- ESPN was incorporated on July 14th, 1978.
- The original vision was to broadcast sports in the Connecticut area.
- When researching broadcasting options it was discovered that satellite's were cheaper than regional coverage and 24-hour satellite access was cheaper than regular platform channels. (Satellite was first used by HBO in 1975)
- Bristol was picked as the headquarters because the land was fairly cheap, ($18,000) because it was located on a dump and because the satellite feed was unhindered at the location.
- ESP got the NCAA to sign a 2 year contract that would allow them to broadcast 18 different sports, including championships, with the highlight being NCAA basketball games.
- It didn't hurt that the NCAA basketball championship in 1979 featured a game between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Even though ESP would not launch for another six months the popularity of this game would carry the network for years.
- ESP was renamed ESPN.
- On September 1979, 30,000 viewers tuned in for ESPN debut. The cable that connected to the satellite feed was plugged in five minutes before the scheduled debut.
- The first words spoken on the newly created ESPN channel was, "If you're a fan, if you're a fan, what you'll see in the next minutes, hours and days to follow may convince you you've gone to sports heaven."
- The first score that was announced was Chris Evert's victory over Billie Jean King at the US Open tennis tournament.
- Following the conclusion of the Sports Center (the first program aired on ESPN) the network aired a men's professional slow-pitch softball game from Wisconsin.
- Early sports that were featured on ESPN in the early days were sports such as the U.S. National Kayaking Championships, Australian rugby, Canadian football, table tennis tournaments, Chinese children's tumbling, and the Great Eastern Skeetshooting Championships.
Hope you've enjoyed this look back at the birth of the ESPN sports channel.
