Shoulder programming is a type of pre-event and post-event broadcast programming as a companion to live sporting events. This type of programming may be multi-platform and include both television and radio programs. Due to exclusive content or access, it may be included in a broadcast rights package for a particular sport or event. The purpose is to expand revenue opportunities through radio or television advertising or increased exposure to a pay-per-view event. [1]
NFL Primetime, Monday Night Countdown, and SportsCenter Monday Kickoff have each been companion National Football League (NFL) programming for Monday Night Football on ESPN. Monday Night Football was highly rated on ABC from 1970 to 2005, but since ESPN took over in 2006, it could more directly surround the franchise with programming in the time-slots before and after the game. [2]
The first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event on UFC on Fox was a title card between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez in 2011. Networks such as Fox Deportes, Fuel TV (since re-branded Fox Sports 2) and Fox Sports Radio broadcast many hours of programming leading up to and during the fight. Programming included specials by both Fox Deportes and Fuel TV. Replays of the previously-held Velasquez vs Lesnar fight and the weigh-in were aired by Fox Deportes and Fuel TV, respectively. Live radio coverage of the fight was broadcast by Fox Sports Radio. Other programming included a UFC primetime special and the pre-fight and post-fight shows by Fuel TV. [3]
ESPN has been criticized for devoting more or less air-time to a sport depending on whether it has rights to the primary organization or league of that sport. Examples include less air-time for National Hockey League (NHL), including the cancellation of NHL 2Night following their expiration of ESPN's rights contract and expanding air-time for NASCAR and the Arena Football League following rights deals. [4]
ESPN is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications (20%) through the joint venture ESPN Inc. The company was founded in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen, Scott Rasmussen and Ed Eagan.
Monday Night Football is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on ABC from 1970 to 2005, before moving exclusively to sister network ESPN from 2006 to 2019. While still airing on ESPN, MNF returned to ABC in 2020 beginning with select ESPN simulcasts, later expanding to select ABC exclusive telecasts in 2022, and since 2023 ABC has aired the bulk of the games in simulcast with ESPN. In addition, ESPN2 features the Manningcast alternate telecast of select games, which was established in 2020, and since 2021, ESPN+ has served as the U.S. streaming home of MNF.
The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language discretionary sports specialty channel owned by The Sports Network Inc., a subsidiary of CTV Specialty Television, which is also a joint venture of Bell Media (70%), also owned by BCE Inc. and ESPN Inc. (30%), itself a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. TSN was established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. In 2013, TSN was the largest specialty channel in Canada in terms of gross revenue, with a total of CA$400.4 million in revenue.
Réseau des sports (RDS) is a Canadian French language discretionary specialty channel oriented towards sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc.. Its full name translates as "The Sports Network", the name of its Anglophone counterpart, TSN.
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications.
The television rights to broadcast National Football League (NFL) games in the United States are the most lucrative and expensive rights of any sport in the world. Television brought professional football into prominence in the modern era after World War II. Since then, National Football League broadcasts have become among the most-watched programs on American television, and the financial fortunes of entire networks have rested on owning NFL broadcasting rights. This has raised questions about the impartiality of the networks' coverage of games and whether they can criticize the NFL without fear of losing the rights and their income.
ESPN on ABC is the branding used for sports event and documentary programming televised by ABC in the United States. Officially, the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, in 2006, ABC's sports division was merged into ESPN Inc., which is the parent subsidiary of the cable sports network ESPN that is majority owned by ABC's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, in partnership with Hearst Communications.
Fox Sports, stylized in all caps, is the sports programming division of the Fox Corporation that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by the Fox broadcast network, Fox Sports 1 (FS1), Fox Sports 2 (FS2), and the Fox Sports Radio network.
The broadcasting of sports events is the live coverage of sports as a television program, on radio, and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one and more sports commentators describing events as they happen.
ESPN Deportes is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications. The network is aimed primarily at the Hispanic community in the United States. The channel broadcasts from studio facilities at ESPN's traditional bases of operations in Los Angeles, and Bristol, Connecticut, along with their Mexican base in Mexico City.
Fox Sports 2 (FS2) is an American sports-oriented pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. The channel is based at the Fox Sports division's headquarters on the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City section of Los Angeles, California.
Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation.
Sports broadcasting contracts in Canada include:
In the United States, sports are televised on various broadcast networks, national and specialty sports cable channels, and regional sports networks. U.S. sports rights are estimated to be worth a total of $22.42 billion in 2019, about 44 percent of the total worldwide sports media market. U.S. networks are willing to pay a significant amount of money for television sports contracts because it attracts large amounts of viewership; live sport broadcasts accounted for 44 of the 50 list of most watched television broadcasts in the United States in 2016.
NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming primarily involving fishing, hunting, outdoor adventure programs, and outdoor sports. By the turn of the 21st century, OLN became better known for its extensive coverage of the Tour de France but eventually began covering more "mainstream" sporting events, resulting in its relaunch as Versus in September 2006.
Fox UFC Fight Night was the branding used for telecasts of mixed martial art competitions from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that were produced by Fox Sports. Previously, UFC on Fox was also used as a blanket title for UFC events aired on the Fox network, although since the concurrent launch of Fox Sports 1 and rebranding of Fuel TV as Fox Sports 2 in August 2013, all live UFC broadcasts on Fox-owned networks have since used the name.
ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by the ESPN division of The Walt Disney Company, in partnership with ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications. It is one of Disney's three flagship subscription streaming brands in the United States, alongside Disney+ and Hulu, and operates using technology of Disney subsidiary BAMTech, now known as Disney Streaming.
This is a timeline of UK television coverage of the four major sports in the USA - the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball.
When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, all major professional and collegiate organizations responded by suspending operations indefinitely. This effect was passed down to the world of sports broadcasting, which includes live coverage of thousands of events on an annual basis through stations and network available over the air, through cable, satellite, and IPTV companies, and via streaming and over-the-top services.