ESPN on ABC
Branding for sports programming on ABC / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. Officially, the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, in 2006, ABC's sports division was merged into ESPN Inc., which is the parent subsidiary of the cable sports network ESPN that is majority owned by ABC's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, in partnership with Hearst Communications.[1][2]
 On-air logo used since August 28, 2022. | |
| Network | ABC |
|---|---|
| Launched | 1961 (1961) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Owner | ESPN Inc. |
| Headquarters | Bristol, Connecticut |
| Major broadcasting contracts | |
| Formerly known as | ABC Sports (1961–2006) |
| Sister network | ESPN ESPN2 ESPN3 ESPN+ |
| Format | Sports |
| Original language(s) | English Spanish (SAP; select events) |
| Official website | ESPNPressroom.com |
ABC broadcasts use ESPN's production and announcing staff, and incorporate elements such as ESPN-branded on-screen graphics, SportsCenter in-game updates, and the BottomLine ticker. The ABC logo is still used for identification purposes such as a digital on-screen graphic during sports broadcasts on the network, and in promotions to disambiguate events airing the broadcast network from those shown on the ESPN cable channel.[3]
The broadcast network's sports event coverage carried the ABC Sports brand prior to September 2, 2006.[4][2] When ABC acquired a controlling interest in ESPN in 1984, it operated the cable network separately from its network sports division. The integration of ABC Sports with ESPN began after The Walt Disney Company bought ABC in 1996. The branding change to ESPN on ABC was made to better orient ESPN viewers with event telecasts on ABC and provide consistent branding for all sports broadcasts on Disney-owned channels (shortly thereafter, ESPN2's in-game graphics were likewise altered to simply use the main "ESPN" brand). Despite its name, ABC's sports coverage is supplemental to ESPN and (with occasional exceptions) not a simulcast of programs aired by the network. ESPN and ESPN2 may often carry ABC's regional broadcasts that otherwise would not air in certain markets. Furthermore, a similar broadcast was aired on FX during XFL broadcasts since the 2023 season as ESPN on FX.
Since 2021, ABC is the only broadcast television network to have rights to broadcast games from all four major professional leagues all at the same time. This is largely due to joint contracts with ESPN and those four leagues.