North American Sports Network
Encyclopedia
ESPN America is a British based Europe
an sports network, focusing on professional and collegiate sports of the United States
and Canada
. Originally launched on 5 December 2002 as NASN (the North American Sports Network), ESPN America broadcasts a selection of top North American professional and collegiate sports leagues including Major League Baseball
(MLB), National Football League
(NFL), National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) and Canadian Football League
(CFL), 24 hours a day on digital cable
and digital satellite television
.
Formerly operated by Setanta Sports
with backing from Benchmark Capital Europe
, it was acquired by the American sports media company ESPN
in March 2007. It was subsequently re-branded as ESPN America on 1 February 2009.
, the Middle East
and North Africa
. In the United Kingdom
, Ireland
, and the Nordic countries
events currently shown on ESPN America include Major League Baseball, the College World Series
, NCAA college football
and college basketball
, the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship
Frozen Four plus the Arena Football League, Major League Lacrosse
, and the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship Final Four
. In continental Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Iceland
the broadcast also includes NFL programmes.
ESPN America also shown the Little-League World Series from Williamsport, PA and the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest from Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY.
NASN paid £11.6m in March 2006 for the rights to show ten live MLB games a week.
In 2006, ESPN programmes, including Baseball Tonight
, Around the Horn
, The Sports Reporters
and Pardon the Interruption
were dropped from the schedule as the contract between NASN and ESPN ended. However, they returned from 1 April 2007 after ESPN acquired the channel.
ESPN America also airs other ESPN US produced single-sport programmes, such as College Football Live
, College GameDay
, NBA Fastbreak
and NASCAR Now
. In addition, to mark the 30th anniversary of ESPN, the channel has been showing ESPN Films
' 30 for 30
series.
As of 28 October 2009, ESPN America began to be broadcast in 16:9
widescreen.
On 1 March 2010, ESPN America began showing a European edition of SportsCenter
, anchored by Michael Kim
. The 30-minute programme broadcasts five days a week at 6am with three repeat showings following immediately after, with an updated show at 10.30pm. The show is filmed at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, USA.
Up until the 2011-12 NHL season, ESPN America held the rights to live and delayed NHL matches as well as round-up programming such as NHL On The Fly, however these rights were not renewed and are now held by different networks across Europe, including Premier Sports
in the UK and Setanta Sports
in Ireland.
In late 2006
, former owners Benchmark Capital
Europe and Setanta Sports agreed to sell the network to ESPN for €70m. The sale was completed in March 2007 but the network continued to be part of the Setanta Sports Pack on satellite television
until June 2009 when Setanta UK went into administration. The network became known as ESPN America on 1 February 2009 to coincide with Super Bowl XLIII
. The channel continued to provide the same lineup of North American sports programming.
launched an HD version of ESPN America. The channel launched in the UK on the Sky platform on June 21, 2010. It was launched in Portugal
on ZON Multimédia's cable platform om November 24, 2010. In Germany, the Channel started airing over the Sky Germany platform on October 27, 2010.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an sports network, focusing on professional and collegiate sports of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Originally launched on 5 December 2002 as NASN (the North American Sports Network), ESPN America broadcasts a selection of top North American professional and collegiate sports leagues including Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
(MLB), National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL), National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) and Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
(CFL), 24 hours a day on digital cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and digital satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
.
Formerly operated by Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
with backing from Benchmark Capital Europe
Benchmark Capital
Benchmark Capital is a venture capital firm responsible for the early stage funding of some very successful startups. In 1997, the firm invested $6.7 million in eBay, which became worth more than $5 billion by the spring of 1999. Other high-profile investments include Ariba, Juniper Networks, Red...
, it was acquired by the American sports media company ESPN
ESPN Inc.
ESPN Inc. is an American sports media conglomerate based in Bristol, Connecticut. Jointly owned by The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Corporation , it owns various sports broadcasting operations, including cable channels, a sports radio network, an accompanying website, and other assets.ESPN...
in March 2007. It was subsequently re-branded as ESPN America on 1 February 2009.
Programming
Programming on ESPN America varies from country to country. Currently, the channel operates three feeds throughout EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, and the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
events currently shown on ESPN America include Major League Baseball, the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
, NCAA college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
and college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
, the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship
NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship
The annual NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship tournament determines the top men's ice hockey team in NCAA Division I and Division III. The semi-finals and finals of the Division I Championship are branded as the Frozen Four, a passing nod to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship - known...
Frozen Four plus the Arena Football League, Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...
, and the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship Final Four
NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship
The annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top men's field lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III....
. In continental Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
the broadcast also includes NFL programmes.
ESPN America also shown the Little-League World Series from Williamsport, PA and the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest from Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY.
NASN paid £11.6m in March 2006 for the rights to show ten live MLB games a week.
In 2006, ESPN programmes, including Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight is a program that airs on ESPN. The show, which recapitulates the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since 1990.-Air times:...
, Around the Horn
Around the Horn
Around the Horn is a daily, half-hour sports roundtable on ESPN filmed in Washington, D.C. It airs at 5:00 pm ET, as part of a sports talk hour with Pardon the Interruption. The show is currently hosted by Tony Reali.-History:Around the Horn premiered on November 4, 2002, hosted by Max Kellerman...
, The Sports Reporters
The Sports Reporters
The Sports Reporters is a sports talk show that airs on ESPN at 9:30 a.m. ET every Sunday morning . It is broadcast from Bristol, Connecticut at the main ESPN studios. However, before 1999, it was broadcast from a studio in Manhattan. and from 1999-2010 it was recorded at the ESPN Zone at Times...
and Pardon the Interruption
Pardon the Interruption
Pardon the Interruption is a sports television show that airs weekdays on various ESPN TV channels, TSN, ESPN America, XM, and Sirius satellite radio services, and as a downloadable podcast. It is hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, who discuss, and frequently argue over, the top stories...
were dropped from the schedule as the contract between NASN and ESPN ended. However, they returned from 1 April 2007 after ESPN acquired the channel.
ESPN America also airs other ESPN US produced single-sport programmes, such as College Football Live
College Football Live
College Football Live is a show that airs weekdays on ESPN or ESPN2, and ESPNU. Its premiere was on Monday, July 23, 2007. Rece Davis is the lead host, but it also features ESPN college football analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Lou Holtz, Mark May, Desmond Howard, Bob Griese, and others...
, College GameDay
College GameDay
College GameDay is an ESPN entertainment show previewing college football games. It first aired in 1987 with Tim Brando as host and Lee Corso and Beano Cook as commentators. Beginning more-or-less as a report on college football games, the show would undergo a radical transformation beginning in...
, NBA Fastbreak
NBA Fastbreak
NBA Fastbreak is a National Basketball Association studio program that airs on ESPN. The program used to air as part of ESPN's The Trifecta. Formerly known as NBA 2Night, the program, hosted by various ESPN personalities, provides highlights, analysis and updates from the night's NBA games...
and NASCAR Now
NASCAR Now
NASCAR Now is a NASCAR news and analysis show that airs year round Monday through Friday as a thirty minute show at 5:00pm ET on ESPN2. NASCAR Now, that debuted on February 5, 2007, is broadcast in HD from Bristol, Connecticut and also has a daily segment on SportsCenter...
. In addition, to mark the 30th anniversary of ESPN, the channel has been showing ESPN Films
ESPN Films
ESPN Films is a production company owned by ESPN that produces and distributes sports films and documentaries.-History:...
' 30 for 30
30 for 30
30 for 30 is the umbrella title for a series of documentaries airing on ESPN and its sister networks. The series, which premiered in October 2009 and concluded in December 2010, chronicles 30 stories from the "ESPN era," each of which detail the issues, trends, people, teams, or events that...
series.
As of 28 October 2009, ESPN America began to be broadcast in 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
widescreen.
On 1 March 2010, ESPN America began showing a European edition of SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
, anchored by Michael Kim
Michael Kim
Michael Kim is a presenter for SportsCenter on ESPN.Kim joined ESPN as one of the original presenters on ESPNEWS prior to its November 1, 1996, launch...
. The 30-minute programme broadcasts five days a week at 6am with three repeat showings following immediately after, with an updated show at 10.30pm. The show is filmed at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, USA.
Up until the 2011-12 NHL season, ESPN America held the rights to live and delayed NHL matches as well as round-up programming such as NHL On The Fly, however these rights were not renewed and are now held by different networks across Europe, including Premier Sports
Premier Sports
Premier Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels, operated by the Luxembourg registered Premier Media S.à r.l., broadcasting in United Kingdom.-History:...
in the UK and Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
in Ireland.
Sale to ESPN
2006 in television
2006 in television may refer to:*2006 in American television*2006 in Australian television*2006 in British television*2006 in Canadian television*2006 in Japanese television...
, former owners Benchmark Capital
Benchmark Capital
Benchmark Capital is a venture capital firm responsible for the early stage funding of some very successful startups. In 1997, the firm invested $6.7 million in eBay, which became worth more than $5 billion by the spring of 1999. Other high-profile investments include Ariba, Juniper Networks, Red...
Europe and Setanta Sports agreed to sell the network to ESPN for €70m. The sale was completed in March 2007 but the network continued to be part of the Setanta Sports Pack on satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
until June 2009 when Setanta UK went into administration. The network became known as ESPN America on 1 February 2009 to coincide with Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
. The channel continued to provide the same lineup of North American sports programming.
ESPN America HD
On March 1, 2010, the Nordic Canal DigitalCanal Digital
Canal Digital is a Scandinavian television distributor and internet service provider that was founded in March 1997 as a joint venture between the French pay-TV company Canal+ and the Norwegian telecommunications operator Telenor...
launched an HD version of ESPN America. The channel launched in the UK on the Sky platform on June 21, 2010. It was launched in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
on ZON Multimédia's cable platform om November 24, 2010. In Germany, the Channel started airing over the Sky Germany platform on October 27, 2010.
See also
- EurosportEurosportEurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...
- ESPN (UK)ESPN (UK)ESPN is a sports television channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland owned by American sports broadcaster ESPN Inc. The channel launched on 3 August 2009...
- ESPN Classic (UK)ESPN Classic (UK)The British version of ESPN Classic launched on 13 March 2006 on Sky channel 442, the first channel in the UK under the ESPN branding. On 3 August 2009, ESPN Classic launched on Virgin Media channel 533 as a part of the XL pack, and in early 2011 video on demand content started to appear on the...
- ESPN Classic (Italy)ESPN Classic (Italy)The Italian version of ESPN Classic launched on July, 2002 on Tele+ Digitale , the first channel in Italy under the ESPN branding. It broadcasts a range of archive sports coverage, with an emphasis on Soccer, Boxing, Cycling and much more.Offer also a Video on demand service on TV di FASTWEB...
- ESPN in the United KingdomESPN in the United KingdomESPN operates five sports television channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland.-Channels:ESPN launched on in the UK on 3 August 2009...
- Setanta SportsSetanta SportsSetanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...