Events in Film & TV
- 1979-03-01 ESPN and NCAA come to an agreement giving the network worldwide multi-media rights to NCAA championships for various sports
- 1979-09-07 The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) makes its debut.
- 1980-06-03 ESPN begins televising college world series games
- 1988-12-02 ESPN airs its 10,000th edition of 'Sports Center', making it the most televised cable program in history
- 1989-01-05 Baseball signs $400M with ESPN, showing 175 games in 1990
- 1995-07-31 Walt Disney announces the acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC for $19 billion; network of properties now consists of Disney, ABC Sports, ESPN and ESPN2
- 1997-11-12 Dick Vitale signs with ESPN through year 2004
Radio History
2005-09-12 Mark Messier announces on ESPN radio that he will retire from the NHL
- 2011-12-15 ESPN and the NCAA extend their TV rights deal through 2023-24, giving the network worldwide multi-media rights to 24 NCAA championships for various sports; deal worth $500m
- 2018-01-06 Jon Gruden returns to the NFL as Oakland Raiders head coach after nearly a decade of broadcasting (ESPN Monday Night Football 2009-17)
- 2022-03-16 After 20 seasons as Fox's NFL lead broadcast team, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman join ESPN as new lead commentators of Monday Night Football
Birthdays in Film & TV
- 1927-12-20 Jim Simpson, American sportscaster, (NBC, ESPN), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2016)
- 1929-04-03 Lee Leonard, American television personality (ESPN, CNN), born in NYC, New York (d. 2018)
- 1931-02-28 Peter Alliss, English golfer (Ryder Cup 1957 GB winners) and author, course designer and television presenter, commentator (BBC, ESPN, ABC Sports), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2020)
- 1932-10-12 Ned Jarrett, American auto racer (NASCAR Cup Series 1961, 65; Motorsports HOF of America) and broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, TNN, FSN), born in Conover, North Carolina
- 1935-01-09 Richard "Dick" Enberg, American sportscaster (NBC, CBS, ESPN), born in Mt Clemens, Michigan (d. 2017)
- 1939-05-26 Brent Musburger, American sportscaster (CBS Sports, The NFL Today; ESPN, ABC; VSiN; radio play-by-play Las Vegas Raiders), born in Portland, Oregon
- 1939-06-09 Dick Vitale, American basketball sportscaster (ESPN), born in Passaic, New Jersey
- 1940-07-04 Hank Goldberg, American sports broadcaster (radio colour commentator Miami Dolphins 1978-92; ESPN2, ESPN Radio), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2022)
- 1942-02-02 Ron Franklin, American sportscaster (ESPN 1987-2011; ESPN College Football Primetime), born in Jackson, Mississippi (d. 2022)
Joe Morgan (1943-2020)
1943-09-19 American Baseball HOF infielder (10 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1975, 76; NL MVP 1975, 76; Cincinnati Reds) and broadcaster (ESPN), born in Bonham, Texas
- 1945-11-27 Alain de Cadenet, English auto racer (3 x 24 Hours of Le Mans class 3rd place) and broadcaster (Speed Channel, ESPN, Velocity Channel, Petrolicious website), born in London, England (d. 2022)
- 1947-09-04 Bob Jenkins, American television and radio sports announcer (IndyCar & NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC, NBC Sports), born in Richmond, Indiana (d. 2021)
- 1948-08-08 Floyd Reese, American football administrator (GM Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans 1994-2006) and analyst (ESPN's NFL Live, ESPN.com), born in Springfield, Missouri (d. 2021)
- 1949-10-27 Robin Miller, American motorsports journalist (Indianapolis Star, Autoweek, Car and Driver, ESPN, Speed, NBCSN), born in Anderson, Indiana (d. 2021)
- 1950-03-09 Andy North, American golfer, broadcaster (US Open 1978, 85; ESPN), born in Thorp, Wisconsin
- 1952-04-12 Ralph Wiley, American sports journalist and writer (Sports Illustrated and ESPN's Page 2), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 2004)
- 1952-05-11 Mike Lupica, American sports journalist and newspaper columnist (New York Daily News, ESPN), born in Oneida, New York
- 1954-05-11 John Clayton, American sports journalist/reporter (The Pittsburgh Press, The News Tribune; ESPN), born in Braddock, Pennsylvania (d. 2022)
- 1955-05-10 Chris Berman, sportscaster (ESPN)
- 1955-11-03 Phil Simms, American NFL quarterback (Super Bowl 1986 [MVP], 90; NY Giants) and broadcaster (ESPN, NBC CBS), born in Springfield, Kentucky
- 1956-05-23 Buck Showalter, American baseball manager (AL Manager of the Year 1994, 2004, 14; NY Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles) and analyst (ESPN, YES network), born in DeFuniak Springs, Florida
- 1956-10-17 Fred Hickman, American sports broadcaster (CNN, TBS, YES Network, ESPN; NY Sports Emmy Award 2004), born in Springfield, Illinois (d. 2022)
- 1956-11-26 Dale Jarrett, American auto racer (Daytona 500 1993, 96, 2000; NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1999) and broadcaster (ESPN, ABC, NBC), born in Conover, North Carolina
- 1959-09-01 Kenny Mayne, American sports journalist, broadcaster (ESPN), born in Kent, Washington
- 1959-09-11 Robert Wrenn, American golfer, sportscaster, course designer (ESPN), born in Richmond, Virginia
- 1959-11-10 Linda Cohn, American sportscaster (ESPN's SportsCenter), born in Long Island, New York
- 1960-10-24 Ian Baker-Finch, Australian golfer (British Open 1991) and broadcaster (ESPN, ABC, CBS), born in Nambour, Australia
- 1961-01-02 Craig James, American NFL running back and sports commentator (Pro Bowl 1985; New England Patriots; ABC, ESPN), born in Jacksonville, Texas
- 1962-08-20 Pedro Gomez, American sports journalist (ESPN 2003-21), born in Miami, Florida (d. 2021)
- 1963-08-17 Jon Gruden, American NFL coach (Super Bowl 2002, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Oakland/LV Raiders) and broadcaster (ESPN MNF), born in Sandusky, Ohio
- 1964-07-22 Don Van Natta, Jr., American journalist (New York Times), and broadcaster (ESPN's "Backstory"), born in Ridgewood, New Jersey
- 1965-03-12 Steve Levy, American sports journalist (ESPN), born in New York, New York
- 1965-04-01 Mark Jackson, American basketball guard (NBA All Star 1989; Rookie of the Year 1988; NY Knicks), coach (Golden State Warriors) and broadcaster (ESPN), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1965-07-19 Stuart Scott, American sportscaster (ESPN), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2015)
- 1965-09-23 Mark Woodforde, Australian tennis player (12 x Grand Slam doubles titles; 5 x GS mixed doubles titles; Olympic gold 1996) and broadcaster (Fox Sports, ESPN), born in Adelaide, South Australia
- 1965-10-16 Tom Tolbert, American sports broadcaster (KNBR SF-'The Razor & Mr. T'; NBC, ESPN, ABC) and basketball forward (GS Warriors, Orlando Magic, LA Clippers), born in Long Beach, California
- 1965-10-19 Brad Daugherty, American basketball center (5 x NBA All-Star; Cleveland Cavaliers), NASCAR team owner (JTG Daugherty Racing, winner Daytona 500 2023) and broadcaster (ESPN, NBC, CBS), born in Black Mountain, North Carolina
- 1966-11-21 Troy Aikman, American College/Pro Football HOF quarterback (University of Oklahoma, UCLA; Super Bowl 1992 [MVP], 93, 95; 6 x Pro Bowl; Dallas Cowboys) and broadcaster (Fox, ESPN MNF), born in West Covina, California
- 1969-08-17 Ed Cunningham, American football center (Arizona Cardinals) and broadcaster (CBS Sports, ABC Sports, ESPN), born in Washington, D.C.
- 1971-11-05 Dana Jacobson, American TV host (ESPN's First Take), born in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
- 1972-07-22 Keyshawn Johnson, American NFL wide receiver (Super Bowl 2002; Pro Bowl 1998-99, 2001; ESPN), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1973-08-06 Max Kellerman, American sportscaster (ESPN), born in The Bronx, NYC
- 1975-06-18 Jeff Saturday, American football center (6 × Pro Bowl; First-team All-Pro 2005, 07; Super Bowl 2006; Indianapolis Colts) and sports analyst (ESPN), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1985-12-11 Samantha Ponder, American sportscaster (ESPN), born in Phoenix, Arizona
- 1992-03-21 Chiney Ogwumike, American basketball player and sports commentator (1st black woman host for ESPN radio show), born in Tomball, Texas
Weddings in Film & TV
- 2012-12-17 Minnesota Vikings football quarterback Christian Ponder (25) weds ESPN reporter Samantha Steele (27) in Hudson, Wisconsin
Deaths in Film & TV
- 1996-08-13 Tom Mees, American ESPN sports anchor (NHL), drowns at 46
- 2004-06-13 Ralph Wiley, American sports journalist and writer (Sports Illustrated and ESPN's Page 2), dies from a heart attack at 52
- 2015-01-04 Stuart Scott, American sports journalist (ESPN), dies of cancer at 49
- 2017-12-21 Richard "Dick" Enberg, American sportscaster (NBC, CBS, ESPN), dies of a heart attack at 82
- 2018-12-16 Lee Leonard, American television personality (ESPN, CNN), dies at 89
Joe Morgan (1943-2020)
2020-10-11 American Baseball HOF infielder (10 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1975, 76; NL MVP 1975, 76; Cincinnati Reds) and broadcaster (ESPN), dies at 77
- 2020-12-05 Peter Alliss, English golfer (Ryder Cup 1957 GB winners) and author, course designer and television presenter, commentator (BBC, ESPN, ABC Sports), dies at 89
- 2021-02-07 Pedro Gomez, American sports journalist (ESPN 2003-21), dies at 58
- 2021-08-09 Bob Jenkins, American television and radio sports announcer (IndyCar & NASCAR telecasts ESPN/ABC, NBC Sports), dies from brain cancer at 73
- 2021-08-21 Floyd Reese, American football administrator (GM Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans 1994-2006) and analyst (ESPN's NFL Live, ESPN.com), dies from cancer at 73
- 2021-08-25 Robin Miller, American motorsports journalist (Indianapolis Star, Autoweek, Car and Driver, ESPN, Speed, NBCSN), dies from leukemia at 71
- 2022-01-18 Ron Franklin, American sportscaster (ESPN 1987-2011; ESPN College Football Primetime), dies at 79
- 2022-03-18 John Clayton, American sports journalist/reporter (The Pittsburgh Press, The News Tribune; ESPN), dies at 67
- 2022-07-02 Alain de Cadenet, English auto racer (3 x 24 Hours of Le Mans class 3rd place) and broadcaster (Speed Channel, ESPN, Velocity Channel, Petrolicious website), dies at 76
- 2022-07-04 Hank Goldberg, American sports broadcaster (radio colour commentator Miami Dolphins 1978-92; ESPN2, ESPN Radio), dies from chronic kidney disease at 82
- 2022-11-09 Fred Hickman, American sports broadcaster (CNN, TBS, YES Network, ESPN; NY Sports Emmy Award 2004), dies of liver cancer at 66