ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

operated five

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...

s in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. On 25 February 2013, BT agreed to acquire ESPN's UK and Ireland TV channels business, consisting of ESPN and ESPN America. BT will continue to broadcast ESPN after the deal's expected completion date of 31 July, as part of its

BT Sport BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Bro ...

package of services. The value of the deal was not disclosed, but BT is understood to have paid "low tens of millions". ESPN Classic, which was not part of the BT deal, and ESPN America ceased transmission across Europe, the Middle East and Africa at midnight on 1 August 2013. ESPN will continue to own and operate its existing digital media businesses.

Channels

'' launched on in the UK on 3 August 2009. The channel marked ESPN's first foray into live coverage of domestic sports events in the UK. On 31 July 2013, BT completed their purchase of ESPN's UK and Ireland TV channels business but continue to operate ESPN, however the programming largely resembles that of ESPN America. Programming is available in

standard-definition Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...

and high-definition formats. ESPN Player, previously branded ESPN360, is ESPN’s digital streaming platform in the UK and Europe for live and on-demand sports. The service is available across Europe, Middle East & Africa and, predominantly, broadcasts U.S sports content. Main content includes NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball, College Sports, IndyCar Series, World Series of Poker, X Games and others. The platform is a direct to consumer service, as Pay Per View, and not linked to any TV subscription. ''

ESPN America ESPN America was a British-based European sports network, focusing on professional and collegiate sports of the United States and Canada. Originally launched on 5 December 2002 as NASN (the ''North American Sports Network''), ESPN America broadca ...

'' was a British-based

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an sports network, focusing on professional and collegiate sports of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Originally launched in December 2002 as NASN (the ''North American Sports Network''), ESPN purchased the channel in March 2007 for €70m from Benchmark Capital Europe and

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...

. The channel was known as ESPN America from 1 February 2009. ESPN America broadcast a selection of top North American professional and collegiate sports leagues. The network closed at midnight on 1 August 2013. Programming was available in standard-definition and high-definition formats. ''

ESPN Classic ESPN Classic was an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns 20%). The channel was originally la ...

'' launched on 13 March 2006 on Sky channel 442, the first channel in the UK under the ESPN branding. Initially it was only available on Sky Digital but the channel became available on Virgin Media and UPC Ireland in August 2009 when ESPN UK launched. It broadcast a range of archive sports coverage, with an emphasis on football. The channel closed at midnight on 1 August 2013. Programming was available in only standard-definition format.

Mobile

On 6 April 2010, ESPN secured mobile rights to highlights from all

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

games from the 2010-11 season, after beating

British Sky Broadcasting Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...

to the deal. The broadcaster won a three-year deal for short-form mobile highlights from all 380 Premier League games. It is thought that ESPN paid under £10m for the rights in a blind auction. The application, titled ESPN Goals, features a basic service offering news and live scores, which is free-to-download. However, the full video clips package are chargeable on a monthly or season basis. The clips can be issued during any matches not kicking off at 3pm on Saturdays, with highlights from those games only being permitted for release after 4.45pm. UK users are able to access the application from the Android Market, Apple

App Store An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the c ...

BlackBerry App World BlackBerry World (previously known as BlackBerry App World) is an application distribution service, aka an 'app store', and application by BlackBerry Limited; for BlackBerry 10 devices, the BlackBerry PlayBook, and a majority of BlackBerry OS devi ...

Ovi Store Ovi by Nokia ( fi, ovi, translation=door) was the brand for Nokia's Internet services. The Ovi services could be used from a mobile device, computer (through Ovi Suite) or via the web. Nokia focused on five key service areas: Games, Maps, Media, ...

and Windows Phone Marketplace, along with ESPN's mobile site. From the

2011–12 Premier League The 2011–12 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 13 August 2011 and ended on 13 May 2012 with Manchester Ci ...

season, the app became completely free both to download and to view clips, instead relying on advertising revenue to fund the service. From the

2013–14 Premier League The 2013–14 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd season of the Premier League, the top-flight English professional league for men's football clubs, and the 115th season of top-flight Engli ...

season, the rights to mobile highlights have been sold to

News UK News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher of ...

, ESPN is not thought to have submitted a bid.

References

External links

ESPN UK channel information

ESPN.co.ukESPN ScrumESPN F1ESPN SoccernetESPN Cricinfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Espn (Uk Tv Channel) ESPN media outlets Sports television in the United Kingdom

Channels

Mobile

See also

References

External links