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BT Sport 4 is a British sports television channel owned by
Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The subsidiary is responsible for managing the collection of their cable and satellite networks around the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. History WarnerMedia ...
and the
BT Group BT Group plc ( trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, bro ...
. It is part of the
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 ...
group of channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and is predominantly focused on sports from
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
. The channel was established by
ESPN Inc. ESPN Inc. is an American multinational sports media conglomerate majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Hearst Communications as an equity stakeholder. For management and financial reporting purposes, the company is the main entity w ...
on 3 August 2009 as ESPN (or ESPN UK), after having acquired a share of rights to English Premier League. It served as ESPN's first UK channel devoted to domestic sport, as its pan-European sister networks
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 ...
and
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 broa ...
were devoted to archive content and North American sport respectively. Alongside the Premier League, the channel acquired shares of the rights to the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
,
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
,
Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
, and
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
among other properties. The channel also carried coverage of sport from the United States (such as the NBA, NFL, NHL, and U.S.
college sports College athletics encompasses non- professional, collegiate and university-level competitive sports and games. World University Games The first World University Games were held in 1923. There were originally called the ''Union Nationale de ...
, some of which carried over from ESPN America), and ESPN original programmes. In 2012, ESPN began losing many of its signature sport properties (including the Premier League) to BT Group and its forthcoming BT Sport service. On 25 February 2013, ESPN announced that it would exit the UK and Ireland market and sell its television operations to BT Group, which integrated the network into BT Sport upon its launch that August. The channel continued to operate under the ESPN name under licence, and was later co-branded as BT Sport ESPN. In 2015, BT Group reached a long-term deal with
ESPN International ESPN International is a family of sportscasting and production networks around the world. It was begun in 1989, is operated by ESPN Inc. and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Operating regions Latin America Spanish-speaking countries * ES ...
to continue holding British rights to ESPN-owned sports rights and original programmes. In August 2022, ahead of the takeover of BT Sport by Warner Bros. Discovery, the channel dropped the ESPN branding and was rebranded as BT Sport 4, with no change in programmes.


History

The channel launched on 3 August 2009 following ESPN's acquisition of partial UK broadcast rights to the English Premier League (EPL) six weeks prior, caused in turn by the financial difficulties of
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 previ ...
, which ceased broadcasting in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
at about the same time. It marked ESPN's first foray into live coverage of domestic sports events in the UK. Prior to August 2009, ESPN's only operations in the UK were archive sports channel
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 ...
, as well as the pan-European
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 broa ...
channel (then known as North American Sports Network), which focused on
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
n sport. On 13 June 2012, it was announced that ESPN had missed out on EPL broadcast rights from the 2013–14 to 2015–16 season to Sky Sports and BT, despite making a "strong bid". The news followed speculation that ESPN was reconsidering its position in the UK. In the following months, ESPN also lost the rights to Premiership Rugby, Premiership Rugby Sevens Series and American, Brazilian, French and Italian top-flight football to BT. On 1 February 2013, ''
Broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...
'' reported that ESPN had entered talks to sell off its remaining sports rights, believed to be worth more than £15m. During The Walt Disney Company's first quarter earnings results conference call on 5 February 2013, Disney's chief financial officer Jay Rasulo confirmed that ESPN had "experienced losses" in the UK and was "exploring an exit". On 25 February 2013, BT agreed to acquire ESPN's UK and Ireland TV channels business, which were integrated into BT Sport upon its launch. The value of the deal had not been disclosed, but BT was understood to be paying "low tens of millions". In January 2015, BT reached a long-term rights deal with ESPN, allowing the network to maintain its affiliation with ESPN International, and its rights to original programmes and sports properties owned by ESPN outright or to which it holds international rights. On 9 June 2015, BT rebranded the channel as BT Sport ESPN. On 11 May 2022, BT Group announced that the BT Sport channels would become a joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and merge with
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
UK at a later date. On 1 August 2022, the ESPN branding was dropped from the channel, which was renamed BT Sport 4; the channel continues to primarily carry U.S. sport (such as
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
and college sports).


Availability


Before August 2013

A carriage and retail agreement for both residential and commercial customers was struck with
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 ...
, who sold the channel through their Sky platform. British Sky Broadcasting's Sky Media also acted as ad sales house for the channel. Some events were also transmitted on Sky 3D including the Winter X Games XV,
2011 FA Cup Final The 2011 FA Cup Final was the 130th final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest domestic football cup competition. The final took place on 14 May 2011 at Wembley Stadium in London in front of 88,643 spectators and a British television audience of m ...
and 2011 NBA Finals. From 22 July 2011 ESPN was available without additional charge to full Sky Sports Pack subscribers in Ireland. ESPN is available on
Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...
in standard and high definition as a part of the XL pack. M, M+ or L pack customers can subscribe to ESPN and BT Sport. A discount was previously available to Sky Sports subscribers. After the acquisition of ESPN by BT Sport on 1 August 2013, Virgin Media customers lost access to ESPN channels, despite Virgin Media and BT being in talks for more than 2 months prior to the switch over. ESPN and ESPN HD returned on 15 August after BT signed a wholesale deal with Virgin Media for the carriage of BT Sport.
Top Up TV Top Up TV was a pay TV service in the United Kingdom which launched in March 2004, operating on the digital terrestrial television platform. The aim of the service was to "top up" Freeview customers by providing additional content and services ...
carried ESPN from 4 August 2009. A connection fee applied to non-Top Up TV subscribers, ex-Setanta
digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television (DTTV or DTT, or DTTB with "broadcasting") is a technology for terrestrial television in which land-based (terrestrial) television stations broadcast television content by radio waves to televisions in consumers' ...
customers or those without a viewing card. On 26 July 2011 Top Up TV announced that ESPN would be available via a
conditional-access module A conditional access module (CAM) is an electronic device, usually incorporating a slot for a smart card, which equips an integrated digital television or set-top box with the appropriate hardware facility to view conditional access content ...
(CAM) when the CAM service was launched in August.
BT Vision BT TV is a subscription IPTV service offered by BT; a division of United Kingdom telecommunications company BT Group, and was originally launched as BT Vision in December 2006. As of the end of June 2019, BT TV had 1.9 million customers. ...
has carried ESPN from 4 August 2009 as part of BT Vision's Value Packs (Bronze, Silver and Gold). On both BT Vision and Top Up TV, ESPN broadcasts from 14:00 – 04:00 on weekdays, 11:00 – 06:00 on Saturday and 11:00 – 04:00 on Sunday. TalkTalk TV (then known as Tiscali TV) carried ESPN from 14 August 2009, along with ESPN America. ESPN was available on Smallworld Cable without additional charge when taken with the Ultimate HD TV Pack. Other customers can subscribe to ESPN. On 14 August 2009, a deal with cable company
UPC Ireland Virgin Media Ireland is Liberty Global's telecommunications operation in Ireland. It is the largest digital cable television provider within the country. As of 31 December 2014, the company offers broadband internet, digital television and d ...
and ESPN was reached. On that date ESPN and ESPN HD launched on UPC. A discount is available to Sky Sports or
Setanta Sports 1 Eir Sport 2 (stylised as eir Sport 2, formerly Setanta Sports 1) was an Irish pay television channel owned by Setanta Sports Channel Ireland.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 broa ...
ceased to be part of the Setanta Sports package on that date, and was bundled with ESPN instead. On 4 January 2010, UPC and ESPN announced a new deal whereby ESPN (including its HD counterpart) and ESPN America would become part of UPC's Digital Select Extra and Digital Max packages. ESPN have offered a number of free periods, ranging between a weekend and a month. In February 2012 a free weekend covered a
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 ...
match between
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...
, marking the first time that a Premier League fixture had been broadcast
free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...
in the UK. During the same weekend the channel was also available on
TVCatchup TVCatchup was an Internet television service for viewing free-to-air UK channels. It operated as a cable service and retransmitted BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, and ITV, amongst others, only in the UK. Users were able to access the service v ...
.


From August 2013

After ESPN's acquisition by
BT Group BT Group plc ( trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, bro ...
in 2013, BT have included ESPN as part of their
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 ...
Pack and is available on Sky,
Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...
, and
BT TV BT TV is a subscription IPTV service offered by BT; a division of United Kingdom telecommunications company BT Group, and was originally launched as BT Vision in December 2006. As of the end of June 2019, BT TV had 1.9 million customers ...
, as well as online via the BT Sport website and BT Sport app. BT Sport ESPN is also available in the Republic of Ireland through
eir Sport Eir Sport (stylised as eir Sport; formerly Setanta Sports) was a group of Irish television sports channels operated by Eircom Sport Limited, a subsidiary of Eir. In December 2015, Eir purchased original Setanta Sports operations in the Republic ...
.


Content

This section describes the content that ESPN UK showed before BT Sport morphed ESPN UK into a channel focused mainly on American sport.


Current


Basketball

On 30 July 2009, ESPN announced a deal to air
EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the ...
.


Cricket

On 22 July 2010, ESPN agreed a deal with the
West Indies Cricket Board Cricket West Indies (CWI) is the governing body for cricket in the West Indies (a sporting confederation of over a dozen mainly Commonwealth Caribbean, English-speaking Caribbean countries and dependencies that once formed the British West Ind ...
for exclusive UK broadcast rights to the inaugural Caribbean T20 Tournament. The event, which ran from 22–31 July, featured eight West Indian
Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...
teams, including
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...
, Combined Campuses and Colleges,
Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
,
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
, Trinidad and Toboago and the
Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean Sea No ...
competing to win the Caribbean Twenty20 title. These rights now air on BT Sport. The channel has also completed a deal to show the inaugural
Sri Lanka Premier League The Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) was a Twenty20 cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was intended to be the premier Twenty20 league in the country, held by Sri Lanka Cricket, when it replaced the Inter-Provincial Twenty20 competition. Afte ...
tournament in August 2012.


Football


=English football

=


Premier League

The company announced on 22 June 2009 that it had secured the UK broadcast rights to the
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 ...
for four seasons, airing 46 games in the 2009–10 season and 23 games a year for the following three seasons, following a missed payment by Setanta Sports which voided their contracts. In Ireland, ESPN will air the same 46 matches during the 2009–10 season. Premier League coverage was produced by Sky Sports in-house production team, with former BBC presenter
Ray Stubbs Raymond J. Stubbs (born 24 May 1956) is an English broadcaster and former footballer. He worked as a presenter for the BBC, ESPN and BT Sport, and now works for Talksport radio. His most recent role is presenting the coverage of the World Senio ...
hosting, while
Rebecca Lowe Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
reports from the touchline and
Jon Champion Jonathan Martin Champion (born 23 May 1965) is a British sports commentator currently working as the lead association football commentator for ESPN (US). Champion is a well-established and experienced commentator who has also worked for the BBC ...
commentates alongside either
Chris Waddle Christopher Roland Waddle (born 14 December 1960) is an English former professional football player and manager. He currently works as a commentator. Nicknamed "Magic Chris", football journalist Luke Ginnell wrote that Waddle was "widely ackn ...
or Craig Burley.
Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 a ...
is the lead analyst, while
Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...
, Shaka Hislop,
Frank Leboeuf Franck Alain James Leboeuf (born 22 January 1968), typically anglicised as Frank Leboeuf, is a French actor, sports commentator and former international footballer who played as a centre-back. With the French national team, Leboeuf won the 199 ...
, Danny Murphy,
Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...
,
Matt Holland Matthew Rhys Holland (born 11 April 1974) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Holland began his career at West Ham United, having previously been with Arsenal's academy. During his time at West Ham spent time out on ...
and
Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...
were also signed to provide analysis. Mark Chapman,
Nat Coombs Nathaniel George Terence Coombs (born August 1977) is a British television and radio presenter, and writer. Education Coombs was educated at the boys' independent school Dulwich College in Dulwich, South London, and at University College Londo ...
and Kelly Cates also form a part of the line up.
IMG Sports Media IMG, originally known as the International Management Group, is a global sports, events and talent management company headquartered in New York City. It has been owned by Endeavor since 2013. Trans World International (TWI) is an event and pr ...
make the studio shows and ancillary programming. The first Premier League match to be shown on ESPN was Everton's 6–1 loss against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
. From the 2010–11 season Sky no longer produced coverage of matches, instead coverage was taken over by IMG Sports Media, in an effort to offer "quality and innovation" and introduce new technology from the broadcaster's US parent to help develop post-match analysis. The change also affected FA Cup and Scottish Premier League coverage. ESPN have also increased the number of cameras at games from an average of 16 cameras to 23. After ESPN lost the rights to the Premier League to BT Sport, ESPN Inc. sold the channel to BT Sport.


FA Cup

On 7 December 2009, it was reported that ESPN had secured the rights to 25 live and exclusive
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
matches per season from the 2010–11 season under a four season deal. ESPN televised two matches in the FA Cup First and Second Rounds (plus up to two replays per round), three matches from the Third to Fifth Rounds (plus up to one replay), two quarter-finals (plus up to one replay), one semi-final, and aired the
FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
alongside ITV (which held the first pick of matches). ESPN's offer is thought to have been 60% higher than that tabled by the BBC, however, that bid is also understood to be for a longer contract period and still worth substantially less than the amount paid by Setanta. The
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
,
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, and
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
FA Cup finals were shown live on ESPN. In 2012 and 2013 the buildup coverage for the finals started from eight in the morning with 5.15 evening kick-offs. An outside standing studio was set up behind the goals for pre-match and post-match analysis presented by
Ray Stubbs Raymond J. Stubbs (born 24 May 1956) is an English broadcaster and former footballer. He worked as a presenter for the BBC, ESPN and BT Sport, and now works for Talksport radio. His most recent role is presenting the coverage of the World Senio ...
. As ESPN was acquired by the BT Group before the start of the 2013–14 season, the final year of ESPN's FA Cup contract, coverage of the competition moved to BT Sport.


Women's Super League

As part of a four-year deal for FA Cup coverage, formally announced on 8 December 2009, ESPN has exclusive media rights for the inaugural FA Women's Super League in 2011. The channel continues to show this after the acquisition of ESPN by BT Sport.


=Scottish leagues

= On 16 July 2009, it was announced that ESPN had secured the broadcast rights to 30 live
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
(SPL) games per season across the UK and Ireland, for five seasons, starting with the 2009–10 season. Sky Sports had also shown 30 live games per season during this period, including each of the
Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
games. The SPL retained the right to opt out of the final two seasons of the deal. On 21 November 2011, ESPN's deal with the SPL was extended for five years from the 2012–13 season, however on 3 August 2012 ESPN announced a new five-year agreement allowing it to air 30 SPL games per season and 10 Rangers games from the
Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...
(SFL), including three home fixtures. Ray Stubbs hosts, with
Derek Rae Derek Rae (born 1967) is a Scottish association football commentator and presenter who currently works for ESPN and ABC in the United States for the English-language coverages of Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, and La Liga and Deutsche Fußball Liga for ...
and Craig Burley commentating.
Darrell Currie Darrell Currie (born 1982) is a Scottish television presenter and journalist. He is currently a presenter and touchline reporter for BT Sport, where he covers English and Scottish football. He also is part of the ESPN football coverage team. In ...
is touchline reporter and regular studio guests include Colin Hendry, Mark Hateley,
Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps ...
and
Scott Booth Scott Booth (born 16 December 1971) is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is the head coach of Lewes in the Women's Championship. A forward by position, he began his playing career at Aberdeen as a teenager, before moving to Ger ...
. The first SPL fixture broadcast on the channel was Dundee United's 2–0 victory over Hearts on 17 August 2009. BT Sport renegotiated the contract alongside Sky Sports to cover the newly formed
Scottish Professional Football League The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As ...
on the BT Sport network.


=UEFA Europa League

= On 1 September 2009, ESPN secured a three-year TV rights deal to broadcast matches from the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
, previously held by Setanta Sports. At a minimum, ESPN will broadcast one match from each kick-off slot. On 17 October 2011, ESPN were also awarded part of the rights to the 2012–13 to 2014–15 seasons. ESPN shared the rights to the Europa League with Channel 5 and ITV. As part of the deal, ESPN serve as host broadcaster for any live home matches featuring British clubs that it is transmitting and have the rights to air matches over the internet and via mobile wireless technologies. During the inaugural season of the Europa League, ESPN broadcast live matches featuring British teams
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...
, Everton,
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
and
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...
, as well as 45 other European clubs, including holders
Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...
. ESPN were only host broadcasters for two matches, Everton's 2–1 first-leg victory over
Sporting Lisbon Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...
on 16 February and Fulham's 4–1 second-leg victory over
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
on 18 March. When the
ITV network ITV is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the ol ...
became the primary broadcasters after Channel 5 lost the rights to the Europa League, ESPN continued to cover the Europa League. After the acquisition of ESPN by BT Sport, the coverage airs on BT Sport branded channels and from 2015–16 season BT will be exclusive broadcasters of the Europa League, with highlights on ITV.


=UEFA Champions League

= Following BT Sport's acquisition of exclusive
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
rights, ESPN broadcast the ''UEFA Champions League Goals Show'', a live panel show which simulcasts all the goals and other key incidents from the matches taking place in the competition. The programme is shown during the group stage of the competition and was broadcast on ESPN for 2015–16, before moving to BT Sport 1 for 2016–17.


=Foreign club football

= On 28 July 2009, ESPN announced that they had secured television rights to show up to two live games per week from the
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...
,
Portuguese Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
, up to two live games per week from the
Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
and the remainder of the
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
season, including five play-off games and the MLS Cup 2009. For the 2010–11 season ESPN renewed its contracts for the Eredivisie and Russian Premier League and broadcast at least two matches each week from the Major League Soccer season, including play-off games. ESPN signed a multi-year deal for up to five live games per week from the German
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...
, a selection of which is in high definition, as well as weekly preview and highlight programmes. During the 2010–11 season, ESPN also broadcast the quarter finals, semi-finals and final from the
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
. On 5 August 2009, ESPN announced that they had secured the rights for up to three live
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
matches per week for the 2009–10 season as well as the
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
. ESPN also showed the 2009 Supercoppa Italiana which took place on 8 August 2009. For the
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
season ESPN aires at least two games per week from Serie A, as well as a selection of Coppa Italia games. ESPN also continued to broadcast ''ESPN Kicks'' – recapping all of the weekend's goals, as well as weekly preview show, ''Total Italian Football''. In May 2012, ESPN acquired the rights to broadcast the
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...
from Brazil, followed by a deal in June to broadcast
Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...
from France. In July, ESPN announced a renewed multi-season Bundesliga rights deal, lasting until the 2014–15 season, for up to four matches per week (all in high definition). It will also screen action from the DFL-Supercup, as well as a highlights packages and video on-demand footage. In addition, agreements for the Eredivisie and Russian Premier League were also renewed. Foreign club football airs on BT Sport and ESPN after the acquisition of ESPN by BT Sport


=International football

= The first international football match shown on ESPN was the pre-season friendly match between
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
and
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
on 12 August 2009, which saw Argentina win 3–2. The first youth international match was the European Under-21 Championship qualification match between England under-21s and FYR Macedonia under-21s on 4 September 2009, which England won 2–1. On 5 October 2009, ESPN secured a multi-year deal to show 150 classic
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
matches from
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...
to
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
. The matches are shown on ESPN and ESPN Classic. As part of a four-year deal for FA Cup coverage, formally announced on 8 December 2009, ESPN will show all of the England Under-21s home fixtures. These matches have since moved to BT Sport who now own ESPN. On 24 May 2010, ESPN announced that it had acquired UK exclusive broadcast rights to live coverage from 41 international football fixtures, including "at least" 16 qualifiers for the
UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
tournament, from the Kentaro rights agency. It is understood that the batch of games will feature a broad mix of European national sides, potentially including some home nations. ESPN will also broadcast 20 international friendlies and live coverage from the
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
World Tour, in which the five-time World Cup winners take on national teams from around the world. The first of these fixtures to be shown was the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
warm-up match between
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
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 to ...
on 24 May 2010, which was won 5–0 by the home side, these matches moved to BT Sport after the acquisition. Sky Sports have exclusive coverage of all qualifiers within Europe from 2014–2018, apart from
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
matches and one other qualifier per matchday, which air on ITV. On 15 July 2010, ESPN secured broadcast rights to all
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
's
Euro 2012 qualifying The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 was a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, held in Poland and Ukraine. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held ...
matches. ESPN broadcast selected home friendly matches featuring France and Germany. During May 2011, ESPN secured the rights to the
2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...
.


=Pre-season football

= ESPN showed
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
's 2009 tour of North America, including live matches against
Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...
on 7 August and DC United on 9 August, Benfica versus
AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...
on 8 August and
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
versus Olympiakos on 9 August. In January 2010, ESPN showed
Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...
Torneos de Verano matches, including the Triangular de Verano 2010 Mar del Plata contested between
Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in th ...
, Estudiantes and
San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...
, the Triangular de Verano 2010 Salta involving River Plate,
Racing Club Racing Club may refer to: Football * Racing Club Abidjan, Ivory Coast * K.R.C. Genk, Belgium * Racing Club Bafoussam, Cameroon * Racing Club Beirut, Lebanon * Racing Club de Avellaneda, Argentina * Racing Club Haïtien, Haiti * Racing Club Po ...
and Independiente as well as the Copa Revancha Mendoza between Boca Juniors and River Plate on 24 January. Between 23–25 July 2010, ESPN aired all four games from the New York Football Challenge, which featured
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
,
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...
and
Sporting Lisbon Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...
. Manchester City will then take on
Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier ...
,
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...
,
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
and Champions League winners
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...
on a ten-day tour of America between 29 July and 7 August. ESPN also aired Tottenham's match against Benfica in
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
on 1 August and
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
's friendly against Rangers in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
on 7 August. In 2011, ESPN broadcast all four games of 2011
Emirates Cup The Emirates Cup is a pre-season association football invitational competition hosted by English club Arsenal at their home ground, Emirates Stadium, in Highbury, London. The two-day competition was inaugurated in 2007 and is named after Arsena ...
, as well as a number of other pre-season friendlies. In 2012, ESPN will broadcast more than 20 club and international football friendlies over the summer, including the LIGA total! Cup.


=Charity football

= On 25 January 2010, ESPN aired the ''Match Against Poverty 2010'', where a Benfica All-Stars XI took on a team of legends selected by
Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the mos ...
and
Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...
, in Lisbon to benefit the
United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
and SL Benfica Foundation.


Mixed martial arts

On 30 July 2009, ESPN announced that they had secured the rights to
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
events from UFC 101 onwards as well as '' The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights'', ''UFC All Access'', ''UFC Countdown'', ''UFC Fight Nights'' and ''
UFC Unleashed The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
''. Alongside ESPN, Channel 5 airs a one-hour highlights show called ''UFC: Main Event'' and
5USA 5USA is a British free-to-air television channel. It is owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia and is a sister channel of Channel 5, 5Action, 5Star and 5Select. It was launched on 16 October 2006 as Five US and was the second digital ter ...
aired the debut showing of ''The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights''. However, ESPN showed '' The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale'' live and in full. BT Sport now shows this after the acquisition, ''
The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...
'' now airs on FX.


Rugby union

On 30 July 2009, ESPN announced that they would cover the French
Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...
live, coverage lasted until the end of the 2011–12 season. In addition, ESPN broadcast live international clashes featuring
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
,
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. This now airs on Sky Sports. On 14 December 2009, ESPN agreed a three-year deal for exclusive live rights to 43 matches per season from the English Premiership, beginning with the 2010–11 season, including exclusive live coverage of the English Premiership Final and one of the two semi-final matches. The agreement also provides highlight rights for use on ESPN digital media such as ESPNScrum.com. Sky Sports will continue to show 26 live games per season plus the other semi-final. On 15 April 2010, ESPN signed
Austin Healey Austin Sean Healey (born 26 October 1973 in Wallasey (now part of Merseyside, formerly Cheshire), is a former English rugby union player who played as a utility back for Leicester Tigers, and represented both England and the British & Irish Li ...
as an expert contributor for its English Premiership presentation team, followed by
Nick Mullins Nick Mullins (born 31 January 1966) is a British journalist and sports commentator, primarily working on BT Sport's Premiership Rugby coverage. Early life Mullins began his career as a journalist with the ''Loughborough Trader'' and '' Loughbor ...
as chief match commentator on 27 May and
Ben Kay Benedict James Kay MBE (born 14 December 1975) is a retired English international rugby union footballer who played Second row forward for Leicester Tigers and . Background Kay was born in Liverpool, the only son of Lord Justice of Appeal Si ...
as co-commentator on 9 June.
Mark Durden-Smith Mark Durden-Smith (born 1 October 1968 in Soho, London) is an English television presenter best known for presenting ITV shows such as '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!'' and '' This Morning Summer'', Sky 1 shows such as ''The Matc ...
will act as lead host, joined by reporter Sarra Elgan. ESPN has also confirmed plans to start providing on-site coverage for many of its English Premiership games via a custom-built set, with production from Sunset + Vine. BT Sport now show this after the acquisition of ESPN by BT Sport however most of the ESPN team work for BT Sport. On 9 June 2010, ESPN agreed a deal with Premiership Rugby for exclusive UK broadcast rights to the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series Series. The new tournament, which took place over July and August 2010, involved all 12 Premiership Rugby clubs competing in Friday evening games. The broadcaster has also shown the 2011 and 2012 tournaments. BT Sport now shows this after the acquisition of ESPN by BT Sport.


Tennis

In March 2012. the channel showed its first tennis coverage – the
Billie Jean King Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was chan ...
from
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...
. During the same month, ESPN secured the rights to a series of
ATP World Tour 250 The ATP 250 tournaments (previously known as the ''ATP World Tour 250'' tournaments, ''ATP International Series'', and ''ATP World Series'') are the lowest tier of annual men's tennis tournaments on the main ATP Tour, after the four Grand Slam to ...
events for 2012, as well as three
WTA International tournaments The WTA International Tournaments was a category for professional tennis tournaments of the Women's Tennis Association from the 2009 WTA Tour until 2020, which replaced the previous Tier III and Tier IV categories. The winner of a WTA Internat ...
.


US sports

ESPN also show some of the US sports available on ESPN America, including
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
, the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
, and U.S. college sports. For a period it also held the rights to the NFL's ''
Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
'', which is produced by ESPN. In addition, the channel airs the
ESPN Films ESPN Films, formerly known as ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE), is an American production company which produces and distributes sports films and documentaries. It is owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (wh ...
'
30 for 30 ''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes three "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series un ...
series.


Other sports

On 30 July 2009, ESPN announced that they will cover the up to three live matches a week plus highlights from the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...
including the four-week finals series culminating with the Grand Final. As part of the same announcement, it was revealed that ESPN will show
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM, German Touring Car Masters) is a grand touring car series sanctioned by ITR e.V. who have been affiliated to the DMSB- FIA since 1984. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The s ...
live. BT Sport now show this after the acquisition of ESPN by BT Sport. ESPN screened their first live boxing event on 19 September 2009, broadcasting ''
Friday Night Fights The cable television network ESPN has occasionally broadcast boxing events over the majority of its history, as part of several arrangements, including contracts with specific promotions and consortiums such as Golden Boy Promotions, Premier Bo ...
'' from America with
Guillermo Rigondeaux Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz (; born 30 September 1980) is a Cuban professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the unified WBA (Super), WBO and ''Ring'' magazine super bantamweight titles between 2013 an ...
topping the bill. On 8 December 2010, Premier Sports announced an exclusive UK deal for 31 live Friday Night Fight events from January 2011 on an initial 2-year deal. BT Sport now show this. ESPN aired the
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
first Preliminary Final live on 25 September, the second Preliminary Final on 26 September and the Grand Final live on 4 October. Premier Sport now airs this. On 3 March 2010, ESPN agreed a deal for the UK broadcast rights to the first ever European Winter
X Games The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...
. All competition finals from the
Winter X Games Europe The Winter X Games Europe is an annual sports event – the European edition of the Winter X Games – held in Tignes, France. The first edition was held from March 10–12, 2010. It was the first Winter X Games competition held outside of the Uni ...
at the French ski resort of
Tignes Tignes () is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, known for the highest skiable area and the longest ski season in Europe. It is located in the Savoie region with good t ...
was shown live and exclusive from 10–12 March. On 4 March 2010, ESPN agreed a deal for the UK broadcast rights to the 2010 World Indoor Athletic Championships held between 12–14 March at the
ASPIRE Dome The Aspire Dome is an indoor multi-purpose arena based in Qatar. It is located in the Aspire Academy in Doha and has the capacity to host 13 different sporting events simultaneously in a climate controlled arena, in addition to a full-sized indoo ...
in
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...
. On 12 January 2011, ESPN and North One Sport, the promoter of the
World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
(WRC), reached an agreement for the WRC to be televised exclusively on ESPN in the UK. ESPN will screen 30-minute nightly bulletins at the end of every WRC day, with on-event coverage bookended by an hour-long preview and review show. Between events, ESPN is committing 30-hour-long shows with archive material from the sport, as well as two new documentary programmes. In addition to coverage on ESPN, WRC footage will also be aired on ESPN Classic. ITV4, Motors TV and BT Sport now show this. On 6 July 2011, it was announced that the 2011 World Masters of darts would air live and exclusively on ESPN, with the event extended to three days three-days for the first time as part of the agreement with the
British Darts Organisation The British Darts Organisation (BDO) was a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft. Made up of 66 member counties, it oversaw professional, semi-professional and amateur darts competitions in Britain. The BDO was a founder ...
. This tournament now airs on British Eurosport but ESPN deal ended nine consecutive years of coverage on the BBC. In addition, ESPN agreed to share coverage of the
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
and
2013 BDO World Darts Championship The 2013 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 36th World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 28th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green. Christian Kist was the defending men's ch ...
with the BBC. ESPN also broadcast the PDC 2012 European Championship in September. ESPN was the first broadcaster in Britain to show both BDO and PDC tournaments at the same time. When BT Sport acquired ESPN they dropped darts but since 2015 they have shared coverage of the BDO World Darts Championships, with the BBC in 2015 and 2016, and with
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
in 2017 and 2018. In November 2011 ESPN showed two golf tournaments from Australia. In October 2012, ESPN announced that it will start broadcasting games from the
Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...
, Europe's top
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
competition.


Previous


Basketball


= NBA

= On 30 September 2009, ESPN announced that they had secured a multi-year deal to show live
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...
games. The channel show up to three live matches a week during the NBA season in standard and high definition, including one game at Sunday primetime. It also carries
NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, ...
s and action from the season
playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...
and
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. ESPN also broadcast studio shows '' NBA Fastbreak'' and ''
NBA Action ''NBA Action'' is a weekly show with news and highlights of the National Basketball Association, NBA. The show premiered in 1990 on ESPN. It airs on NBA TV with new episodes at 6:30 ET/5:30 CT every Thursday night during the season. Features (in ...
''. Live pre-season coverage began on ESPN on 6 October 2009 when the
Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
took on the
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...
as part of
NBA Europe Live Tour The NBA Global Games are a series of games featuring NBA teams that are played outside the United States and Canada. Its purpose is to bring teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA) to play games against either another NBA team or a for ...
. Coverage continued on 8 October 2009 for Utah Jazz against Euroleague Basketball's
Real Madrid Baloncesto Real Madrid Baloncesto (English: Real Madrid Basketball) is a Spanish professional basketball team that was founded in 1931, as a division of the Real Madrid CF multi sports club. They play domestically in the Liga ACB, and internationally i ...
. The NBA season officially started on 27 October 2009. ESPN UK was unable to secure the rights to the 2012–13 NBA season until 5 December 2012 when a deal was made between NBA and ESPN to show 3 games a week, NBA All Star Game, First and Second Round NBA Play-off coverage, Western Conference Finals, and NBA Finals for this season (2012–13). Coverage began the following day. The channel continues to show this after the acquisition of ESPN by BT Sport until 2017–18 season. From 2018–19 season, coverage moved to
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
.


= WNBA

= Same as the men's league games, WNBA games also moved to
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
from 2018–19 season.


See also

*
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 ...
*
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%). The ...
* ESPN in the United Kingdom


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bt Sport 4 Sports television in the United Kingdom Sports television channels in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 2009 Warner Bros. Discovery