How Big is ESPN?

A cable television network owned by Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company, ESPN, which stands for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, was launched on 7 September 1979. The primary reason for launching the network was to produce and broadcast sports-related television programs. It has offices in North Carolina, California, Washington and New York. To know the present size of the network, it is important to have ideas about the number of television programs produced and broadcasted by ESPN from 1979 to present.

The Size of the Television Network

How big is ESPN? ESPN television programs are categorized into four, namely news shows, talk shows, original series and game telecasts. The network has 25 news shows, which include “College GameDay,” “College Football Scoreboard,” “Midnight Madness” and “Monday Night Countdown.” It broadcasts 10 talk shows like “Outside the Lines Sunday,” “Pardon the Interruption” and “Best of Mike and Mike.”

The television network broadcasts 12 original series including “The Bronx Is Burning,” “NBA Live: Bring It Home,” “Madden Nation” and “The New American Sportsman.” It features 23 game telecasts like “Sunday Night Baseball,” “Throwdown Thursday” and “Monday Night Baseball.”

The size of ESPN can also be determined by identifying the number of formerly broadcasted television programs. From 1984 to 2006, the TV network broadcasted 10 news programs including “College Basketball’s Greatest Games,” “RPM 2Night,” “Baseball 2Day” and “SpeedWeek.” In addition, it featured 8 talk shows like “Unscripted with Chris Connelly,” “Outside the Lines Nightly” and “Cold Pizza.”

ESPN broadcasted 18 original series from 2000 to 2007, which include “Bill Walton’s Long Strange Trip,” “I’d Do Anything,” “It’s the Shoes” and “Stump the Schwab.” The network broadcasted 7 game telecasts from 1979 to 2006, which include “MLS Soccer Saturday,” “BodyShaping” and “Tuesday Night Fights.”

Aside from television programs, ESPN also launched 11 movies from 2002 to 2008. The motion pictures produced by the network include “A Season on the Brink,” “3: The Dale Earnhardt Story,” “Code Breakers,” “Through the Fire” and “Once in a Lifetime.”

Finally, to determine the size of the network, it is important to have ideas about the total number of ESPN sister channels. As of 2009, this television network has 11 channels, which include TSN and ESPN Plus.

Additional Facts and Other Interesting Details

The first television program launched by the network was “SportsCenter.” To attract viewers in 1979, ESPN broadcasted sports events that were not seen on weekends like American rules football as well as college football games. In the 1980s, it broadcasted professional sports events including the National Football League, Major League Baseball and National Hockey League. ESPN expanded in the 1990s and introduced affiliate channels such as ESPN Classic.