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ESPN on ABC (formerly known as ABC Sports from 1961 to 2006) is the branding used for sports event and documentary programming televised by ABC in the United States. Officially, the
broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...
network retains its own sports division; however, in 2006, ABC's sports division was merged into
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. Founded by Bill Rasmussen in 1979, it owns and operates local and global cable and ...
, which is the parent subsidiary of the
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
sports network
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
that is majority owned by ABC's corporate parent,
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
, in partnership with
Hearst Communications Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...
. ABC broadcasts use ESPN's production and announcing staff, and incorporate elements such as ESPN-branded on-screen graphics, ''
SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande,  Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...
'' in-game updates, and the BottomLine ticker. The ABC logo is still used for identification purposes such as a
digital on-screen graphic A digital on-screen graphic, digitally originated graphic (DOG, bug, network bug, or screenbug) is a watermark-like station logo that most television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen area of their programs to identify the channel ...
during sports broadcasts on the network, and in promotions to disambiguate events airing the broadcast network from those shown on the ESPN cable channel. The broadcast network's sports event coverage carried the ABC Sports brand prior to September 2, 2006. 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 The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
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 ESPN2 is 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 the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...
'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 Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
of programs aired by the network. From 2021 to 2025, ABC was the only Big Three network to have rights to broadcast games from all four major professional leagues at the same time, largely due to joint contracts with ESPN and those four leagues.


History


1960s: Roone Arledge, Wide World of Sports

Like its longtime competitors
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...
and
NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...
, ABC Sports was originally part of the news division of the ABC network, and, after 1961, was spun off into its own independent division. When
Roone Arledge Roone Pinckney Arledge Jr. (July 8, 1931 – December 5, 2002) was an American sports and news broadcasting executive who was president of ABC Sports from 1968 until 1986 and ABC News from 1977 until 1998, and a key part of the company's rise ...
came to ABC Sports as a producer of
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
games in 1960, the network was in financial shambles. The
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
even wanted a bank to guarantee ABC's contract to broadcast the
1960 Olympics The 1960 Olympics may refer to: *The 1960 Winter Olympics, which were held in Squaw Valley, United States *The 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 19 ...
. At the time, Edgar Scherick served as the de facto head of ABC Sports. Scherick had joined the fledgling ABC television network when he persuaded it to purchase Sports Programs, Inc., in exchange for the network acquiring shares in the company. Scherick had formed the company after he left CBS, when the network would not make him the head of its sports programming unit (choosing to instead appoint former baseball
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
agent William C. MacPhail). Before ABC Sports even became a formal division of the network, Scherick and ABC programming chief Tom Moore pulled off many programming deals involving the most popular American sporting events. While Scherick was not interested in "For Men Only," he recognized the talent that Arledge had. Arledge realized ABC was the organization he was looking to become part of. The lack of a formal organization would offer him the opportunity to claim real power when the network matured. With this, he signed on with Scherick as an assistant producer, with Arledge eventually ascending to a role as executive producer of its sports telecasts. Several months before ABC began broadcasting NCAA college football games, Arledge sent Scherick a remarkable memo filled with youthful exuberance and television production concepts which sports broadcasts have adhered to since. Network broadcasts of sporting events had previously consisted of simple set-ups and focused on the game itself. In his memo, Arledge not only offered another way to broadcast the game to the sports fan, but recognized that television had to take fans to the game. In addition, he had the forethought to realize that the broadcasts needed to attract, and hold the attention of, female viewers, as well as males. On September 17, 1960, the then-29-year-old Arledge put his vision into reality with ABC's first NCAA college football broadcast from
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, Alabama, between the
Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...
and the
Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...
which Alabama won, 21–6. Despite the production values he brought to NCAA college football, Scherick wanted low-budget sports programming (as in inexpensive broadcasting rights) that could attract and retain an audience. He hit upon the idea of broadcasting
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
events sponsored by the
Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...
. While Americans were not exactly fans of track and field events, Scherick figured that Americans understood games. In January 1961, Scherick called Arledge into his office, and asked him to attend the annual AAU board of governors meeting. While he was shaking hands, Scherick said, "if the mood seemed right, might he cut a deal to broadcast AAU events on ABC?" It seemed like a tall assignment, however as Scherick said years later, "Roone was a gentile and I was not." Arledge came back with a deal for ABC to broadcast all AAU events for $50,000 per year. Next, Scherick and Arledge divided up their NCAA college football sponsor list. They then telephoned their sponsors and said in so many words, "Advertise on our new sports show coming up in April, or forget about buying commercials on NCAA college football this fall." The two persuaded enough sponsors to advertise on the broadcasts, though it took them to the last day of a deadline imposed by ABC's programming operations to do it. '' Wide World of Sports'' – an
anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...
featuring a different sporting event each broadcast, which premiered on the network on April 29, 1961 – suited Scherick's plans exactly. By exploiting the speed of jet transportation and flexibility of
videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually Sound recording and reproduction, sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog signal, analog or Digital signal (signal processing), digital signal. V ...
, Scherick was able to undercut
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
and CBS's advantages in broadcasting live sporting events. In that era, with communications nowhere near as universal as they are in the present day, ABC was able to safely record events on videotape for later broadcast without worrying about an audience finding out the results. Arledge, his colleague Chuck Howard, and Jim McKay (who left CBS for this opportunity) made up the show on a week-by-week basis during the first year of ''Wide World''s run. Arledge had a genius for the dramatic storyline that unfolded in the course of a game or event. McKay's honest curiosity and reporter's bluntness gave the show an emotional appeal which attracted viewers who might not have otherwise watched a sporting event. More importantly from Arledge's perspective, ''Wide World of Sports'' allowed him to demonstrate his ability as an administrator as well as a producer. His ability to provide prime sports content was solidified in 1964, when ABC appointed Arledge as the vice president of ABC Sports. That same year, Scherick left the sports division to become ABC's vice president of programming – leaving Arledge as the top executive at ABC Sports, although he would not gain a formal title as president for four years. In 1968, Arledge was formally appointed as president of ABC Sports. As the sports division's president for the succeeding 18 years, his job was his hobby; as he described it, it was good because he watched sports for work rather than leisure, but had a downside as he had no time left for leisure activities. He made sportsmen into stars, a trend he would later bring to the news division where he lured established anchors and correspondents such as
David Brinkley David McClure Brinkley (July 10, 1920 – June 11, 2003) was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997. From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, '' The Huntley–Brinkle ...
and
Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', ''Good Morning America'', ''20/20 (U.S. TV series), 20/20'', and ...
and paid unheard-of salaries, including the first million-dollar contract to
Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (September 25, 1929December 30, 2022) was an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, she appeared as a host of numerous television programs, ...
. Arledge personally produced all ten of ABC's
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
broadcasts, created the primetime ''
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
'' and coined the famous "thrill of victory, agony of defeat" tagline first used on ''Wide World of Sports'' – although ABC insiders of that era attribute the authorship to legendary sports broadcaster Jim McKay. Over the next few years, the look of the network's sports telecasts became more intimate and entertaining as, under Arledge, ABC introduced techniques such as
slow motion Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slow-mo or slo-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use ...
replay, freeze frame,
instant replay Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred, both shot and broadcast live TV, live. After being shown live, the video is replayed so viewers can see it again and analyze what just happened. Spo ...
, split-screen, hand-held cameras, endzone cameras, underwater cameras and cameras on cranes.


1970s: Monday Night Football, Ring Magazine Scandal

As part of an agreement with the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(which completed its
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with the
American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...
that year), ''Monday Night Football'' debuted on ABC in September 1970, which served as the NFL's premier game of the week until 2006, when '' Sunday Night Football'', which moved to
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
that year as part of a broadcast deal that in turn saw ''MNF'' move to ESPN, took over as the league's marquee game. Although it suffered a decline in ratings toward the end of its ABC run, the program was a hit for the network; according to ABC president
Leonard Goldenson Leonard H. Goldenson (December 7, 1905 – December 27, 1999) was the founder and president of the United States–based television network American Broadcasting Company (ABC), from 1953 to 1986. Goldenson, as CEO of United Paramount Theatre ...
, ''Monday Night Football'' helped regularly score ABC an audience share of 15%–16%. With the creation of ''Monday Night Football'', Arledge not only anchored ABC's primetime programming, but created a national pastime. At first, nobody – including the affiliates and the advertisers – supported the idea of primetime football games at the beginning of the week. Arledge said, regarding this skepticism, "But I thought there was something special about football, because there are so few games, and relatively few teams. Also, there is something about the look of a night game, with the lights bouncing off the helmets." It was not only the lights that made watching Arledge-style football on ABC an event in itself. The games were transformed into events through the technical innovations envisioned by Arledge and through a new style of sportscaster embodied in Howard Cosell. ABC was the first network not to allow announcer approval by the league from which it was purchasing broadcast rights. Arledge said, " CBS had been the basic football network. They treated it like a religion and would almost never criticize it. But if you screwed up on ''Monday Night Football'', Cosell would let everyone know about it." Arledge proudly pointed out that the program "changed the habits of the nation." In 1977, Arledge's executive responsibilities at ABC were expanded, and he was made president of ABC News while remaining as head of ABC Sports. In 1976, unscrupulous managing editor of ''The Ring'', Johnny Ort, fabricated records of selected boxers, to elevate them, thereby securing them lucrative fights on the American ABC television network, as part of the United States Championship Tournament, orchestrated by promoter Don King to capitalize on the patriotism surrounding the United States Bicentennial and the American amateur success at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. King's idea was to defeat the non-American boxers who held the vast majority of world titles below the heavyweight division. Keeping in line with the patriotic theme of the promotion, King held shows at "patriotic" locales—such as the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
in
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, as well as on an aircraft carrier stationed off
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. Despite the above, the 1977 '' Ring Record Book'' contained the fictitious additions to the records of the boxers in question and were never taken out of their records of the boxers. Those dubious bouts would continue to appear in subsequent ''Ring Record Book'' editions. The ''Ring Record'' magazine scandal was uncovered by boxing writer Malcolm "Flash" Gordon and ABC staffer
Alex Wallau Alex Wallau (born January 11, 1945) is a former president of the ABC television network. Wallau began his career with ABC in 1976, when he joined the network's Sports division under Roone Arledge, then head of ABC Sports. Wallau went on to become ...
. After Gordon and Wallau's evidence was presented to ABC executive
Roone Arledge Roone Pinckney Arledge Jr. (July 8, 1931 – December 5, 2002) was an American sports and news broadcasting executive who was president of ABC Sports from 1968 until 1986 and ABC News from 1977 until 1998, and a key part of the company's rise ...
the United States Championship tournament was cancelled. Despite being hoodwinked and manipulated by Don King, in 1977 ABC made Arledge president of the then low-rated network news division, all while Arledge retained control of the Sports Division. The ABC Ring Scandal would lead to the eventual resignation of New York State Boxing Commissioner James Farley Jr., who had lent his name to the Championship fights and who was the son of former New York State Athletic Commissioner and former Postmaster General James Aloysius Farley, who had died one year prior to the scandal. Farley Jr., had accepted a hotel room which had been furnished by King. This was used by David W. Burke who at that time was a secretary of Governor Hugh Carey, to force Farley Jr.'s eventual resignation form the New York State Athletic commission. In August 1977 Mr. Arledge announced the appointment of David W. Burke, as his new assistant for administration, with the title of vice president. Mr. Burke helped develop programs including ''This Week with David Brinkley'' and ''Nightline'', and had no prior television or journalism experience prior to his hiring by Arledge. No formal charges of impropriety were ever filed against Farley Jr.. The following year the Boxing Writers Association dedicated their highest honor, the " James A. Farley Award", after Farley Sr., for honesty and integrity in the sport of boxing.


1980s and 1990s: Disney purchase

The seeds of its eventual integration with ESPN occurred when ABC acquired a controlling interest in ESPN from
Getty Oil Getty Oil Company was an American oil marketing company with its origins as part of the large integrated oil company founded by J. Paul Getty. They went defunct in 2012. History J. Paul Getty incorporated Getty Oil in 1942. He had previously ...
in 1984. One year later,
Capital Cities Communications Capital Cities/ABC Inc. was an American media company. It was founded in 1985 when Capital Cities Communications purchased the much larger American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. It was eventually acquired by The Walt Disney Company and re-branded i ...
purchased ABC for
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3.5 billion. Although some ESPN sportscasters such as John Saunders and
Dick Vitale Richard "Dick" John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadc ...
began to also appear on ABC Sports telecasts and shared some sports content (particularly the
USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
), ESPN and ABC Sports continued to operate as separate entities. After
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
bought Capital Cities/ABC in 1996, Disney started to slowly integrate ESPN and ABC Sports. ESPN personalities like Chris Berman,
Mike Tirico Michael Todd Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022, and is set to become the lead play-by-play anno ...
and Brad Nessler also began working on ABC Sports broadcasts. In 1998, ESPN adopted the graphics and music package used by ABC Sports for ''Monday Night Football'' for the network's ''Sunday Night Football'' broadcasts. ESPN graphics were also utilized on ABC's motorsports telecasts, including
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and
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
events, during this period. That same year, ESPN signed a five-year contract to televise
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) games, whereby the cable network essentially purchased time on ABC to air selected NHL games on the broadcast network. This was noted in
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tags at the conclusion of the telecasts (i.e., ''"The preceding program has been paid for by ESPN, Inc."''). ESPN later signed a similar television rights contract with the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA) in 2002, allowing it to produce and broadcast NBA games on ABC under a similar time buy arrangement on the broadcast network.


2000s: ESPN on ABC

Between 2000 and 2002, many ABC Sports programs utilized graphics almost identical to those used on ESPN. One notable exception was ''Monday Night Football'', which switched to a different graphics package as part of then-new producer Don Ohlmeyer's attempt to provide some renewed vigor into those telecasts. Subsequently, ABC changed graphics packages each fall from 2002 to 2005, while ESPN's basically remained consistent. Meanwhile, Disney continued to consolidate the corporate structure of ESPN and ABC Sports. Steve Bornstein was given the title as president of ''both'' ESPN and ABC Sports in 1996. The sales, marketing, and production departments of both divisions were eventually merged. As a result, ESPN uses some union production crews for its coverage (as the networks normally do), whereas non-union personnel are quite common in cable sports broadcasting. In August 2006, in the wake of the moves of
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
to ESPN and Sunday Night Football to
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
, it was announced that ABC Sports would be totally integrated into ESPN, incorporating the graphics and music used by the cable channel and its related television properties, and production staff. The brand integration does not directly affect whether the ESPN cable channel or ABC carries a particular event, as in most cases this is governed by contracts with the applicable league or organization. Perhaps confusingly, this means that some events are broadcast with ESPN branding during ABC coverage, even though another channel owns the cable rights. For example, TNT held the cable television rights to the British Open from 2003 to 2009 (with ABC carrying the tournament's weekend coverage); in addition, from 2009 to 2018, ABC had shared the rights to IndyCar Series with
NBCSN NBCSN (also known as NBC Sports Network) was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Lif ...
. IndyCar fans who have criticized ESPN on ABC's race broadcasts have used "Always Bad Coverage" as a derisive
backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
pertaining to the quality of the telecasts. On the other hand, ESPN airs
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
games; however, ABC does not as Fox holds the broadcast television rights to the league's game telecasts. ABC would later air MLB postseason games in 2020 as part of the 2020 Wild Card Series. ABC would also air ''
Sunday Night Baseball ''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ESPN during the regular season. The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show '' Baseball Tonight: Sun ...
'' on August 8, 2021 between the
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and
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. This would be the first exclusive regular season telecast of Major League Baseball on ABC since 1989. The last live sporting event televised under the ABC Sports banner was the United States Championship Game in the
Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...
on Saturday, August 26, 2006 (ABC was slated to carry the Little League World Series Championship Game on Sunday, August 27, however rain forced the postponement of the game to the following Monday, August 28, with that game subsequently airing on
ESPN2 ESPN2 is 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 the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...
). The changeover took effect the following weekend to coincide with the start of the college football season, with
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
,
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...
and
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
coverage eventually following suit. However, ABC used a separate graphics package (incorporating the network's own logo) during its coverage of the final round of the
Scripps National Spelling Bee The Scripps National Spelling Bee, formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and often referred to as the National Spelling Bee or simply “the Spelling Bee” in the United States, is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. ...
, which were similar to the older-styled ESPN graphics but with a yellow base. In 2008, though, it utilized the newer yellow and red ESPN graphics which had been used on other recent telecasts, but with the ABC logo. These graphics were used through 2010. In 2011, the Bee was moved off of network TV and the telecast began to be produced by Scripps Television, which uses its own graphics.


2010s: Re-emphasis on ABC brand

As ESPN has signed new contracts with various conferences to produce college football coverage, the network has begun branding its coverage of select conferences to which it has rights. This branding was first seen on SEC broadcasts in 2011, which became the "SEC on ESPN". ACC broadcasts followed suit in 2012 becoming the "ACC on ESPN". Despite the fact that ACC games also air on ABC, the games remain branded as the "ACC on ESPN" regardless of network. In 2016, a new contract brought conference branding to Big Ten telecasts as well, which air on both ESPN and ABC. While Big Ten games that air on ESPN cable channels are branded as the "Big Ten on ESPN", games airing on ABC are now branded as the "Big Ten on ABC". The next year, in 2017, the Pac-12 Conference began branding their games under the title, "Pac-12 on ESPN". While the program is still officially part of ''ESPN College Football'' which is reflected when talent appears on screen, the Big Ten on ABC logo and branding is used for intro, program IDs, and replay wipes. This is the first time any regularly scheduled sporting event outside of the National Spelling Bee has carried any ABC branding since 2006. Also starting with ''Saturday Primetime'' in 2017, live NBA game action no longer shows the ESPN identification on screen. Previously under ESPN on ABC (since 2006–07), the ESPN logo was part of the score banner, while the ABC logo was separately floating on the right side of the screen, remaining on screen during replays. The version of the new 2016–17 graphics package used on ABC replaces the ESPN logo in the score banner with several stars, while the ABC logo (still constantly on screen) anchors the right side of the banner; however for the 2017–18 season, the ESPN logo was reintroduced onto a revised version of the score banner with the ABC logo still located to the right, beginning with the 2022 College Football Season, the ESPN on ABC logo is shown instead of just the ABC logo. In addition, commercial transitions for ABC games now contain the ABC logo. It is the first time NBA games on ABC don't have ESPN identification during live action since the 2006 NBA Finals. An exception was during the
MLS Cup 2019 MLS Cup 2019 was the 24th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), and took place on November 10, 2019, at Lumen Field, CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington, United States. The association football, soc ...
on ABC, where no ESPN logo other than the mic flags appeared on the screen and the broadcast was introduced as "the 2019 MLS Cup Final on ABC" with the ABC logo appearing on the screen. For all soccer coverage, the ABC branding is used with little to no use of the ESPN logo (for example the ''Bundesliga on ABC''). Beginning in 2017, older ABC Sports branding elements have been re-used nostalgically by the network's sports-themed reality competition shows (which also import on-air talent from ESPN). The revival of '' Battle of the Network Stars'' paid homage to the 1970s original (then hosted by ''
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
s Howard Cosell). "If you're expecting to see the yellow jackets and the ld school ABC Sportsmic flags, you'll be delighted," Executive Andrew Grossman told reporters." Episodes also began with a remake of the network's iconic '' Wide World of Sports'' introduction. The 2019 "extreme
miniature golf Miniature golf (also known as minigolf, putt-putt, crazy golf, and by #Nomenclature, several other names) is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest ...
" competition '' Holey Moley'' also used 1970s replica ABC Sports jackets on its lead hosts, ESPN's Joe Tessitore and former ''
Fox NFL Sunday ''Fox NFL Sunday'' is an American sports television program broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television network. The show debuted on September 4, 1994, and serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL ...
'' prognosticator Rob Riggle, and guest commentators. Tessitore commented that its use was an homage to Cosell and the network's history of varied sports offerings. "That gold jacket was doing many extreme events; barrel jumping, Acapulco cliff diving. You can look at the history of legitimate sports coverage on ABC, ...that gold jacket was attached to a lot of sports that had one-year, two-year runs on Saturday afternoon on ABC ...I think it's something that Roone Arledge, who was always very forward-thinking, would recognize. ...in the
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
-
Evel Knievel Robert Craig Knievel (October 17, 1938November 30, 2007), known professionally as Evel Knievel (), was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Throughout his career, he attempted List of Evel Knievel career jumps, more than 75 ramp-to-ra ...
era of TV programming, there would have been a place for Holey Moley." To celebrate the 50th anniversary of ''
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
'', Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Louis Riddick,
Lisa Salters Alisia "Lisa" Salters (born March 6, 1966) is an American journalist and former college basketball player. She has been a reporter for ESPN and ESPN on ABC since 2000. Salters previously covered the O. J. Simpson murder case for American Broadc ...
, and John Parry all wore special ABC Sports replica jackets during the September 21 game between the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
and the
Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...
. The game aired on ESPN, with ABC
simulcasting Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
the game, the network's first NFL regular season game in almost 15 years. This game was also the first NFL game to be played in the city of
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, and the first NFL game to be played in the state of
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
. The gold jackets returned on October 31, 2022 ''MNF'' broadcast between the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
and the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
, this time worn by the new top team of
Joe Buck Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster for ESPN. The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for Fox's Nati ...
, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters. To celebrate the first exclusive regular season telecast of a Major League Baseball game on ABC since
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
,
Matt Vasgersian Matt Vasgersian (né Vasgerdsian; '; September 28, 1967) is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is the alternative play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a studio host for MLB Network and Major Leagu ...
,
Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...
, and Buster Olney wore special ABC Sports patches during ''
Sunday Night Baseball ''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ESPN during the regular season. The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show '' Baseball Tonight: Sun ...
'' on August 8, 2021 between the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
and
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
. Special graphics inspired by The Baseball Network were also used in conjunction with the standard ESPN MLB graphics. The game also featured a special guest appearance by former ABC announcer
Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television play-by-play sportscaster for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Amazon Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on network sports television sin ...
.


2020s: Revitalization of sports on ABC

In the 2010s, the only consistent sports on ABC were
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
, the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
, the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
and the
Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...
. ESPN began simulcasting an NFL Wild Card Playoff game on ABC starting in 2016, marking the first time ABC had an NFL game since
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
; this was later followed by the Pro Bowl starting in 2018. Additionally, ABC simulcast ESPN's coverage of rounds 4–7 of the
2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...
. Then, starting in 2019, ABC aired all three days of the draft. In 2020, ABC simulcast 3
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
games. The first regular season games aired nationally on the network since 2005. In 2022, ABC aired an exclusive game. In 2023, ABC aired 4 exclusive games. Also, due to the
2023 Hollywood labor disputes From May 2 to November 9, 2023, a series of long labor disputes within the Cinema of the United States, film and Television in the United States, television industries of the United States took place, mainly focused on the strikes of the 2023 W ...
, ESPN announced that all remaining Monday Night Football games would be simulcast on ABC and was the first time since 2005 that it aired a full season of MNF. In 2019, ABC aired the
MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...
, its first
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
match since 2008. During the
2020 Major League Soccer season The 2020 Major League Soccer season was the 25th season of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on February 29, 2020, and was originally planned to end on October ...
, ABC returned to airing regular season matches as well. ESPN did not renew its MLS deal after the 2022 season. ABC also aired matches from the German
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
, Spanish
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
, and the
United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...
. In 2021, ABC aired a
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
match before losing those rights to
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...
the following season. In 2023, ABC lost the United States women's national soccer team broadcasts as they were picked up by TNT Sports. Later, ABC added the
Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...
final and the
NWSL The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...
(beginning in 2024) as part of its soccer contract. After a five-year hiatus, ABC returned to airing college basketball in 2019 with five games on the network, and has continued to do so since. Beginning with the
2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2020–21 NCAA Divi ...
, select women's college basketball games have also aired on ABC. In December 2021, the first regular season women's college basketball game aired on ABC. In 2023, ABC aired the final of the Division I women's basketball tournament for the first time. On May 6, 2019, the XFL announced that
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
and
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...
had acquired the rights to broadcast the league's return, with the broadcasts airing on ABC,
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
, Fox, and FS1, then later in 2023 on FX, with Fox Sports not opting to broadcast the XFL, leaving ESPN as the sole broadcast rights holder. The XFL later merged with Fox's
United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
to form the United Football League; ABC holds an ownership stake in the merged league. In
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
, ABC returned to MLB coverage once again. This time it was part of
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
's
Wild Card Series The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was instituted in 2012. This became a best ...
coverage, which was expanded due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
(ESPN and ABC are both primarily owned by
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
, and Disney integrated the
ABC Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial America ...
division with ESPN in 2006). ABC aired three Wild Card Series games as part of this coverage. All coverage primarily used ESPN or ESPN on ABC branding. In
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
, ABC aired their first regular season game since 1995, an August 8 ''
Sunday Night Baseball ''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ESPN during the regular season. The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show '' Baseball Tonight: Sun ...
'' game between the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
and
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
. That same year, ESPN and Major League Baseball agreed to a contract extension that included the exclusive rights to a new Wild Card Series. ABC will have the rights to air select games from the Series, as well as the rights to air select ESPN regular season games. ABC aired one game from the 2022 Wild Card Series. In
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
, ABC aired the Rays vs Rangers
Wild Card series The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was instituted in 2012. This became a best ...
. Starting in 2024, ABC will air the Sunday game of the
College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...
finals. This will be the first College World Series game on ABC, and the first CWS game on broadcast television since 2002. On December 10, 2020, ESPN announced that it had acquired the top-tier rights to the SEC under a 10-year, $3 billion contract to begin in the 2024 season; ABC will hold rights to the top SEC game of the week (replacing CBS). As before, they will primarily air in the 3:30 PM Eastern Time window, but there will also be the possibility for games to be carried on ''Saturday Night Football''. ABC will also hold rights to the SEC Championship Game. In 2021, ABC began airing coverage of the
NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...
. In 2023, due to the
2023 Hollywood labor disputes From May 2 to November 9, 2023, a series of long labor disputes within the Cinema of the United States, film and Television in the United States, television industries of the United States took place, mainly focused on the strikes of the 2023 W ...
, ESPN announced that ABC would air a series of Wednesday night NBA games during January 2024 for the
2023–24 NBA season The 2023–24 NBA season was the 78th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 24, 2023, and ended on April 14, 2024. The NBA held their first-ever in-season tournament from November 3 to December ...
. On March 10, 2021, ESPN announced a new, seven-year broadcast deal with the NHL, which included games on ESPN, ABC, and
ESPN+ ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...
beginning in the 2021–22 season. ABC's first game back featured the
New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
and the
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
in the annual Thanksgiving Showdown on November 26, 2021. After ABC aired the
2022 NHL All-Star Game The 2022 National Hockey League All-Star Game was held on February 5, 2022, at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, the home of the Vegas Golden Knights. For the sixth consecutive All-Star Game, a three-on-three format was used, with teams represe ...
, the network aired a weekly game under the ''ABC Hockey Saturday'' branding, which began on February 26. The package primarily aired on Saturday afternoons, with one primetime game on March 19 to accommodate afternoon coverage of the
2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2021–22 NCAA Divi ...
. All games broadcast by ABC are simulcast on ESPN+. The 2022 Stanley Cup Finals marked the first to be broadcast in their entirety on over-the-air television since
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
, as the Finals had since either been partially or exclusively carried on cable. In 2021, ABC broadcast its first UFC event as part of UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar on January 16, 2021. In 2022, ABC aired UFC in
primetime Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to b ...
for the first time when it aired the prelims of UFC 276 on July 2, 2022. In 2022, as part of a contract renewal with
The Championships, Wimbledon ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
, ABC began airing live weekend matches. In 2023, ABC aired weekend matches from the US Open for the first time. ABC became the only broadcast network to air live tennis beginning in 2025 after NBC lost it's French Open coverage to TNT Sports. Beginning in 2027, ABC will become the home of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, moving from ESPN. This will be the first CFP National Championship Game to air on ABC, and the first national championship game on the network since
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
. ABC also aired the FCS National Championship Game, from 2020-2021, and again from 2023-2024.


ESPN, ABC Sports, and Hearst

Despite the rebranding, ABC Sports continues to exist, at least nominally, as a division of the ABC network. One indication of this was the retention of George Bodenheimer's official title as "President, ESPN Inc. and ABC Sports" even after the rebranding – the second part of the title would presumably be unnecessary if ESPN had fully absorbed ABC's sports operations – though following Bodenheimer's retirement and the subsequent appointment of John Skipper at the end of 2011, the title was shortened to "President, ESPN Inc." In addition, ABC itself maintains the copyright over many of the ESPN-branded broadcasts, if they are not contractually assigned to the applicable league or organizer, suggesting that ESPN has merely "loaned" usage of its
brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
, staff and infrastructure to ABC, rather than having acquired ABC Sports outright.
ABC News Radio ABC News Radio is the news radio service of ABC Audio, a division of ABC News (United States), ABC News in the United States. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Skyview Networks, five-minute newscasts on the hour ...
also continues to brand its short-form sports updates as ABC Sports Radio; this service is separate from the
ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...
network. This is likely a minor technicality stemming from ESPN being technically a joint venture between Disney (which owns an 80% controlling interest) and the
Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...
(which owns the remaining 20%). Disney has long exercised operational control of the network, while Hearst is believed to be more of a silent partner rather than an active participant in ESPN's management. However, this relationship does mean that Hearst's ABC-affiliated stations – such as WCVB-TV in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
;
WMUR-TV WMUR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Manchester, New Hampshire, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate to most of New Hampshire. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on ...
in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, New Hampshire;
WTAE-TV WTAE-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by Hearst Television since the station's inception, making this one of two stations that have been built and signe ...
in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
; WISN-TV in
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
;
WPBF-TV WPBF (channel 25) is a television station licensed to Tequesta, Florida, United States, serving the West Palm Beach area as an affiliate of American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on RCA B ...
in
West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
; and KMBC-TV in
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
– have
right of first refusal Right of first refusal (ROFR or RFR) is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transactio ...
to local simulcasts of ESPN-televised
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
games involving home-market teams, which are very rarely waived to other stations within their markets. Equally, other Hearst-owned stations such as NBC affiliates WLWT-TV in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
,
WBAL-TV WBAL-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship property of Hearst Television, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to the company's sole ra ...
in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
, and
WDSU-TV WDSU (channel 6) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on Howard Avenue in the city's New Orleans Central Business District, Centra ...
in
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
have been able to air NFL games from ESPN for the same reason (
independent station An independent station is a broadcast station, usually a television station, not affiliated with a larger broadcast television network, network. As such, it only broadcasts broadcast syndication, syndicated programs it has purchased; brokered pr ...
WMOR-TV in the
Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
market is also eligible to air these games, but rarely if ever does so). Under NFL broadcasting rules, the league's cable-televised games must be simulcast on broadcast television in the local markets of the teams playing in the broadcast, though the game is not permitted to air in the home team's market if tickets do not sell out 72 hours before kickoff – games that are not sold out must be blacked out in the market of origin (due to the league's March 2015 decision to suspend its blackout policies, all NFL games televised by ESPN during the 2015 season were allowed to air on broadcast television in the originating market of the game and the home markets of both participating teams). Similar rules and rights were previously in place for ESPN-televised
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
playoff games, except in that non-sellout games were not blacked out (Major League Baseball does not black out games based on attendance, but rather to protect local broadcasters). ABC
owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an network af ...
s also have right of first refusal for NFL (and previously
Major League Baseball postseason The Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason is the annual playoffs, playoff Tournament#Knockout tournaments, elimination tournament held to determine the champion of MLB in the United States and Canada. Since 2022, the postseason for each league ...
) simulcasts from ESPN, though in recent years the stations have passed on airing the game telecasts in favor of carrying ABC's Monday night schedule, which includes the popular reality competition series ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
''. With the series moving to
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
beginning with Season 31, ABC affiliates will more than likely air future MNF simulcasts. Dancing with the Stars returned to ABC, while staying on Disney+ for Season 32, but because of the actors and writers strikes that began during the summer, Disney moved DWTS to Tuesdays, allowing ABC to pick up simulcasts of all MNF games in 2023, excluding Weeks 2, 3, and 14, when ESPN will air different games as part of their “Two Games, One Night” doubleheader series. Thus, other local affiliates will pick up simulcasts of the ESPN game since ABC will have their own game.


Siphoning

ESPN and The Walt Disney Company have been criticized for decreasing the amount of sports programming televised on ABC. Several ABC affiliates have also voiced opposition regarding the increasing migration of live sporting event telecasts from ABC to ESPN. An example was in regards to NASCAR race broadcasts: from 2007 to 2009, ABC aired all of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup races, along with one other race. From 2010 to 2014, only three Sprint Cup races and one Chase race ( Charlotte) were shown on ABC, to the outrage of many NASCAR fans and sponsors. Several other events such as college football's Rose Bowl and Capital One Bowl games, and the British Open golf tournament have also been transferred from ABC to ESPN (although the Capital One Bowl would return to ABC in 2013). This, however, is not entirely the fault of ESPN, as ABC in general has attracted a primarily female viewership in recent years, with sports largely attracting a male-dominated –though not exclusive – audience. The decrease in sports events televised by ABC has resulted in the network having a very inconsistent weekend afternoon sports schedule similar – if not somewhat equal – to Fox in previous years (and to some extent, to this day, even with the expansion of sports coverage on Fox since 2011); ESPN-produced sports specials (aired as part of the ''
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 four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series und ...
'' and '' E:60'' anthology series) and/or more recently,
figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...
and
gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...
specials supplied by Disson Skating (a subsidiary of independent production company Disson Sports & Entertainment) as well as syndicated programs or
infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...
s scheduled by the network's owned-and-operated stations and
affiliates In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or al ...
fill the weekend afternoon schedule on days when the network is not scheduled to air a sporting event; until 2014, ABC-supplied
rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. The two types of reruns are those that occur during a hiatus and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word "repe ...
blocks of certain prime-time network shows and occasional theatrical film telecasts have also filled the schedule on weekend afternoons without a scheduled sports event. As a consequence of this, ABC turned over an hour of its then-existing two-hour Sunday afternoon block (from 4 to 5 p.m.
Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behi ...
) to its affiliates on June 21, 2015, reducing its Sunday schedule on weeks without major sporting events to one hour; the 5 p.m. (Eastern) hour that was retained is usually reserved for rebroadcasts of ESPN sports documentaries. However, as of January 2016, ABC rescinded the remaining hour of its Sunday afternoon schedule (5–6pm Eastern Time) back to its affiliates thus leaving ABC without a Sunday afternoon block (save for major sporting events). This exclusively relegated ABC's sports schedule to Saturday afternoons (and by extension, ABC's non-news weekend schedule to 3 to 6 pm and 8 to 11 pm on Saturdays and 7:00 to 11:00 pm on Sundays). ABC's in-house network-programmed Sunday schedule not counting news-related programming as a result of this is now exclusively relegated to its four-hour prime time block (from 7 to 11 pm). In the early and mid 2010s, ABC lost several lucrative sports contracts. It lost the rights for the American Le Mans Series in 2013 when it merged with the Rolex Grand Am Series to form the
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...
and subsequently moved to Fox in 2014, later moving to NBC Sports in 2019. It also ended its FIFA coverage after the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...
with Fox acquiring the rights starting in 2015. It then lost its NASCAR broadcast rights the same year with rights being picked up by NBC in 2015. Also, it phased out the last of its college basketball coverage also in the same year (the SEC men's basketball tournament) with the tournament being moved to the ESPN cable networks, although college basketball would later return to the network in 2019. It also gave up its highlights show relating to the British Open golf tournament in 2015, as ESPN later sold the rights to NBC in 2016. In 2016, ABC ended its regularly scheduled doubleheaders for its ''NBA Sunday Showcase'', opting to opening up a window for Saturday night games and leaving single games on Sunday afternoons in most cases. In addition, ABC discontinued airing
Grantland ''Grantland'' was a sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. The blog was started in 2011 by veteran writer and sports journalist Bill Simmons, who remained as editor-in-chief until May 2015. ''Grantland'' was named after famed ...
-related programming when the brand shut down operations in October. The network also lost rights to broadcast the
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...
, including the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
, in 2018 with the rights moving to NBC Sports, which has already been the series' cable partner (moving the race away from ABC after 54 years); coincidentally in that same year, ABC will air several Formula One races a year after ESPN acquired the F1 rights from NBC Sports.


Picture format differences from ESPN cable outlets

Unlike other ESPN networks, ESPN on ABC events were still produced with graphics and a BottomLine framed for the 4:3
aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...
– as opposed to the 16:9 formatting used for the ticker and graphics on the ESPN family of networks, as well as CBS, Fox, and NBC's sports telecasts. However, beginning during the 2016 Little League World Series in August 2016, ABC migrated to a 16:9 presentation for ESPN on ABC broadcasts, similar to the ESPN cable networks, as ABC's entertainment programming also switched to a 16:9 presentation in September.


Taglines

Each ABC Sports broadcast would usually begin with the tagline: "The following is a special presentation of ABC Sports." Until September 1998, ABC Sports programs ended with the line "This has been a presentation of ABC Sports, recognized around the world as the leader in sports television." After Disney began to integrate ESPN and ABC Sports after buying both companies in 1996, ABC changed the tagline to "Continuing the tradition of excellence." This tagline lasted from September 1998 through late 2002. Beginning in 2001, ABC added the tagline to "ABC Sports: Championship Television," in regards to ABC's sports championship lineup (which included the
Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of America ...
, the
Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...
, the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
, the
NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
, the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
, and the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
), which lasted through September 2, 2006, when Disney totally integrated ESPN into ABC Sports. Since 2000, the closing tagline – "This has been a presentation of ABC Sports, in association with ESPN" – had been used at the end of each NHL and NBA broadcast on ABC, because of their deals through ESPN. This lasted through September 2, 2006, when the tagline “This has been a presentation of ESPN, The Worldwide Leader in Sports” became permanent for all ABC broadcasts, when ABC Sports was renamed ESPN on ABC. When the ESPN on ABC transition was complete, each broadcast at first used the tagline "The following is a special presentation of ESPN on ABC" is used, while ending with the tagline, "This has been a special presentation of ESPN on ABC", in a similar manner to ABC Sports back then. The ending had been used on a regular basis from 2006 through 2012, but as of today, has been rarely used. In late 2013, ESPN introduced a new intro for ESPN on ABC, with two different voiceovers being recorded. One with the announcer saying “A special presentation”, another with the same announcer saying “A presentation”. If there was a string of various programming on a certain weekend or a simulcast of an event airing on ESPN (most notably the final day of the
NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
), the tagline "You're watching ESPN on ABC" has been used. For ABC's primetime college football games in 2018, every broadcast had the tagline, "This is ESPN on ABC, brought to you in part by
Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
QLED TV, the official TV of ''
ESPN College Football ''ESPN College Football'' is the branding used for broadcasts of NCAA Division I FBS college football across ESPN properties, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN+, ABC, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, ESPNews and ESPN Radio. ''ESPN College Fo ...
''". This tagline became permanent for every college football game aired on ABC in 2019, except for a few games. Beginning with the 2021 college football season, ESPN reverted back to the above tagline full-time. On days where ABC airs events on holidays, e.g. Christmas and New Year's Day, each broadcast had the tagline "The following is a special holiday presentation of ESPN on ABC." This is primarily used before the pregame show during ABC's NBA Christmas Day tripleheader (2 ABC exclusive games, the last one is also simulcast on ESPN, but all 5 games are now televised on ABC and simulcast on ESPN since 2022), and for ABC's coverage of the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day. Prior to the 2022 LLWS Championship Game and the 2022 college football season, a new opening sequence was introduced, which begins as a black screen, then zooms out from the ESPN logo, and a red line flashes through the logo, and unveiling the ESPN on ABC logo in white, with red lining. A new tagline, "This is ESPN on ABC", as well as a new score is also introduced, with the latter keeping the ending part of the score from 2006-early 2022. Two versions of this tagline were recorded, one with a male voice that's mostly shown for broadcasts in primetime, another with a female voice, usually shown in the afternoon and predominantly for women's sports events like the WNBA and the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. In addition, the ESPN on ABC logo is now shown as a persistent screen bug mostly on the top right corner (for some events it’s on the lower right corner when ESPN BottomLine is not used, and on the top left corner if other logos/information is shown on the top right corner) throughout ESPN events airing on ABC. In the case of championship games, the ESPN on ABC screen bug is shown in gold.


Programs throughout the years


Current

* ''
NFL on ABC The ''NFL on ABC'' is the branding used of broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by ESPN and aired on ABC. Since their first time broadcasting NFL games in 1949, ABC had been a long time broadcast member of the NFL, with t ...
'' (
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
,
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...
1955,
1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
,
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
,
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
–present) ** ''
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
'' (self-produced;
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
, select simulcast of ESPN's coverage;
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
–present, select ABC exclusive games;
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
–present) **NFL Wild Card Playoff game (self-produced, two games;
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
, simulcast of ESPN's coverage, one game;
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
–present) **NFL Divisional Playoff game (simulcast of ESPN's coverage;
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
–present) **
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
(self-produced;
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
,
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
; simulcast of ESPN's coverage;
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
–present) **
NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
(simulcast of ESPN's day 3 coverage, 2018–present; self-produced day 1 and 2 coverage, 2019–present) **
NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...
(2019–present) ** Back Together Weekend (2021–present) ** NFL Flag Championships (2024–present) ** Pro Football Hall of Fame Game (self-produced
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
; simulcast of ESPN's coverage; 2024) **
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
: (self-produced: XIX, XXII, XXV, XXIX, XXXIV, XXXVII, and XL; simulcast of ESPN's coverage: LXI, and LXV) * ''
NBA on ABC Television broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games were first broadcast by American broadcast network ABC from January 3, 1965 to May 10, 1973. Broadcasts produced by ABC Sports (later ESPN on ABC) returned on December 25 ...
'' (
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
,
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
–present) ** ''NBA Saturday Primetime'' (
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
–present) ** ''NBA Sunday Showcase'' (
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
–present) ** NBA Christmas Special (
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
,
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
–present) **
NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...
(
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
,
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
–present) **
NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
(
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
,
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
–present) **
NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...
(
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
–present) ** NBA Cup knockout round games (
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
,
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
) ** Inside the NBA (starting in 2025; sublicensing agreement with TNT Sports) * ''
Major League Baseball on ABC National television broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games have aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in various formats. The network first aired Saturday ''Major League Baseball Game of the Week'' games between 1953 and 1955, in 1 ...
'' (
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
,
1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
,
1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...
,
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
,
1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
,
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
,
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
–2025) ** Major League Baseball Wild Card Series (
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
,
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
–2025) * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' (
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
,
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
,
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
–present) ** NHL Stadium Series (
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
–2024) ** ABC Hockey Saturday (2022–present) **
NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game () is an exhibition ice hockey tournament that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many of the League's star players playing against each other. The ga ...
(
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
;
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
; 2027–present) ** NHL 4 Nations Face-Off (2025) **
Stanley Cup Playoffs The Stanley Cup playoffs () is the annual elimination tournament to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, and the league champion of the National Hockey League (NHL). The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the NHL's regular s ...
(
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
;
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
;
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
–present) **
Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...
(
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
; and semiannually since
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
) * '' Soccer on ABC'' **
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
(
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
–present) **
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
(
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
–present) **
Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...
(
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
–present) ** National Women's Soccer League (2024–present) ** ESPN FC (occasional broadcasts) * ''College Football on ABC'' (1950 college football season, 1950, 1952 college football season, 1952, 1954 college football season, 1954–1956 college football season, 1956, 1960 college football season, 1960–present) ** American Athletic Conference, American, Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC, Big 12 Conference, Big 12 and Southeastern Conference, SEC ** ''Saturday Night Football'' (2006 NCAA Division I-A football season, 2006–present) ** Citrus Bowl (1987–2010, 2013–present) ** Celebration Bowl (2015 Celebration Bowl, 2015–2019 Celebration Bowl, 2019, 2021 Celebration Bowl, 2021–present) ** Pinstripe Bowl (2015, 2024–present) ** Pop-Tarts Bowl (2019, 2024–present) ** Alamo Bowl (2024) ** Big 12 Championship Game (1996–2010, 2018–present) ** ACC Championship Game (2005–2007, 2013–present) ** AAC Championship Game (2015–present) ** SEC Championship Game (1993–2000, 2024–present) ** College Football Playoff (first round simulcasts of ESPN's coverage, 2024–present, Exclusive National Championship Game beginning in 2027) ** MEAC/SWAC Challenge (2023–present) ** NCAA Division I Football Championship Playoffs (2021, 2023–present) *
Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...
(1962 Little League World Series, 1963–2019, 2021–present) ** USA & International Championships ** Saturday & Sunday mid bracket coverage ** Little League Softball Championship Game (2023–present) * X Games (X Games III, 1997–present) ** ''World of X Games'' (2014–present) * ''WNBA on ABC'' (2003 WNBA season, 2003–present) ** WNBA All-Star Game ** Select WNBA regular season games ** WNBA Playoffs ** Select Sunday games of the WNBA Finals *''Tennis on ESPN'' ** The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon (2012 Wimbledon Championships, 2012–present) ***condensed re-broadcasts of ESPN's coverage of Gentlemen's and Ladies' Singles finals (2012–present) ***Live Wimbledon Middle Weekend matches (2022–present) ** US Open ***Arthur Ashe Kids Day ***live coverage on Labor Day weekend (2023–present) ***Men’s Final (2024–present) ** Australian Open ***highlights show (2022–present) * Formula One (2018 Formula One World Championship, 2018–2019 Formula One World Championship, 2019; 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021–present) ** Monaco Grand Prix (re-broadcast annually until 2023; available live since 2023), Canadian Grand Prix, United States Grand Prix, Mexican Grand Prix, Miami Grand Prix (all coverage is simulcasted from Sky Sports F1) * Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC on ABC (ESPN+ simulcasts, 2021–present) * College Basketball on ABC (Men's) (1962, 1973, 1978, 1987–2014, 2019–present) * College Basketball on ABC (Women's) (2021–present) ** NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament (2021–present) ** National Championship Game (2023–present) * NCAA women's gymnastics tournament (2021–present) ** Regular Season 2022–present * Women's College World Series (2021–present) *
College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...
(Finals game, 2024–present) * United Football League (2024), UFL (2024–present) * Premier Lacrosse League (2022–present) * Professional Pickleball Association- PPA Tour bubly Team Championships (2022–present) * NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament (National Championship Game, 2023–present) ** Regular Season 2024–present ** Playoffs 2024–present


Additional programming

* New York City Marathon (2013 New York City Marathon, 2013–present): condensed rebroadcast of ESPN2's coverage; coverage simulcast live on WABC-TV in New York metropolitan area, New York * Rose Parade, Tournament of Roses Parade (1989–present): produced by ABC Sports from 1989 to 2006 and by ESPN since 2007 * ''ESPY Awards'' (2015 ESPY Awards, 2015–present) (rebroadcast in 2020 ESPY Awards, 2020, live coverage was on
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
) * AKC National Championship (2021–present) *
SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande,  Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...
(2020–present; occasional broadcasts)


Former programs

* Professional football ** NFL National Football League Kickoff game, Thursday Night Kickoff game (2003 NFL season, 2003–
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
) ** NFL Honors (2022) ** American Football League on ABC, American Football League (1960 American Football League season, 1960–1964 American Football League season, 1964) ** United States Football League (1983 USFL season, 1983–1985 USFL season, 1985) ** NFL Europe, World League of American Football (1991 WLAF season, 1991–1992 WLAF season, 1992) ** ''Arena Football League on ESPN'' (1998 Arena Football League season, 1998–2002 Arena Football League season, 2002, 2007 Arena Football League season, 2007–2008 Arena Football League season, 2008) ** Continental Football League (1966–1969) ** XFL (2020; 2023) * ''
Major League Baseball on ABC National television broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games have aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in various formats. The network first aired Saturday ''Major League Baseball Game of the Week'' games between 1953 and 1955, in 1 ...
'' ** ''Major League Baseball Game of the Week'' (1953–1954, 1960–1965) ** ''Monday Night Baseball'' (1976–1988, telecasts moved to Thursday for 1989) ** ''The Baseball Network, Baseball Night in America'' (1994–1995) (co-production with
NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...
and
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
) ** World Series: –, , , , , , , , and 1995 World Series, 1995 (Games 1, 4, & 5) ** One ''
Sunday Night Baseball ''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ESPN during the regular season. The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show '' Baseball Tonight: Sun ...
'' game (
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
) * ''College Football on ABC'' ** Sugar Bowl (1953 Sugar Bowl, 1953–1957 Sugar Bowl, 1957, 1970 Sugar Bowl, 1970–2006 Sugar Bowl, 2006) ** Rose Bowl Game (1989 Rose Bowl, 1989–2010 Rose Bowl, 2010) ** Fiesta Bowl (1999 Fiesta Bowl, 1999–2006 Fiesta Bowl, 2006) ** Orange Bowl (game), Orange Bowl (1962 Orange Bowl, 1962–1964 Orange Bowl, 1964, 1999 Orange Bowl, 1999–2006 Orange Bowl, 2006) ** Gator Bowl (1965 Gator Bowl (January), 1965–1968 Gator Bowl, 1968, 1972 Gator Bowl, 1972–1985 Gator Bowl, 1985) ** Aloha Bowl (1986 Aloha Bowl, 1986–2000 Aloha Bowl, 2000) ** Army–Navy Game (1954, 1960–1961, 1966–1981, 1983, 1991–1995) ** Peach Bowl (1989–1990) ** Liberty Bowl (1966–1971, 1976–1980, 1995, 2011, 2017) ** Belk Bowl (2018) ** Outback Bowl (2011–2012, 2017, 2021) ** Boca Raton Bowl (2019) ** First Responder Bowl (2020) ** Gasparilla Bowl (2020) ** Independence Bowl (1990 Independence Bowl, 1990, 1991 Independence Bowl, 1991, 2014 Independence Bowl, 2014, 2021 Independence Bowl, 2021) ** New Mexico Bowl (2022) ** Las Vegas Bowl (2001,2013-2019,2023) ** LA Bowl (2021-2023) ** Music City Bowl (2022-2023) ** Cure Bowl (2023) ** Birmingham Bowl (2023) ** Armed Forces Bowl (2023) ** Pac-12 Conference (2011-2023) ** Pac-12 Football Championship Game (2019, 2021, 2023) ** Big Ten Conference (2007–2022) ** NCAA Division I Football Championship (1978–1981, 1983, 2020, 2021, 2023–2024) * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' ** NHL Thanksgiving Showdown (2021) * ''PGA Tour on ABC'' (1962–2009) ** The Open Championship (1962 Open Championship, 1962–2009 Open Championship, 2009) ** PGA Championship (1966 PGA Championship, 1966–1990 PGA Championship, 1990) ** U.S. Open (golf), U.S. Open (1966 U.S. Open (golf), 1966–1994 U.S. Open (golf), 1994) ** Senior Open Championship (1990–2009) ** LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship (1991–2005) ** Women's British Open (2001–2009) ** CME Group Tour Championship, Final round (2015–2018) ** ''Monday Night Golf'' (1999 PGA Tour, 1999–2005 PGA Tour, 2005) * ABC Olympic broadcasts, ''Olympics on ABC'' ** Winter Olympic Games (1964 Winter Olympics, 1964, 1968 Winter Olympics, 1968, quadrennial from 1976 Winter Olympics, 1976 to 1988 Winter Olympics, 1988) ** Summer Olympic Games (quadrennial from 1968 Summer Olympics, 1968 to 1976 Summer Olympics, 1976 and 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984) * Wide World of Sports (American TV series), ''Wide World of Sports'' (1961–1998 as a series, weekend afternoon programming title 1998–2006) * ''Thoroughbred Racing on ABC'' ** Kentucky Derby (1975–2000) ** Preakness Stakes (1977–2000) ** Belmont Stakes (1986–2000, 2006–2010) ** Breeders' Cup (2008–2011) *''Tennis on ESPN'' ** BNP Paribas Open (2011–2012, 2019) ** A highlight show on the Championships' rest day (2012-2021) * Soccer **
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
(1970 FIFA World Cup, 1970, 1982 FIFA World Cup, 1982 and quadrennial from 1994 FIFA World Cup, 1994 to 2014 FIFA World Cup, 2014) ** North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League (1979 North American Soccer League season, 1979–1981 North American Soccer League season, 1981) ** MLS Cup (MLS Cup 1996, 1996–MLS Cup 2008, 2008, MLS Cup 2019, 2019, MLS Cup 2021, 2021) ** ''MLS on ESPN'' (1996–2008, 2020–2022) ** FIFA Women's World Cup (1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, 1999, 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, 2003 and 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, 2011) ** UEFA European Championship (UEFA Euro 2008, 2008, UEFA Euro 2012, 2012, UEFA Euro 2016, 2016, UEFA Euro 2020, 2021) ** SheBelieves Cup (2022) ** UEFA Nations League (2020) ** FIFA World Cup qualification (2021) **
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
(2021) * Auto racing ** ''NASCAR on ESPN, NASCAR on ABC'' (1961, 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1971, 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1975–1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1976, 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1979–2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 2000, 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, 2007–2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, 2014) **
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
(1965 Indianapolis 500, 1965–2018 Indianapolis 500, 2018) ** ''IndyCar Series on ABC'' (1996 Indy Racing League season, 1996–2018 IndyCar Series, 2018) ** Champ Car, Championship Auto Racing Teams (1983 CART PPG Indy Car World Series, 1983–2001 CART season, 2001, 2007 Champ Car season, 2007) ** International Race of Champions (IROC I, 1974–IROC VII, 1980, IROC XI, 1987–IROC XXV, 2001) ** American Le Mans Series (2008 American Le Mans Series season, 2008–2009 American Le Mans Series season, 2009, 2011 American Le Mans Series season, 2011–2013 American Le Mans Series season, 2013) * Figure skating ** U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1962–2008) ** World Figure Skating Championships (1962–2008) ** Skate America (1992–2006) * ''Fight of the Week'' (1960–1964) * ''Professional Bowlers Tour'' (1962–1997) * Superstars (US Version), ''The Superstars'' (1973–1984, 1991–1994, 1998–2002) * ''The American Sportsman'' (1965–1986) *
Scripps National Spelling Bee The Scripps National Spelling Bee, formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and often referred to as the National Spelling Bee or simply “the Spelling Bee” in the United States, is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. ...
(79th Scripps National Spelling Bee, 2006–83rd Scripps National Spelling Bee, 2010) * ''ESPN Sports Saturday'' (2010–2015) * Overwatch League (2019): Stage Semifinals & Finals


Personalities


Current


Play-by-play

* ''
NBA on ABC Television broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games were first broadcast by American broadcast network ABC from January 3, 1965 to May 10, 1973. Broadcasts produced by ABC Sports (later ESPN on ABC) returned on December 25 ...
'' – Mike Breen, Ryan Ruocco, Mark Jones (sportscaster), Mark Jones, Dave Pasch, Michael Grady * ''
NFL on ABC The ''NFL on ABC'' is the branding used of broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by ESPN and aired on ABC. Since their first time broadcasting NFL games in 1949, ABC had been a long time broadcast member of the NFL, with t ...
'' –
Joe Buck Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster for ESPN. The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for Fox's Nati ...
, Chris Fowler ** ''NFL Flag Championships'' - Tom Hart (sportscaster), Tom Hart, Mark Jones (sportscaster), Mark Jones * ''WNBA on ESPN'' – Ryan Ruocco, Pam Ward, Angel Gray * ''ESPN College Football on ABC and Saturday Night Football'' – Chris Fowler, Rece Davis, Sean McDonough, Joe Tessitore, Bob Wischusen, Dave Pasch, Mark Jones (sportscaster), Mark Jones, Dave Flemming, Mike Monaco, Roy Philpott, Anish Shroff, Tom Hart (sportscaster), Tom Hart, Matt Barrie (sportscaster), Matt Barrie, Tiffany Greene * ''MLB on ESPN, ESPN Major League Baseball on ABC'' – Karl Ravech, Jon Sciambi, Michael Kay (sportscaster), Michael Kay, Sean McDonough * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' – Sean McDonough, Bob Wischusen, Mike Monaco, John Buccigross, Steve Levy * ''
Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...
'' – Karl Ravech, Mike Monaco * ''Formula One'' — see Sky Sports F1 * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, Bundesliga on ABC'' – Derek Rae * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, La Liga on ABC'' – Ian Darke, Derek Rae, Rob Palmer (commentator), Rob Palmer * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, NWSL on ABC'' – Jenn Hildreth, Mark Donaldson * ''ESPN College Basketball on ABC'' – see List of ESPN College Basketball personalities * ''NCAA Gymnastics on ABC'' – Bart Conner, John Roethlisberger * ''United Football League (2024), UFL on ABC'' – Joe Tessitore, Mark Jones (sportscaster), Mark Jones, Lowell Galindo, Roy Philpott


Color commentators

* ''
NBA on ABC Television broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games were first broadcast by American broadcast network ABC from January 3, 1965 to May 10, 1973. Broadcasts produced by ABC Sports (later ESPN on ABC) returned on December 25 ...
'' – Doris Burke, Richard Jefferson, Tim Legler, Jay Bilas, Cory Alexander, Stephanie White, Bob Myers, Steve Javie * ''
NFL on ABC The ''NFL on ABC'' is the branding used of broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by ESPN and aired on ABC. Since their first time broadcasting NFL games in 1949, ABC had been a long time broadcast member of the NFL, with t ...
'' – Troy Aikman, Louis Riddick, Dan Orlovsky, Russell Yurk, Jerry Bergman ** ''NFL Flag Championships'' - Tedy Bruschi * ''WNBA on ESPN'' – Rebecca Lobo, LaChina Robinson * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' – Ray Ferraro, Ryan Callahan, A. J. Mleczko, Kevin Weekes, P. K. Subban, Dave Jackson (ice hockey), Dave Jackson * ''ESPN College Football on ABC and Saturday Night Football'' – Kirk Herbstreit, Greg McElroy, Jesse Palmer, Louis Riddick, Dusty Dvoracek, Roddy Jones, Brock Osweiler, Andre Ware, Jordan Rodgers, Kirk Morrison, Jay Walker (legislator), Jay Walker, Bill LeMonnier, Matt Austin * ''MLB on ESPN, ESPN Major League Baseball on ABC'' – Eduardo Pérez, David Cone, Tim Kurkjian, Jessica Mendoza, Todd Frazier * ''
Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...
'' – Jessica Mendoza, Todd Frazier, Xavier Scruggs * ''Formula One'' — see Sky Sports F1 * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, Bundesliga on ABC'' – Stewart Robson, Kasey Keller, Lutz Pfannenstiel * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, La Liga on ABC'' – Steve McManaman, Stewart Robson, Kasey Keller * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, NWSL on ABC'' – Lianne Sanderson, Jordan Angeli * ''ESPN College Basketball on ABC'' – see List of ESPN College Basketball personalities * ''NCAA women's gymnastics tournament, NCAA Gymnastics on ABC'' – Kathy Johnson Clarke, Aly Raisman * ''United Football League (2024), UFL on ABC'' – Jordan Rodgers, Sam Acho, Cole Cubelic, Tom Luginbill, Harry Douglas, Eric Mac Lain, Kirk Morrison, Roddy Jones, Aaron Murray


Reporters

* ''
NBA on ABC Television broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games were first broadcast by American broadcast network ABC from January 3, 1965 to May 10, 1973. Broadcasts produced by ABC Sports (later ESPN on ABC) returned on December 25 ...
'' –
Lisa Salters Alisia "Lisa" Salters (born March 6, 1966) is an American journalist and former college basketball player. She has been a reporter for ESPN and ESPN on ABC since 2000. Salters previously covered the O. J. Simpson murder case for American Broadc ...
, Katie George (sportscaster), Katie George, Jorge Sedano, Monica McNutt, Angel Gray * ''
NFL on ABC The ''NFL on ABC'' is the branding used of broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by ESPN and aired on ABC. Since their first time broadcasting NFL games in 1949, ABC had been a long time broadcast member of the NFL, with t ...
'' –
Lisa Salters Alisia "Lisa" Salters (born March 6, 1966) is an American journalist and former college basketball player. She has been a reporter for ESPN and ESPN on ABC since 2000. Salters previously covered the O. J. Simpson murder case for American Broadc ...
, Laura Rutledge ** ''NFL Flag Championships'' - Stormy Buonantony, Kris Budden * ''WNBA on ESPN'' – Holly Rowe, Angel Gray * ''ESPN College Football on ABC and Saturday Night Football'' – Holly Rowe, Molly McGrath, Katie George (sportscaster), Katie George, Kris Budden, Taylor McGregor, Quint Kessenich, Paul Carcaterra, Harry Lyles Jr., Stormy Buonantony, Dawn Davenport, Cole Cubelic * ''
NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
'' – Laura Rutledge * ''
NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...
'' – Monica McNutt * ''MLB on ESPN, ESPN Major League Baseball on ABC'' – Buster Olney, Alden Gonzalez, Coley Harvey * ''
Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...
'' – Julie Foudy, Sebastian Salazar * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' – Emily Kaplan, Leah Hextall, Blake Bolden, Kevin Weekes * ''Formula One'' — see Sky Sports F1 * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, Bundesliga on ABC'' – Archie Rhind-Tutt * ''NCAA women's gymnastics tournament, NCAA Gymnastics on ABC'' - Taylor Davis * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, La Liga on ABC'' – Alexis Nunes, Gemma Soler, Martin Ainstein * ''ESPN College Basketball on ABC'' – see List of ESPN College Basketball personalities


Studio hosts

* ''ESPN College Football on ABC'' and ''Saturday Night Football'' – Kevin Negandhi, Rece Davis, Matt Barrie (sportscaster), Matt Barrie, Kevin Connors * ''NBA Countdown'' – Malika Andrews * ''WNBA on ESPN, WNBA Countdown'' - Elle Duncan, Malika Andrews * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' – Steve Levy, John Buccigross, Arda Ocal * ''
NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
'' – Rece Davis * ''
NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...
'' – Kevin Negandhi * ''
NFL on ABC The ''NFL on ABC'' is the branding used of broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by ESPN and aired on ABC. Since their first time broadcasting NFL games in 1949, ABC had been a long time broadcast member of the NFL, with t ...
'' – Scott Van Pelt * ''Baseball Tonight (MLB), Baseball Tonight'' - Kevin Connors * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, Bundesliga on ABC'' – Kay Murray, Archie Rhind-Tutt * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, La Liga on ABC'' – Dan Thomas, Kay Murray


Studio analysts

* ''ESPN College Football on ABC'' and ''Saturday Night Football'' – Booger McFarland, Dan Orlovsky, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Kirk Herbstreit, Nick Saban, Joey Galloway * ''NBA Countdown'' – Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon, Bob Myers, Kendrick Perkins, Udonis Haslem, Shams Charania * ''WNBA on ESPN, WNBA Countdown'' - Chiney Ogwumike, Andraya Carter, Carolyn Peck, Monica McNutt * ''
NFL on ABC The ''NFL on ABC'' is the branding used of broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by ESPN and aired on ABC. Since their first time broadcasting NFL games in 1949, ABC had been a long time broadcast member of the NFL, with t ...
'' – Ryan Clark (American football), Ryan Clark, Jason Kelce, Marcus Spears (defensive end), Marcus Spears, Adam Schefter, Michelle Beisner-Buck * ''
NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
'' – Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pete Thamel, Field Yates, Mel Kiper Jr., Louis Riddick, Matt Miller, Adam Schefter * ''
NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...
'' – Stephen A. Smith, Bob Myers * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' – Mark Messier, P. K. Subban, A. J. Mleczko, Ray Ferraro * ''Baseball Tonight (MLB), Baseball Tonight'' - Xavier Scruggs * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, Bundesliga on ABC'' – Jürgen Klinsmann, Jan Åge Fjørtoft, Craig Burley, Kasey Keller, Steve Cherundolo * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, La Liga on ABC'' – Luis García (footballer, born 1978), Luis Garcia, Pablo Zabaleta, Alejandro Moreno, Kasey Keller


Former


Play-by-play

* ''ESPN College Football on ABC'' – Chris Schenkel, Gary Bender, Keith Jackson, Jim Lampley, Curt Gowdy, Brad Nessler, Brent Musburger, Bill Flemming, Tim Brant, Bud Campbell, Eric Collins, Dave Diles, Dan Dierdorf, Terry Gannon, Gary Gerould, Frank Gifford, Sean Grande, Charlie Jones (sportscaster), Charlie Jones, Chris Lincoln, Verne Lundquist, Dave Martin (sportscaster), Dave Martin,
Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television play-by-play sportscaster for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Amazon Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on network sports television sin ...
, Gary Thorne, Roger Twibell, Corey McPherrin,
Mike Tirico Michael Todd Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022, and is set to become the lead play-by-play anno ...
, Dr. Jerry Punch, Steve Zabriskie, Chip Tarkenton, Paul Page, Lynn Sanner, Adam Amin, Steve Levy * ''College Basketball on ABC'' – Keith Jackson, Brad Nessler, Al Trautwig,
Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television play-by-play sportscaster for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Amazon Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on network sports television sin ...
, Gary Bender, Roger Twibell, Brent Musburger, Fred White (sportscaster), Fred White, Barry Tompkins, Dave Barnett, Jim Brinson, Tim Brant, Steve Physioc, Robin Roberts (newscaster), Robin Roberts, Mike Goldberg, Bill Doleman, Jim Szoke, Ron Franklin, Dave Strader, Bob Carpenter (sportscaster), Bob Carpenter, Terry Gannon, Gary Thorne * ''
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
'' ** (ABC Era) – Keith Jackson, Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Mike Patrick, Brent Musburger ** (ESPN simulcasts; Wild Card/Pro Bowl) – Mike Tirico, Sean McDonough, Joe Tessitore, Steve Levy * ''
Major League Baseball on ABC National television broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games have aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in various formats. The network first aired Saturday ''Major League Baseball Game of the Week'' games between 1953 and 1955, in 1 ...
'' – Gary Bender, Jack Buck, Keith Jackson, Don Drysdale, Jim Lampley, Al Michaels, Bob Prince, Warner Wolf, Tim McCarver, Gary Thorne,
Matt Vasgersian Matt Vasgersian (né Vasgerdsian; '; September 28, 1967) is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is the alternative play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a studio host for MLB Network and Major Leagu ...
* ''Olympics on ABC'' – Howard Cosell, Curt Gowdy, Chris Schenkel, Frank Gifford, Keith Jackson, Al Michaels, Bill Flemming, Tim Brant, Jack Whitaker, Sam Posey, Don Chevrier, Tim McCarver, Lynn Swann, Gary Bender, Donna de Varona, Arthur Ashe, Jim McKay, Dick Button, Stan Benham, Art Devlin (ski jumper), Art Devlin, Jackie Stewart, Warner Wolf, Al Trautwig, Mike Adamle, Jiggs McDonald, Jim Lampley, Bob Beattie (skiing), Bob Beattie, Diana Nyad, Mario Machado, Mike Eruzione * ''Pro Bowlers Tour'' – Chris Schenkel * ''MLS on ESPN'' – Phil Schoen, JP Dellacamera, Rob Stone (sportscaster), Rob Stone, Jack Edwards (sportscaster), Jack Edwards, Dave O'Brien (sportscaster), Dave O'Brien, Adrian Healey, Jon Champion, Steve Cangialosi * ''
NBA on ABC Television broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games were first broadcast by American broadcast network ABC from January 3, 1965 to May 10, 1973. Broadcasts produced by ABC Sports (later ESPN on ABC) returned on December 25 ...
'' – Jim Durham,
Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television play-by-play sportscaster for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Amazon Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on network sports television sin ...
, Brent Musburger, Brad Nessler,
Mike Tirico Michael Todd Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022, and is set to become the lead play-by-play anno ...
, John Saunders, Bill Flemming, Chet Forte, Jim Gordon (sportscaster), Jim Gordon, Curt Gowdy, Jerry Gross, Keith Jackson, Jim McKay, Chris Schenkel, Beth Mowins * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' – Gary Thorne, Mike Emrick,
Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television play-by-play sportscaster for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Amazon Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on network sports television sin ...
, Dave Strader, Tom Mees, Bob Miller (sportscaster), Bob Miller, Sam Rosen (sportscaster), Sam Rosen * '' Wide World of Sports'' – see Wide World of Sports (American TV series)#Event announcers * ''NASCAR on ESPN, NASCAR on ABC'' / ''IndyCar Series on ABC'' – Bob Jenkins, Jerry Punch, Marty Reid, Allen Bestwick * '' XFL/United Football League (2024), UFL'' – Steve Levy, Tom Hart (sportscaster), Tom Hart, Matt Barrie (sportscaster), Matt Barrie, John Schriffen, Mike Monaco, Drew Carter, Jorge Sedano * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, Serie A on ABC'' – Mark Donaldson, Steve Cangialosi, Ross Dyer * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, International Soccer on ABC'' – Martin Tyler, Ian Darke, Jon Champion, Derek Rae, JP Dellacamera, Glenn Davis, Jim Proudfoot, Adrian Healey, Steve Cangialosi, Mark Donaldson


Color commentators

* ''ESPN College Football on ABC'' – Gary Danielson, Bob Griese, Chris Spielman, Ray Bentley, Dean Blevins, Terry Bowden, Tim Brant, Terry Brennan, Frank Broyles, Fran Curci, Duffy Daugherty, Steve Davis, Dan Dierdorf, John Dockery, Forest Evashevski, Rick Forzano, Dan Fouts, Russ Francis, Mike Golic, Lee Grosscup, Terry Hanratty, Brian Holloway, Jackie Jensen, Mike McGee, Ben Martin, Mike Mayock, David M. Nelson, David Norrie, Ara Parseghian, Dan Reeves, Reggie Rivers, Pepper Rodgers, Darrell Royal, Bo Schembechler, John Spagnola, Monty Stickles, Lynn Swann, Dick Vermeil, Paul Warfield, Bud Wilkinson, Jamal Anderson, Brian Griese, Todd Blackledge, Todd McShay, John Parry, Robert Griffin III, Dan Mullen * ''ESPN College Basketball on ABC'' – Jim Valvano * ''
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
'' ** (ABC era) – Don Meredith, John Madden, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf, Boomer Esiason, O. J. Simpson, Howard Cosell, Fred Williamson, Alex Karras, Fran Tarkenton, Joe Namath, Dennis Miller, Dan Fouts ** (ESPN simulcasts; Wild Card/Pro Bowl) – Jon Gruden, Jason Witten, Booger McFarland, Brian Griese, John Parry * ''
Major League Baseball on ABC National television broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games have aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in various formats. The network first aired Saturday ''Major League Baseball Game of the Week'' games between 1953 and 1955, in 1 ...
'' – Reggie Jackson, Tim McCarver, Jim Palmer, Howard Cosell, Chipper Jones,
Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...
* ''PGA Tour on ABC'' – Nick Faldo, Paul Azinger, Ian Baker-Finch, Peter Alliss, Curtis Strange, Jack Nicklaus * ''Olympics on ABC'' – Donna de Varona, O. J. Simpson, Mark Spitz, Digger Phelps * ''Pro Bowlers Tour'' – Billy Welu, Nelson Burton Jr. * ''MLS on ESPN'' – Alexi Lalas, Kyle Martino, John Harkes, Eric Wynalda, Ty Keough, Julie Foudy, Taylor Twellman, Alejandro Moreno, Brian Dunseth, Herculez Gomez, Kasey Keller * ''NASCAR on ESPN, NASCAR on ABC'' – Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree, Larry Nuber, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' – Bill Clement, John Davidson (ice hockey), John Davidson, Joe Micheletti, Darren Pang, Barry Melrose, Jim Schoenfeld, Brian Engblom, Brian Hayward, Brian Boucher * ''United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Triple Crown'' – Charlsie Cantey * ''
NBA on ABC Television broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games were first broadcast by American broadcast network ABC from January 3, 1965 to May 10, 1973. Broadcasts produced by ABC Sports (later ESPN on ABC) returned on December 25 ...
'' – Sean Elliott, Steve Jones (basketball), Steve Jones, Dan Majerle, Jack Ramsay, Tom Tolbert, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson (basketball), Mark Jackson, Doc Rivers, J.J. Redick, Hubie Brown * ''Rugby World Cup'' – Grant Fox * ''
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
'' – Jackie Stewart, Sam Posey * ''IndyCar Series on ABC'' – Eddie Cheever, Scott Goodyear * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, Serie A on ABC'' – Matteo Bonatti, Janusz Michallik * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, International Soccer on ABC'' – Steve McManaman, Stewart Robson, Efan Ekoku, Craig Burley, Ally McCoist, Kasey Keller, Alejandro Moreno, Andy Gray (footballer, born 1955), Andry Gray, Tommy Smyth, Paul Mariner, Taylor Twellman * '' XFL/United Football League (2024), UFL'' - Greg McElroy, Joey Galloway, Ian Fitzsimmons


Reporters

* ''
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
'' – Lynn Swann, Lesley Visser, Melissa Stark, Michele Tafoya, Sam Ryan, Eric Dickerson, Lisa Guerrero * ''
Major League Baseball on ABC National television broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games have aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in various formats. The network first aired Saturday ''Major League Baseball Game of the Week'' games between 1953 and 1955, in 1 ...
'' – Lesley Visser, John Saunders, Jim Gray (sportscaster), Jim Gray, Gary Thorne, Joe Morgan * ''ESPN College Football on ABC'' – Lynn Swann, Jenn Brown,
Lisa Salters Alisia "Lisa" Salters (born March 6, 1966) is an American journalist and former college basketball player. She has been a reporter for ESPN and ESPN on ABC since 2000. Salters previously covered the O. J. Simpson murder case for American Broadc ...
, Erin Andrews, Jack Arute, Todd Harris, Shannon Spake, Heather Cox, Samantha Ponder, Sam Ponder, Tom Rinaldi, Maria Taylor (sportscaster), Maria Taylor, Allison Williams (reporter), Allison Williams * ''College Basketball on ABC'' – Thea Andrews * ''PGA Tour on ABC'' – Bob Rosburg, Billy Ray Brown, Judy Rankin * ''NASCAR on ESPN, NASCAR on ABC''/''IndyCar Series on ABC'' – Chris Economaki, Bill Weber, Jerry Punch, Vince Welch, Dave Burns (reporter), Dave Burns, Rick DeBruhl, Jamie Little * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' – Al Morganti, Bob Neumeier, Brenda Brenon, Mark Jones (sportscaster), Mark Jones, Sam Ryan, Brian Engblom, Darren Pang, Steve Levy, Erin Andrews, Joe Micheletti, Daryl Reaugh, Mickey Redmond, Christine Simpson, Tony Granato * ''
NBA on ABC Television broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games were first broadcast by American broadcast network ABC from January 3, 1965 to May 10, 1973. Broadcasts produced by ABC Sports (later ESPN on ABC) returned on December 25 ...
'' – David Aldridge, Heather Cox, Mark Jones, Sal Masekela, Michele Tafoya, Stuart Scott, Tom Rinaldi, Malika Andrews, Cassidy Hubbarth * ''Saturday Night Football'' –
Lisa Salters Alisia "Lisa" Salters (born March 6, 1966) is an American journalist and former college basketball player. She has been a reporter for ESPN and ESPN on ABC since 2000. Salters previously covered the O. J. Simpson murder case for American Broadc ...
, Erin Andrews, Heather Cox, Samantha Ponder, Sam Ponder, Tom Rinaldi, Maria Taylor (sportscaster), Maria Taylor * ''MLS on ESPN'' – Brandi Chastain, Heather Mitts, Lorrie Fair, Allen Hopkins (soccer commentator), Allen Hopkins, Roger Twibell, Julie Stewart-Binks, Sebastian Salazar, Cristina Alexander, Jillian Sakovits * '' XFL/United Football League (2024), UFL'' - Dianna Russini, Pat McAfee, Molly McGrath, Katie George (sportscaster), Katie George, Taylor McGregor, Stormy Buonantony, Ian Fitzsimmons, Kayla Burton


Studio hosts

* ''
NFL on ABC The ''NFL on ABC'' is the branding used of broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by ESPN and aired on ABC. Since their first time broadcasting NFL games in 1949, ABC had been a long time broadcast member of the NFL, with t ...
'' – Chris Berman, Brent Musburger, Frank Gifford,
Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television play-by-play sportscaster for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Amazon Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on network sports television sin ...
, Jim Lampley, Keith Jackson Suzy Kolber, Samantha Ponder, Sam Ponder * ''Olympics on ABC'' – Jim McKay, Chris Schenkel, Jim Lampley, Keith Jackson, Frank Gifford, Kathie Lee Gifford, Kathleen Sullivan (journalist), Kathleen Sullivan, Donna de Varona * '' Wide World of Sports'' – Jim McKay, Frank Gifford, Julie Moran, Robin Roberts, John Saunders, Becky Dixon * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' –
Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television play-by-play sportscaster for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Amazon Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on network sports television sin ...
, John Saunders, Chris Berman * ''IndyCar Series on ABC'' – Jim McKay, Chris Schenkel, Al Michaels, Bob Jenkins, Paul Page, Brent Musburger, Lindsay Czarniak, Nicole Briscoe, Charlie Brockman, Dave Diles, Terry Gannon, Jackie Stewart, Keith Jackson * ''NASCAR on ESPN'' – Brent Musburger, Nicole Briscoe * ''
NBA on ABC Television broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games were first broadcast by American broadcast network ABC from January 3, 1965 to May 10, 1973. Broadcasts produced by ABC Sports (later ESPN on ABC) returned on December 25 ...
'' – Dan Patrick (sportscaster), Dan Patrick, John Saunders, Stuart Scott, Sage Steele, Hannah Storm, Michelle Beadle, Rachel Nichols (journalist), Rachel Nichols, Maria Taylor (sportscaster), Maria Taylor, Mike Greenberg * ''
NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
'' – Robin Roberts (newscaster), Robin Roberts * ''ESPN College Football on ABC'' – Bud Palmer, Merle Harmon, Dave Diles, Warner Wolf, Andrea Kirby, Chris Schenkel, Jim Lampley, Jack Whitaker, Al Trautwig, Jim Hill, Roger Twibell, John Saunders * ''MLS on ESPN'' – Adrian Healey, Sebastian Salazar * ''Soccer on ESPN/ABC, International Soccer on ABC'' –
Mike Tirico Michael Todd Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022, and is set to become the lead play-by-play anno ...
, Bob Ley, Chris Fowler, Rece Davis, Kelly Cates, Brent Musburger, Jim McKay, Lynsey Hipgrave, Kay Murray


Studio analysts

* ''
NFL on ABC The ''NFL on ABC'' is the branding used of broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by ESPN and aired on ABC. Since their first time broadcasting NFL games in 1949, ABC had been a long time broadcast member of the NFL, with t ...
'' – Lynn Swann, Mike Adamle, Dick Vermeil, Bob Griese, Boomer Esiason, Steve Young, Michael Irvin, Tom Jackson (American football, born 1951), Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Mike Ditka, Cris Carter, Trent Dilfer, Ray Lewis, Matt Hasselbeck, Charles Woodson, Louis Riddick, Robert Griffin III, Randy Moss, Booger McFarland, Tedy Bruschi, Rex Ryan * ''
NBA on ABC Television broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games were first broadcast by American broadcast network ABC from January 3, 1965 to May 10, 1973. Broadcasts produced by ABC Sports (later ESPN on ABC) returned on December 25 ...
'' – Avery Johnson, Doug Collins (basketball), Doug Collins, Steve Jones (basketball), Steve Jones, George Karl, Paul Pierce, Scottie Pippen, Byron Scott (basketball), Byron Scott, Bill Simmons, Tom Tolbert, Bill Walton, Chauncey Billups, Jay Williams (basketball), Jay Williams, Jalen Rose, Adrian Wojnarowski * ''
NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
'' – Lee Corso, Daniel Jeremiah, Michael Irvin, Kurt Warner, Booger McFarland, Todd McShay * ''
NHL on ABC The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
'' – Barry Melrose, John Davidson (ice hockey), John Davidson, Chris Chelios, Brian Boucher * ''MLS on ESPN'' – Alejandro Moreno, Brian Dunseth, Herculez Gomez, Kasey Keller


Behind-the-scenes personnel

* Chuck Howard * Edgar J. Scherick * Robert Riger * Eleanor Sanger


Presidents


ABC Sports

*
Roone Arledge Roone Pinckney Arledge Jr. (July 8, 1931 – December 5, 2002) was an American sports and news broadcasting executive who was president of ABC Sports from 1968 until 1986 and ABC News from 1977 until 1998, and a key part of the company's rise ...
(1968–1986) * Dennis Swanson (1986–1996) * Steve Bornstein (1996–1999) * Howard Katz (1999–2003) * George Bodenheimer (2003–2006)


ESPN

* Steve Bornstein (1990–1998) * George Bodenheimer (1998–2012) * John Skipper (2012–2017) * James Pitaro (2018–present)


Main competitors

*
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...
**CBS Sports Network ** CBS **Paramount+ * Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports ** Fox Sports 1 ** Fox Sports 2 ** Fox *
NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...
/Telemundo Deportes ** NBC Sports on USA Network, USA ** Peacock (streaming service), Peacock ** NBC Sports on CNBC, CNBC **
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
** Telemundo * TNT Sports ** TNT ** TBS (American TV channel), TBS ** TruTV ** Max (streaming service), Max * Univision Deportes **TUDN (United States TV channel), TUDN **Univision **Vix (streaming service), Vix


References


Bibliography

* *


External links

*
Saunders: ABC's demise signals end of an era



The Evolution of ABC
{{Navboxes, list1= {{Sports television in the United States {{ESPN on ABC {{ESPN {{ABCNetwork Shows (current and upcoming) {{Disney {{Presidents of ESPN on ABC ABC Sports ESPN media outlets, ABC 2006 American television series debuts Television channels and stations established in 2006