Contents |
ESPN was a concept originally conceived by Bill and Scott Rasmussen with support from Ed Eagan.[1] Bill, who had an affinity with sports for much of his life, was fired from his position as the communications manager for the Hartford Whalers in 1978.[1] During his tenure with the Whalers, Rasmussen had met Eagan who displayed an interest in building a career in television. Eagan approached Bill with the idea of creating a monthly cable show covering Connecticut sports and was curious to see if the Whalers would be interested in being the main feature on the show.[1]
Though discouraged by his firing, Rasmussen with Eagan began to discuss a new course; Rasmussen's original idea was creating a cable television network that focused on covering all sports events in the state of Connecticut (for example, the Whalers, Bristol Red Sox, and the Connecticut Huskies) rather than just one team as Eagan proposed.[1] Rasmussen knew little about cable television at the time and with under 20 percent of homes receiving cable, the task to create such a network would prove to be a daunting one.[2]
In the summer of 1978, the Rasmussens with Eagan and his associate Bob Beyus, owner of a video production company, began to seek out support from cable operators and potential investors for the sports channel which they had come to name ESP, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.[2] They began to pitch their idea on June 26, inviting twelve representatives from local cable operators—only five accepted the offer out of courtesy to contacts Bill still maintained in the industry. The representatives were skeptical of the concept and stated it would be impractical and far too costly to take a risk on something that could very well falter.[2] Despite the setback, the team held a press conference to help spread the word. Thirty five reporters were invited. Only four appeared and were less than enthusiastic about the prospects of the company.[2] Beyus felt the future of ESP was in doubt and immediately departed following the conference.[3]
In spite of these initial difficulties, ESP Network was incorporated on July 14, 1978 for a fee of $91.[3] The trio still had to find a way to broadcast their new sports channel and began their research at United Cable where they were told about a new means of television communication, satellite communication.[3] They were then directed to the Radio Corporation of America; the company had experience in satellite communication as they had launched a SATCOM and used the technology frequently in Europe—the concept was still new in the United States and wasn't immediately embraced because it was not something one could see and therefore did not seem plausible.[3] Al Parinello, who was hired by RCA to promote the new technology, received a call from Rasmussen and wanted to meet with him in person. With no official offices, the group rented a conference room from United Cable.[4] At the meeting, Bill explained they were interested in regional sports broadcasting however Parinello explained that with satellite communication, their channel could be broadcasted across the country.[4] The Rasmussens immediately became excited by the prospect of broadcasting to a wider audience than they had previously anticipated.[4] Furthermore, when they were informed that buying a continuous 24-hour satellite feed was less expensive than sending the signal across Connecticut via landlines, they agreed to buy the transponder for the satellite.[4]
With a wider audience to appeal to, they began to retool their original concept and on August 16, 1978, both father and son agreed that the channel would show all types of sports twenty-four hours a day, have a half-hour sports show every night, hire sportscasters and buy a fleet of trucks to travel across the nation covering various sporting events.[5] Putting together money from various family members and associates, they put down $30,000 for the transponder.[6] The group then had to search for property to setup their headquarters. They originally began looking for land in Plainville, however due to an ordinance that prohibited satellite dishes, ESP could not settle there.[7] Instead, they chose to buy a parcel of land for $18,000 in Bristol that had been built on a dump; the satellite signal was unafected in the area, making it an ideal selection for the ESP headquarters.[7]
The Rasmussens received financial aid from J. B. Doherty and K. S. Sweet Associates on an interim basis, but the Rasmussens were interested in finding a more permanent investor. Doherty was interested in finding a permanent and corporate investor as well 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.[8][9] Evey was immediately interested in the venture and brought it to the attention of Getty's finance manager, George Conner. Though a bit wary, the company decided to invest in the project by February.[10]
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 NCAA for the rights to rebroadcast their college sports; college basketball at the time was popular and Rasmussen felt rebroadcasting games such as the fast-paced basketball would attract new viewers. Furthermore, by having a contract with NCAA, it would legitimize ESP without Rasmussen having to utilize the Getty name to help further his pursuits.[10] Rasmussen organized a meeting with NCAA officials and, following a hastily put together presentation, negotiations began and eventually the parties came to terms. In the agreement, ESP agreed to broadcast eighteen different NCAA sports, including championship games, in their entirety for two years. The contract was made official on March 14, 1979.[10]
Though ESP would not begin airing for some six months, the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament had garnered considerable attention, 24.1 million viewers, due to the matchup between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson—the tournament is regarded as having an instrumental part in ESPN's eventual success due to the fact many viewers called their cable operators complaining they wanted "that channel that has all the basketball".[10] In May 1979, Getty provided $15 million to the company and Anheuser-Busch came to an agreement with ESP for the largest advertising contract in cable television history at the time, valued at $1,380,000[11]
Rasmussen, realizing 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, ESPN-TV.[11] After taking the name to a printer, Guy Wilson, Wilson left out the "-TV" portion, making the name solely ESPN.[11] Evey, who had essentially gained control of the company, sought out ESPN's first president; Rasmussen wanted to hire Dick Ebersol, who had been fired from NBC in January 1979, but Evey had little interest in doing so. Ebersol suggested Chet Simmons, who at the time was running NBC Sports but had become increasingly frustrated with NBC chairman Jane Cahill Pfeiffer, whose visions conflicted with those of Simmons.[12] Evey promised Simmons he would face little interference from Rasmussen, without Bill's knowledge, and Simmons agreed to become the network's first president—an official announcement was made on July 18, 1979.[13]
With the Rasmussens gradually being pushed out of the company, Evey and Simmons continued to move forward, hiring a broadcasting team that included Jim Simpson, George Grande, Bob Ley, Lee Leonard, Chris Berman and Dick Vitale. As the launch date of September 7, 1979 approached, the building that would house the new channel had yet to be completed—the cable which was connected to the satellite was only plugged in about five minutes prior to the launch of the network.[14]
On September 7th at 7:00 P.M., an estimated 30,000 viewers tuned in to witness the launch of ESPN.[15] Simultaneously, ESPN debuted its first SportsCenter segment with anchors Lee Leonard and George Grande.[15] The first words spoken were from Leonard who informed viewers: "If you love sports...if you really love sports, you'll think you've died and gone to sports heaven."[15] The first score Grande announced was Chris Evert's victory over Billie Jean King at the US Open. SportsCenter lasted a half hour consisting mainly of videotaped highlights.[15] Following the conclusion of the telecast the network aired a slow-pitch softball game along with other programming, including wrestling and college soccer.[15]
Two days after their first broadcast, Evey issued an ultimatum to Bill, in which he stated that Rasmussen had little to do with the company at that point and should remain out of the way. Scott was fired by Evey as there were growing conflicts between Evey, Simmons, and Rasmussen.[16]
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) secured a $2.4 billion, six-year broadcast contract with the NBA, thereby revitalizing its historic compact with U.S. professional basketball.
In 1983, The United States Football League (USFL) made its debut on ESPN and ABC. The league (which lasted for three seasons) enjoyed ephemeral success, some portion of which was a byproduct of the exposure afforded through ESPN coverage.
On July 15, 1985, ESPN started airing the "ESPN Sports Update" (later known as "28/58"), a condensed run-down of scores and news that aired at 28 and 58 minutes past the hour, when SportsCenter was not airing.[17] This was changed to 18/58 on May 30, 2005.
In 1987, ESPN gained partial rights to the National Football League. The league agreed to the deal as long as ESPN agreed to simulcast the games on local television stations in the participating markets. ESPN Sunday Night Football would last for 19 years and spur ESPN's rise to legitimacy. In the 2006 NFL season, ESPN began airing Monday Night Football, formerly seen on its sister network ABC. (NBC took over the Sunday night game.) Former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue credits ESPN for revolutionizing the NFL: "ESPN was able to take the draft, the pregame and highlight shows, and other NFL programming to a new level."[18]
In 1984, ABC made a deal with Getty Oil to acquire ESPN. ABC retained an 80% share, and sold 20% to Nabisco. The Nabisco shares were later sold to Hearst Corporation, which still holds a 20% stake today. In 1986, ABC was purchased for $3.5 billion by Capital Cities Communications. In 1996, The Walt Disney Company purchased Capital Cities/ABC for $19 billion and picked up the 80% stake in ESPN at that time. According to an analysis published by Barron's Magazine in February 2008, ESPN "is probably worth more than 40% of Disney's entire value... based on prevailing cash-flow multiples in the industry."[19] Despite being technically a joint venture, for all intents and purposes ESPN operates as a division of Disney (as it was with ABC and Capital Cities before it).
In 1990, ESPN added Major League Baseball to its lineup with a $400 million contract.[20] The contract has been renewed and will continue through 2011. Jon Miller and Joe Morgan were the longtime voices of the network's centerpiece Sunday Night Baseball through the 2010 season. Steve Phillips joined the package in 2009, but Phillips was later dismissed by the network in October 2009. In December 2010 ESPN announced that Orel Hersheiser, Dan Shulman, and Bobby Valentine would be the new announcers of "Sunday Night Baseball" for 2011 season. Valentine went back to managing after the 2011 season and was replaced by Terry Francona.
ESPN broadcast each of the four major professional sports leagues in North America from 2002 until 2004, when it cut ties with the National Hockey League.[21] The network had aired NHL games from 1980 to 1982, from 1986 to 1989, and most recently from 1992 to 2004. ESPN has been broadcasting Major League Soccer games about once a week on ESPN2 since that league's inception in 1996. In most years, the annual All-Star Game and MLS Cup championship game, and in some years, the Opening Night game, are shown on ABC broadcast stations.
With the increasing cost of live sports entertainment, such as the USD$8.8 billion costs for NFL football broadcasts rights for eight years, "scripted entertainment has become a luxury item for ESPN," said David Carter, director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California.[22]
ESPN broadcasts 65 sports, 24 hours a day in 16 languages in more than 200 countries.[23]
ESPN set itself apart from its competition by using the top reporters for each of their respective sports by the early 1990s. Some examples included: 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, Mark Schwartz, and Greg Garber.
The 1990s and early 2000s saw a considerable growth within the company. ESPN Radio launched on New Years Day, 1992 and has seen tremendous success.[24] ESPN2 was founded in 1993, launched by Keith Olbermann and Suzy Kolber with SportsNite. Three years later ESPNews was born, with Mike Tirico as the first anchor. In 1997, ESPN acquired the Classic Sports Network and renamed it ESPN Classic. ESPNU, a network focusing exclusively on collegiate sports, launched on March 4, 2005.
In 1994, ESPN launched The ESPN Sports Poll, created by Dr. Richard Luker. The Sports Poll was the first ongoing national daily study of sports fan activities and interests in the United States. Sporting News acknowledged the accomplishments of The ESPN Sports Poll and Dr. Luker in 1996.[25]
After Disney's acquisition of ESPN, ABC Sports began to increasingly integrate its operations with the network in 1996. That year Steve Bornstein, president of ESPN since 1990, was made president of ABC Sports as well. This integration culminated in the 2006 decision to merge ABC Sports' operations with ESPN, which transitioned all ABC Sports telecasts to ESPN-styled productions and branding under the banner ESPN on ABC. However, due to the nature of ESPN still being a joint venture of ESPN and Hearst, ESPN on ABC is still legally separate from ESPN since the ABC network has no ownership interest by Hearst.
In 1998, ESPN also began utilizing a "Skycam" during their NHL broadcasts, later expanding to baseball, basketball, and football games.[17] In 2007, ESPN signed an agreement with the Arena Football League to broadcast at least one game every week, usually on Monday nights. In January 2008, ESPN signed a multi-million dollar contract with professional gaming circuit, Major League Gaming (MLG).
In April 2009, ESPN opened a broadcast production facility in downtown Los Angeles as a part of the L.A. Live complex across from Staples Center. The five-story facility houses an ESPN Zone restaurant on the first two floors and two television production studios with digital control rooms on the upper floors. One of the studios hosts late-night editions of SportsCenter.[26]
In October 2009, ESPN marked its 30th anniversary with the premiere of 30 for 30, a series of documentaries focusing on major sports stories and events that occurred over the 30 years that the network had been on the air. While premiering to low ratings[27], awareness and critical reception of the series increased in later installments, leading to an increase in viewership. By the seventh episode, The U, the audience had grown to a 1.8 rating and well over 2 million viewers.[28]
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 formed to acquire the Canadian sports networks TSN and RDS from Labatt (due to Canadian regulatory laws, Labatt could not be the majority owner of the networks after its purchase by Interbrew . After Bell Media (then Bell Globemedia) acquired a majority stake in the networks in 2000, they would adopt ESPN-styled branding in 2001.
In 2004, ESPN entered the European market by launching a version of ESPN Classic, and then by acquiring the North American Sports Network (which was re-launched as ESPN America in February 2009). In August 2009, ESPN also launched a domestic channel for the United Kingdom and Ireland after acquiring domestic rights to 46 Barclays Premier League matches for the forthcoming season, and 23 matches each for the following three seasons. The deal replaced a previous contract with Setanta Sports GB, which was experiencing financial difficulties and bankruptcy.[29]
Despite its acclaim and notability, ESPN and its sister networks have been the targets of criticism for some of its programming. This criticism includes accusations of biased coverage, conflict of interest, and controversies with individual broadcasters and analysts.