While ESPN is one of the most successful sports networks, there has been much criticism of ESPN, which includes accusations of biased coverage, conflict of interest, and controversies with individual broadcasters and analysts.ĮSPN headquarters in Bristol, ConnecticutĪs of September 2018, ESPN is available to approximately 86 million television households (93.2% of households with pay television) in the United States. James Pitaro currently serves as chairman of ESPN, a position he has held since March 5, 2018, following the resignation of John Skipper on December 18, 2017. The network also operates offices in Miami, New York City, Seattle, Charlotte, and Los Angeles.
The company was founded in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen along with his son Scott Rasmussen and Ed Egan.ĮSPN broadcasts primarily from studio facilities located in Bristol, Connecticut. ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%).
