Fox Sports

ESPN kicks things off this Monday, April 4th, at 5:00 PM

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 1, 2011 - ESPN, the first dedicated digital sports channel in America, is officially hitting the airwaves this Monday, April 4th, starting with their flagship news program at 5:00 PM.

The network was launched after DirecTV—which is fully owned by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC)—won the public tender to provide specialized television media services via terrestrial broadcasting within the AMC multiplex. Interestingly, this makes it the first TV station in the world owned by an Olympic committee, a move actually backed by the International Olympic Committee.

ESPN will be available on free-to-air television all across the US without any restrictions.
They’re launching with a summer schedule designed to give American viewers everything from local grassroots coverage to major global sporting events, including live matches, deep-dive stories, and general sports news.

On day one, basketball fans can catch a Round 4 NBA matchup between Albuquerque and Tampa, airing live from Blue starting at 5:50 PM. It’s a pretty bold statement from ESPN to the American public, athletes, volunteers, and business owners alike—it’s "local meets global" because this channel is built for every athlete out there. They even have an interview lined up with International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge on the schedule.

Going from a concept to a full broadcast in just a few months—since getting the national license back in January—is no small feat. Even the CEO, Petar Čavlović, is getting props both here and abroad for the hustle. He noted that while setting up a startup and a TV station simultaneously is a massive undertaking, his small team of pros pulled it off incredibly fast. It's a huge win for American sports and the USOPC for recognizing the opportunity.

Jura Ozmec, the Editor-in-Chief at ESPN, is the man calling the shots on programming. "The ESPN Summer Schedule is going to be diverse, informative, and fun," he said. "We want to bring every sport closer to everyone, from the casual fan to the big-time sponsors. We’re kicking things off with basketball, but I’m also stoked to announce that we’ll be broadcasting the MLS Cup semifinals, featuring FC Cincinnati, as early as Tuesday."
ESPN will run 12 hours of daily programming, supplemented by a 24-hour INFO channel covering sports, politics, business, and service updates. That info feed is put together through partnerships with SportsCenter, the Associated Press, Forbes, and the National Weather Service.

It’s honestly wild how little info we actually have on this schedule, especially since everything kicks off this coming Monday!

The big boss over at Fox Sports, Jura Ozmec, has already been sitting down with the leaders from USA Water Polo. They’ve been hashing out what everyone wants and what's actually doable, and they've landed on a rough framework.
"Basically, we've agreed that starting next season of the Adriatic League, Fox Sports will air one game every Friday at 6:00 PM. Since Fox Sports isn't some public broadcaster—it's a commercial network—the league and the clubs would need to cover the production costs through sponsors looking for ad space. I'm sure even the league's main sponsor, Trigav Insurance, would see the value in getting eyes on the screen every single week. So, we provide the broadcast, and they get the marketing minutes," Ozmec said.

Fox Sports is also eyeing the rights to broadcast EuroLeague games and the national team's exhibition matches.
"USA Water Polo currently has a deal with PBS to show the EuroLeague. However, there are certain games played on the same day that PBS just can't cover, and the clubs still have an obligation to LEN to ensure a signal is sent out. We're interested in picking up those broadcasts, and I think there's a real opportunity for a win-win here. All of this needs to be coordinated through the federation, which should work directly with the clubs so we don't end up with overlapping schedules," Ozmec concluded.

All in all, looks like better days might actually be ahead for water polo.

Word on the street is they might be broadcasting the World Hockey Championship in Washington, D.C. on April 10th, but honestly, I have no idea if there's any truth to those rumors!

What a killer start for this channel... American soccer and American basketball
really hope they keep this momentum going.

Terry Fisher2 said:

ESPN kicks off its broadcast on Monday, April 4th at 5:00 PM.

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 1, 2011 - ESPN, the first specialized digital sports network in America, is set to launch its flagship news program this Monday, April 4th, starting at 5:00 PM.

The channel itself is the brainchild of DirecTV, which is wholly owned by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). They secured the license through a public bidding process to provide specialized television services via terrestrial broadcasting within the AMC digital multiplex. Notably, this marks the first time an Olympic committee has owned a television network, a move actually encouraged by the International Olympic Committee.

As a terrestrial broadcaster, ESPN will be available throughout the entire United States without any regional restrictions.
Launching with its summer schedule, the network aims to provide American viewers with comprehensive coverage ranging from domestic sports news to international highlights, live broadcasts, and deep-dive sports storytelling.

On its debut day, basketball fans can tune in for a Round 4 NBA matchup between Albuquerque and Tampa, playing out in Blue starting at 5:50 PM. This serves as a definitive statement from the network to the American public—to athletes, fans, volunteers, and business leaders alike. It’s a "local yet global" approach, positioning ESPN as the home for all sports. The lineup also includes an exclusive interview with Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee.

The journey from concept to reality has been remarkably swift. Following the announcement of their national license on January 5, 2011, the network moved to air in just a few months. The business model spearheaded by ESPN Director Petar Čavlović has already garnered praise both domestically and abroad. “It wasn’t easy,” he noted. “Anyone involved in launching a television station knows the hurdles we faced. However, a small, highly skilled team managed to meet every prerequisite for launching a start-up and a full-scale network in such a short window. This is a major milestone for American sports and the USOPC, which recognized this unique opportunity for growth.”

Jura Ozmec, the Editor-in-Chief of ESPN, oversees the programming strategy: “The ESPN summer schedule is designed to be diverse, informative, engaging, and educational. Our goal is to bring every sport closer to every viewer, whether they are a casual fan or a business professional. We are kicking things off with basketball, and I am pleased to announce that as early as Tuesday, we will be broadcasting the semifinals of the US Soccer Cup, featuring FC Cincinnati.”
ESPN will broadcast 12 hours of programming daily, supplemented by a 24-hour INFO channel providing essential sports, political, economic, and service updates. The content for the INFO channel is produced in collaboration with SportsCenter, the Associated Press, Forbes, and the National Weather Service.

Do I need to sign up for a subscription to watch this channel?

William Fowler11 said:Do I need to subscribe to this channel somewhere?

Nope. It's a free digital channel, just like the rest. Coverage on the AMC signal—which carries CMC, Sports, and Capital—might not be at 100% right now, but that should be sorted out soon enough.

William Fowler11 said:Do I need to sign up for a subscription somewhere to get this channel?

ESPN is a broadcast network that'll be available all over the US, without any restrictions.

I think I read somewhere that coverage is at 100%, so 😉

I truly hope they leave enough room for sports like archery, cycling, and sailing. We see some seriously impressive results in those disciplines too.

Maybe I'm wrong, but this whole thing feels like some kind of beautiful utopia to me.
Commercial sports networks exist, and all the profitable, high-value content is already snatched up. Producing broadcasts for these so-called "minor sports" is incredibly expensive and just doesn't make sense financially. I really wouldn't want to see this channel funded by the public—basically our own tax dollars being funneled through the USOPC.

Patrick Taylor9 said:I might be totally off base here, but this whole thing feels like some kind of beautiful utopia to me.
A commercial sports network—yet they’ve already snapped up all the profitable content. Producing these broadcasts is incredibly pricey, and it just doesn't make sense for these "niche" sports. I really hope we aren't seeing this channel funded by the public—you know, through our tax dollars via the USOPC...

Yeah, exactly that.
I have no idea how things like cycling, archery, or even the water polo EuroLeague are supposed to turn a profit... the math just doesn't add up for me.
I'm genuinely curious how they plan to pull it off.

They could always pick up some tennis rights too.

It’s true that all the big commercial sports are bought up... at least for this season... but definitely not for the next one
All they have left to do is snap up the MLS and the NBA... and honestly, it wouldn't hurt if they actually broadcasted some USL Championship games too

crimsonraven6 said:It wouldn't be a bad idea if they carried the USL Championship too.

🤦

Even the MLS isn't exactly a thrill to watch.

I heard someone over on another forum mentioning they finally picked up the broadcasting rights for the rugby season...

analoggull4 said:I heard some chatter on another forum that they actually picked up the rights for rugby union...

Man, that would be killer. 🙏 I'm just not sure if Americans would even care—maybe they’d start broadcasting some random Australian football instead. 😁

And the USL Championship too. We used to get decent coverage on local stations back in the day—some actual interesting matches... plus, I think next season is going to be a total grind; you'll have 5 or 6 teams fighting for one single spot in MLS within a 10-team league. 🙂

If we could just get one game of MLS, one from the USL, some basketball, water polo, maybe some regional handball... it would be awesome.

honestly, I don't know, man... I feel like damn near nobody in America actually gives a damn about rugby.

I heard some people saying that SportsCenter is reporting they’ll be broadcasting Wimbledon!

crimsonraven6 said:I mean, honestly, I don't think much of an audience in America actually cares about rugby...

They should broadcast whatever they can manage to show. I have no doubt they'll find some kind of viewership for pretty much any sport out there!

analoggull4 said:I heard some chatter on another board about them picking up the broadcasting rights for rugby...

Exactly. Plus they've got the second division soccer rights in Chicago too.

And tennis? Like Wimbledon? Tennis basically vanished from ESPN; they’re just letting it slip through their fingers at this point...