadcast area | United States |
| Sister channel(s) | ESPN ESPN2 ESPNU ESPN Classic |
| Website | Official Website |
| Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| DirecTV | 207 (SD/HD) |
| Dish Network | 142 (SD) 5301 (HD) |
| Cable | |
| Available on most US cable systems | Check Local Listings for channels |
| Verizon FiOS | 72 (SD) 572 (HD) |
| Satellite radio | |
| Sirius | 121 (part of ESPN All Access) |
| XM | 141 (part of ESPN Xtra) |
ESPNEWS (a portmanteau of ESPN and "news", pronounced "ESPN News"), launched on November 1, 1996, is a 24-hour-a-day sports news television channel. It airs news, highlights, press conferences, and commentary by analysts all in relation to sports.
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ESPNEWS is typically offered on the digital tier on United States cable systems, and in some areas it is considered a premium channel. Satellite carriers offer it on their standard package Some regional sports networks not connected to Fox Sports Net also air ESPNEWS overnights or in the mornings to provide a pseudo-national sports report to their viewers, and fill time that would otherwise be taken up by paid programming or other low-rated shows. If a national ESPN broadcast is blacked-out in a particular market, the ESPN broadcast will usually be replaced by ESPNEWS.
The network was formerly simulcast on ESPN during coverage of major breaking sports news before the expansion of SportsCenter in daytime on ESPN in 2008, and a highlights rundown with the network's overnight anchor is one of the segments on ABC's early morning newscast, America This Morning.
ESPNEWS's "bottom line" – a small rectangular area at the bottom 1/5th of the screen flashing scores – is more in-depth than the one airing on ESPN's other networks. It contains not only scores but also statistics and brief news alerts about the day's happenings in sports. It also remains on screen during most commercial breaks. This particular BottomLine was re-designed as the network was re-launched on March 30, 2008. The change from a big BottomLine to the ESPN-shaped BottomLine, the decrease of ESPNEWS programming, and SportsCenter being shown on ESPNEWS has had some controversy among longtime ESPNEWS viewers.
The network was changed over to a full-screen presentation on June 2010 with the network receiving the BottomLine used on all other ESPN networks in anticipation of the network's primetime programming being rebranded under the SportsCenter branding.
Starting in August 2010, SportsCenter is shown on ESPNEWS when its not shown on ESPN or ESPN2. The Beat (a show showing pop culture and sports action to the tune of a beat) was shown while SportsCenter was on ESPN at 6 pm, but it was cancelled in July 2011 and replaced by a re-run of the ESPN2 program, SportsNation. Now, the only other programs on ESPNEWS are the Highlight Express (a 30 minute program showing highlights from the day before, shown from 10 pm to 3 pm at nights and mornings) and ESPNEWS, shown in late afternoons and evenings on weekends. The network also airs the original programming "College Football Live" on Saturday afternoons during college football season, a whip-around program similar to ESPN Goal Line, which gives live look ins to multiple college football games happening at the same time.
On November 11, 2006, ESPNEWS's 10-year anniversary included a montage of highlights covered the past 10 years in sports and aired SportsCenter at 11pm-midnight ET the same day. The network airs SportsCenter on nights ESPN and ESPN2 are scheduled to overrun their respective programming, such as college football or baseball.
XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio both have a channel which simulcasts the audio of ESPNews, with the network's television advertisements replaced with radio ads from each service. On February 4, 2008, XM re-branded it's channel to "ESPN Xtra"[1] and added radio programs from local ESPN Radio affiliates as well as the audio simulcast of ESPNEWS.
ESPNews simulcast ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning from 2004–05; the show moved to ESPN2 in 2006, but it still airs on ESPNEWS occasionally when live sports events (such as tennis' French Open or Wimbledon) air on ESPN2. Due to the 2009 U.S. Open airing on ESPN2, SportsNation was shown on ESPNews from August 31 to September 11.
A number sign indicates the program was discontinued on January 2, 2009, but all of its reports can be seen on daily half hour segments.
These are the former programs that ESPNEWS had air (NOTE: Those in Bold do air on ESPNEWS if both ESPN and ESPN2 have sports coverage.):
Starting in 2007, ESPNEWS started to broadcast a half-hour segment of ESPN Radio every Sunday morning. The broadcast includes three commentators (a retired coach, a retired player, and an analyst) to break down the events of the featured sport, while the TV screen shows a list on the upper-left (the list is standings, statistical leaders, etc. of the featured sport), the upper-right of the screen shows highlights of the featured sport (usually of the player or team of discussion), and the bottom of the screen, above the ESPNEWS BottomLine, is a fan board.
ESPNEWS HD is a 720p high definition simulcast of ESPNEWS that launched on March 30, 2008.[2] Originally, the layout and graphics were reworked specifically for viewing on a HDTV, offering additional content not available on the standard definition ESPNEWS feed.[3] There were reworked HD sideline graphics, a descendant of the "Rundown" used in overnight versions of SportsCenter on ESPN, which wrapped around the top left and bottom of the HD screen. The HD Sideline offered the display of textual information, headshots, news, and scores, while still delivering video highlights in the HD format.
The enhanced format was ended in June 2010 and the channel is now fullscreen 16:9, with regular gray and red graphics similar to the other ESPN channels. The move was made to "accommodate the high number of SportsCenters that moved to the network during the World Cup,".
While not operating under the ESPN name, CTV Specialty Television (a subsidiary of Bell Media which ESPN owns a minority 20% stake in) operates Réseau Info Sports (RIS), a French language sister network to Réseau des sports (RDS), which has a sports news format and ticker similar to ESPNEWS. However unlike ESPNEWS, RIS is also used as a secondary outlet for RDS in the event of scheduling conflicts (however, a true RDS2 will be launched in the Fall of 2011)