From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ESPN and its family of domestic networks (
ESPN on ABC ,
ESPN2 ,
ESPNU ,
ESPN+ ,
ESPN Deportes and (to a lesser extent)
ESPN Classic ) have or previously had rights to the following sports and events.
Current properties
NFL on ESPN
Other:
Soccer
Soccer on ESPN/ABC
Clubs
Baseball
ESPN Major League Baseball : 1990–2028
Little League World Series
Basketball
NBA on ESPN : 1982–1984, 2002–2025
Wednesday night regular season games (co-exists with regional broadcasts).
Friday night regular season games outside of the in-season tournament (co-exists with regional broadcasts).
NBA in-season tournament :
Exclusive
Friday night conference group play games
Consolation games on Wednesday and Friday during knockout round.
Exclusive Eastern Conference in-season tournament semifinal (even years only)
Exclusive Western Conference in-season tournament semifinal (odd years only)
Exclusive in-season tournament final (airs on ABC)
Saturday Primetime
Sunday Showcase
Exclusive
Christmas games .
NBA play-in tournament :
Exclusive 9–10 seeded games, both conferences
Exclusive Eastern Conference No. 8 seed game (even-numbered years)
Exclusive Western Conference No. 8 seed game (odd-numbered years)
NBA playoffs :
First round (generally Fridays and selected weekend games, co-exists with regional broadcasts)
Second round (generally Thursdays, Fridays, and selected weekend games)
Exclusive Eastern Conference Finals (even-numbered years)
Exclusive Western Conference Finals (odd-numbered years)
Exclusive
NBA Finals airing on ABC
WNBA on ESPN : 1997–2025
Cricket
Handball
Ice Hockey
NHL on ESPN /
NHL on ABC
1985–1988 (National television deal, agreements with individual clubs as early as 1979)
1992–2004
2021–2028
Exclusive
Thursday and
Saturday night regular season games
Thanksgiving Showdown (select years)
Stadium Series (selected years, depending on scheduling conflicts)
Heritage Classic (selected years, the Heritage Classic is not held every season)
NHL All-Star Weekend
Stanley Cup Playoffs
Selected first and second-round games (primarily on days when not airing the NBA, depending on which league begins their postseason first or if both leagues start their playoffs at roughly the same time; first-round co-exists with regional broadcasts)
One exclusive conference finals series per season (ESPN/ABC has the first choice as to which conference to air.
[4] )
Exclusive
Stanley Cup Finals on ABC (even-numbered years)
NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament
World Cup of Hockey 2016–
[6]
Tennis
Tennis on ESPN
Golf
Golf on ESPN
Canadian Football League
1983–1986 (approximate)
1994–1997
2008–2013 (ESPN3 only; by virtue in its stake in Canadian broadcaster
TSN , the
official broadcaster of the CFL , it held internet streaming rights.)
2013–present (Select games on ESPN2, streaming coverage on
ESPN+ )
Motorsports
College and high school sports
ESPN College Baseball (2003–present)
ESPN College Basketball (1979–present)
ESPN College Football (1979–present)
ESPN College Hockey (2005–present)
ESPN College Lacrosse (2005–present)
ESPN College Soccer (2005–present)
ESPN College Softball (2005–present)
ESPN College Volleyball (2005–present)
High School Showcase (2005–present)
Combat Sports
Mixed Martial Arts
Former properties
National teams
FIFA World Cup
Finals: 1986, 1994–2014
UEFA Qualifying: 2018–2022
Australian Football League
UEFA Champions League
Major Indoor Soccer League
1985–1987
2005–2006 (championship games only)
ESPN Major League Soccer (1996–2022)
Premier League
Lega Serie A
[10] (2018–2021)
IndyCar Series
1996–2008 (ESPN continued to produce the broadcasts of five races that aired on ABC through 2018, including the
Indianapolis 500 .)
CART on ESPN
1980–2001
2007 (series merged with IRL, beginning with the 2008 season)
NASCAR on ESPN
1981–2000 (Contracts with individual races)
2001–2002 (Contract with NASCAR,
Truck Series only)
2007–2014 (Contract with NASCAR)
NHRA
1980(?) –2000 (Contracts with individual races)
2001–2015 (Contract with NHRA)
Global RallyCross Championship
American Le Mans Series
Thoroughbred Racing on ESPN
Premier Boxing Champions
2015–2017, returned again for 2020 only, based on the
Top Rank main feed.
AWA Championship Wrestling
Global Wrestling Federation
UWF Fury Hour
References
^
a
b
"ACC, ESPN agree to 20-year rights deal that will lead to 2019 launch of ACC Network" . 19 July 2016.
^
"Sun Belt & ESPN Expand Media Rights Partnership" . 22 July 2021.
^
"Little League Chronology" . Little League Online. Archived from
the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2007 .
ESPN2 broadcasts started in 1997.
^
"NHL moving to Turner Sports is $1 billion risk-reward for hockey" . CNBC . July 9, 2021.
^
"Frozen Four championship back on ESPN; semifinal games both to air on ESPN2 :: USCHO.com :: U.S. College Hockey Online" . Archived from
the original on 2012-11-09.
^ Gentille, Sean.
"ESPN to broadcast World Cup of Hockey, report says" . The Sporting News. Retrieved 5 February 2015 .
^ Pryson, Brian (4 October 2017).
"BREAKING: F1 moving to ESPN/ABC TV in 2018" .
Autoweek .
Detroit : Hearst Communications.
^ Hall, Andy (October 22, 2022).
"The Walt Disney Company, ESPN, Formula 1 Extend Relationship with New, Multi-Year Contract" (Press release).
Bristol :
ESPN .
^
"Top Rank Boxing lands 7-year deal with ESPN" . ESPN.com . Retrieved 2018-10-20 .
^
"ESPN+ and ESPN Acquire Rights to Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana – ESPN Press Room U.S." 2 October 2018.
Executives U.S. networks
Streaming Linear TV Part-time Radio
International
Japan Latin America
Panregional Brazil Caribbean
Netherlands Oceania Sub-Saharan Africa
Co-owned Canadian sports networks Ventures Defunct ventures Sports broadcasting rights Other properties Notable personalities Miscellaneous
Broadcast Cable
General Pro league specific College specific Sport specific Outdoor Sports betting Occasional coverage
Streaming
General Pro league specific Outdoor Ring sports Occasional coverage
National Regional Syndication Out-of-market