"ABC Sports" redirects here. For other uses, see ABC Sports (disambiguation).
ESPN on ABC
On-air logo used since August 28, 2022.
Network
ABC
Launched
1961 (1961)
Country of origin
United States
Owner
ESPN Inc.
Headquarters
Bristol, Connecticut
Major broadcasting contracts
NFL
MLB
NBA
WNBA
NHL
PLL
F1
Wimbledon
NCAA football
NCAA basketball (Women's March Madness)
LLWS
German Bundesliga
Spanish La Liga
UFL
X Games
Formerly known as
ABC Sports (1961–2006)
Sister network
ESPN ESPN2 ESPN+ ESPN Deportes Disney XD
Format
Sports
Original language(s)
English Spanish (SAP; select events)
Official website
https://abc.com/collection/espn-on-abc
ESPN on ABC (formerly known as ABC Sports from 1961 to 2006) is the branding used for sports event and documentary programming televised by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. Officially, the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, in 2006, ABC's sports division was merged into ESPN Inc., which is the parent subsidiary of the cable sports network ESPN that is majority owned by ABC's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, in partnership with Hearst Communications.[1][2]
ABC broadcasts use ESPN's production and announcing staff, and incorporate elements such as ESPN-branded on-screen graphics, SportsCenter in-game updates, and the BottomLine ticker. The ABC logo is still used for identification purposes such as a digital on-screen graphic during sports broadcasts on the network, and in promotions to disambiguate events airing the broadcast network from those shown on the ESPN cable channel.[3]
The broadcast network's sports event coverage carried the ABC Sports brand prior to September 2, 2006.[4][2] When ABC acquired a controlling interest in ESPN in 1984, it operated the cable network separately from its network sports division. The integration of ABC Sports with ESPN began after The Walt Disney Company bought ABC in 1996. The branding change to ESPN on ABC was made to better orient ESPN viewers with event telecasts on ABC and provide consistent branding for all sports broadcasts on Disney-owned channels (shortly thereafter, ESPN2's in-game graphics were likewise altered to simply use the main "ESPN" brand). Despite its name, ABC's sports coverage is supplemental to ESPN and (with occasional exceptions) not a simulcast of programs aired by the network.
Since 2021, ABC is the only broadcast television network to have rights to broadcast games from all four major professional leagues all at the same time. This is largely due to joint contracts with ESPN and those four leagues.
^"ESPN, Inc. Fact Sheet". ESPNPressroom.com. ESPN Inc. Retrieved May 6, 2021. ESPN launched on September 7, 1979, and is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Hearst holds a 20 percent interest.
^ abNagle, Dave (January 2, 2007). "ESPN, Inc.: 2006 in Review". ESPNPressroom.com. ESPN Inc. Retrieved April 30, 2007. ESPN announces "ESPN on ABC" will become the brand for all sports carried on the ABC Television Network beginning Saturday, Sept. 2.
^Deitsch, Richard (August 10, 2006). "Worldwide leader expands". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on August 23, 2006. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
^"'ESPN on ABC' to debut during college football season". ESPN.com. ESPN Inc. Associated Press. August 10, 2006. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
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aired onABC from 1965 to 1973. In 2002, NBA games returned to ABC as part of a contract signed with the league, along with cable sister network ESPN. After...
all sports telecasts onABC being produced in association with sister cable network ESPN under the branding ESPNonABC. While ABC has, in the past, aired...
games in 2002. ABC began televising NBA games under full ESPN production in 2006 (ABC Sports aired NBA games under the title of the NBA onABC from 2002 to...
cable network ESPN under the branding ESPNonABC. General industry trends and changes in rights have prompted reductions in sports on broadcast television...
(NHL) games produced by ESPN have been shown on its various platforms in the United States, including ESPN itself, ABC, ESPN+, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU,...
(NFL) games first aired onABC from 1948 to 1951. Between 1970 and 2005, Monday Night Football aired exclusively onABC. In 2006, ESPN took over as the exclusive...
primarily broadcast on Monday nights. It was originally broadcast onABC from 1970 to 2005, before moving exclusively to sister network ESPN in 2006, which...
family of television networks. ESPN Radio Network was formed in September 1991 by ESPN Inc. and Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.'s ABC Radio Networks. Twenty-five...
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other forms of on-demand and linear content. In April 2018, it was announced that FiveThirtyEight would be transferred to ABC News from ESPN, Inc., majority...
of programs currently, formerly, or soon to be broadcast on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNonABC. Baseball Tonight (since 1990) College Football Final (since...
games produced by ESPN and televised on its sister network American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Saturday Primetime games typically air on selected Saturdays...
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Entertainment and ESPN. The company was originally established in 1987 under the Capital Cities/ABC Video Enterprises, Inc. name and later renamed ABC Cable and...
onABC and ESPN. The networks have aired NBA games since 2002. Typically, the program airs 30 or 60 minutes prior to the game. ESPN2 or another ESPN network...
draft. ESPN and ABC continued to carry separate feeds, one with all the "X's and O's" onESPN, and the other with the College GameDay crew onABC. After...
as well as on multiple local channels and regional sports networks. Since the 2002–03 season, broadcast channel ABC, and pay TV networks ESPN and TNT have...
Global Information