ESPN Inc.
ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. | |
| Company type | Joint venture |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports broadcasting |
| Founded | September 7, 1979 |
| Founders | Bill and Scott Rasmussen and Ed Egan |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | James Pitaro (chairman) |
| Owners | The Walt Disney Company (72%; via ABC Inc.) Hearst Communications (18%) National Football League (10%) |
Number of employees | 9,464 (2024) |
| Website | Official website |
ESPN, LLC, previously known as ESPN, Inc., is an American multinational sports media conglomerate founded by Bill Rasmussen on September 7, 1979 and currently majority-owned by the Walt Disney Company via indirect subsidiary ABC Inc. as one of its three major business segments, with Hearst Communications and the National Football League as equity stakeholders.
Currently headed by executive James Pitaro since March 5, 2018, it owns and operates the ESPN-branded cable television, satellite television and streaming media channels and services including ESPN itself, ESPN DTC, ESPN+, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ACC Network, SEC Network, 20% of TSN and the sports division of ABC. It also operates the international variants of ESPN via ESPN International.
Programming on its television networks include broadcasts of live or tape-delayed sporting events and sports-related programming including talk shows and original documentary series and films.