ESPN on ABC

ESPN on ABC (formerly known as ABC Sports from 1961 to 2006) is the branding used for sports event and documentary programming produced by ESPN and primarily televised by the American broadcast network ABC. Despite its name, these telecasts are generally supplemental to ESPN, and only some of these broadcasts may be simulcast on its cable channels. However, almost all broadcast are available on ESPN's namesake streaming service. ESPN is majority owned by ABC's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, in partnership with Hearst Communications and the National Football League (NFL). ABC Sports was established on April 29, 1961, as the broadcast network's sports division. When ABC acquired a controlling interest in ESPN in 1984, it operated the cable network separately from its network sports division. Disney then bought ABC in 1996 and began to consolidate the corporate structure of ABC Sports and ESPN. The merger of ABC's sports division into ESPN was completed in 2006, and the ESPN on ABC branding made its debut on September 2 of that year. The branding change 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). ABC on ESPN 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. Since 2021, ABC is currently the only Big Three network to have rights to broadcast games from all four major professional leagues at the...