58-689: Ramona Leor Shelburne (born July 19, 1979) is an American sportswriter and NBA Insider for ESPN . She is also a former softball player; in high school, she was the 1997 L.A. City Softball Co-Player of the Year, and in college she played outfield for Stanford Cardinal for four years. Shelburne is the daughter of James and Jeanette Shelburne, and is Jewish. She grew up in the West Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles . She graduated from El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills in 1997. There, she
116-694: A 4:3 full-screen to a letterboxed format (via the application of the AFD #10 display flag), which occurred on June 1 of that year. WatchESPN was a website for desktop computers , as well as an application for smartphones and tablet computers that allowed subscribers of participating pay-TV providers to watch live streams of programming from ESPN and its sister networks (except for ESPN Classic), including most sporting events, on computers, mobile devices, Apple TV , Roku and Xbox Live via their TV Everywhere login provided by their cable provider. The service originally launched on October 25, 2010, as ESPN Networks,
174-553: A 24-hour sports channel in January 2004. ESPNU is a subscription television network that launched on March 4, 2005, that focuses on college athletics including basketball, football, baseball , college swimming, and ice hockey . SEC Network is a subscription television network that launched on August 14, 2014, focusing on the coverage of sporting events sanctioned by the Southeastern Conference . Created as
232-601: A cocaine extortion attempt led to his ESPN departure. His predecessor George Bodenheimer served as acting chairman of the company during the transition to new leadership. In the wake of Skipper's announcement, the New York Times reported that he "didn't have a reputation for partying or erratic behavior" among coworkers at ESPN or confidants in his personal life. After his resignation, many current and former ESPN staffers, including Jemele Hill , Michele Steele , and Keith Olbermann , applauded Skipper's past work and
290-923: A joint venture of network operator ESPN Inc. and the ACC. 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. ESPN launched its high definition simulcast feed, originally branded as ESPNHD , on March 30, 2003, with an Opening Day broadcast of the Texas Rangers and Anaheim Angels . All studio shows based in Bristol and at L. A. Live, along with most live event telecasts on ESPN, are broadcast in high definition. ESPN
348-408: A joint venture with Fox Sports and TNT Sports to offer Venu Sports , including the three organizations' main linear sports channels and associated media rights, beginning in fall 2024. Additionally, the company plans to launch a "flagship" standalone streaming offering, including the ESPN and ESPN2 linear channels, in late summer or fall 2025. Alongside its live sports broadcasts, ESPN also airs
406-542: A language that editorial people could understand." He was credited for taking chances on ambitious projects like Grantland , FiveThirtyEight , The Undefeated , and 30 for 30 . Sports Illustrated wrote that Skipper made ESPN "gobs of cash ... but he also made the network smarter and sharper." Skipper "championed soccer and the NBA, realizing that ESPN, armed with its many affiliates and platforms, could get more out of broadcast rights than any of its competitors could." He
464-602: A large number of NCAA football games, creating an opportunity for fans to be able to view multiple games each weekend (instead of just one), the same deal that the NCAA had previously negotiated with TBS. ESPN's breakthrough moment occurred in 1987 when it secured a contract with the NFL to broadcast eight games during that year's regular season – all of which aired on Sunday nights, marking the first broadcasts of Sunday NFL primetime games. ESPN's Sunday Night Football games would become
522-550: A lead-in to the primetime game and adding the MLB Network -produced Intentional Talk to ESPN2 's daily lineup. On April 12, 2018, ESPN began a supplemental over-the-top streaming service known as ESPN+ . After having last carried national-televised NHL games in 2004, ESPN and ABC agreed in March 2021 on a seven-year contract to televise games, with some airing on ESPN+ and Hulu . The contract also awarded four of
580-473: A level of acceptance and enthusiasm going forward." In January 2021, Skipper joined former ESPN personality Dan Le Batard to launch Meadowlark Media, a content company focused on sports. He will remain at his position at DAZN. The company most recently signed a deal with Apple TV+ . Skipper's time as President of ESPN received both praise and criticism. He was admired for his strong support of journalism. The Ringer wrote that "he knew quality" and "spoke
638-478: A limited array of events not broadcast on ESPN (most notably, the NBA Finals ). ESPN2 was launched on October 1, 1993. It carried a broad mix of event coverage from conventional sports—including auto racing , college basketball and NHL hockey—to extreme sports —such as BMX , skateboarding and motocross . The " ESPN BottomLine ", a ticker displaying sports news and scores during all programming that
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#1732780667650696-506: A national sports talk radio network providing analysis and commentary programs (including shows such as Mike and Mike in the Morning and The Herd ) as well as audio play-by-play of sporting events (including some simulcast with the ESPN television channel). On October 10, 1993, ESPN2 – a secondary channel that originally was programmed with a separate lineup of niche sports popular with males 18–49 years old (with snowboarding and
754-705: A national radio show called Beadle & Shelburne which she co-hosts with ESPN SportsNation host Michelle Beadle . In 2016 she was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame . Ramona's mother Jeanette Shelburne was a professional screenwriter notably for animated children's television shows, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America. Shelburne has been married to her former Los Angeles Daily News co-worker Nevin Barich since 2009. On October 2, 2018,
812-493: A new betting-themed daily program, Daily Wager , hosted by the network's gambling analyst Doug Kezirian. The program was ESPN's first regularly scheduled program solely dedicated to gaming-related content. On May 14, 2019, ESPN announced a deal with casino operator Caesars Entertainment to establish an ESPN-branded studio at The LINQ Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to produce betting-themed content. In order to help offset
870-548: A period during the 1980s, the network had boxing tournaments, crowning champions in different boxing weight divisions as "ESPN champions". The next major stepping stone for ESPN came throughout a couple of months in 1984. During this period, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) purchased 100% of ESPN from the Rasmussens and Getty Oil. Under Getty ownership, the channel was unable to compete for
928-442: A phone feature, then after its termination into a Verizon Wireless paid service. Technologies developed for it have since been transferred to the network's successful mobile strategy in the smartphone era. ESPN Classic was a subscription television network that launched in 1995 as Classic Sports Network, founded by Brian Bedol and Steve Greenberg. ESPN Inc. purchased Classic Sports Network in 1997 for $ 175 million, rebranding
986-538: A result of a 20-year broadcast partnership between the two entities, the network is a joint venture between the conference and ESPN Inc., which operates the network. Launching on August 22, 2019, the ACC Network is a subscription television network that focuses on the sporting events of the Atlantic Coast Conference as part of a current agreement extending to the 2036–37 academic term as
1044-539: A streaming service that provided a live stream of ESPN exclusive to Time Warner Cable subscribers. ESPN3 , an online streaming service providing live streams and replays of global sports events that launched in 2005 as a separate website, was incorporated into the WatchESPN platform on August 31, 2011. Likewise, ESPN+ was launched in April 2018 as an add-on subscription for $ 4.99 per month. On June 1, 2019, WatchESPN
1102-421: A variety of sports highlight, talk, and documentary-styled shows. These include: Many of ESPN's documentary programs (such as 30 for 30 and Nine for IX ) are produced by ESPN Films , a film division created in March 2008 as a restructuring of ESPN Original Entertainment, a programming division that was originally formed in 2001. 30 for 30 started airing in 2009 and continues airing to this day. Each episode
1160-728: Is a minority owner of The Sports Network (TSN) and the French-language Réseau des sports (RDS). ESPN also has a minority stake in J Sports in Japan. ESPN moved into the sports betting scene in November 2023 with plans to launch their sportsbook app "ESPN Bet" on November 14. In a partnership with Penn Entertainment, ESPN Bet began in 17 states. Once live, ESPN featured betting odds from their own sportsbook on their content. ESPN has been criticized for focusing too much on men's college and professional sports (particularly
1218-575: Is now used by all of ESPN's networks, originated on ESPN2 in 1995. In the late 1990s, ESPN2 was gradually reformatted to serve as a secondary outlet for ESPN's mainstream sports programming. ESPNews is a subscription television network that was launched on November 1, 1996, originally focusing solely on sports news, highlights, and press conferences . Since August 2010, the network has gradually incorporated encores of ESPN's various sports debate and entertainment shows and video simulcasts of ESPN Radio shows, in addition to sports news programming. Since
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#17327806676501276-645: Is one of the few television networks with an all-digital infrastructure. Archived non-HD programming is presented in 4:3 standard definition with stylized pillarboxing . Pardon the Interruption and Around the Horn began airing in HD on September 27, 2010, with the relocation of the production of both shows into the facility housing the Washington, D.C. , bureau for ABC News . ESPN broadcasts HD programming in
1334-657: Is through the eyes of a well known filmmaker and has featured some of the biggest directors in Hollywood. The 30 for 30 film O.J.: Made in America won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2017 , the first such Oscar for ESPN. Ultimate Fighting Championship signed a five-year contract with ESPN starting 2019 on ESPN and ESPN+ which estimate every quarter 2 event on UFC on ESPN and 6 events on UFC Fight Night on ESPN+. In March 2019, ESPN announced
1392-422: The 720p resolution format, because ABC executives proposed a progressive scan signal that resolves fluid and high-speed motion in sports better, particularly during slow-motion replays. The network's Digital Center itself natively holds 2160p UHD/4K operations and equipment. In 2011, ESPNHD began to downplay its distinct promotional logo in preparation for the conversion of its standard definition feed from
1450-613: The American Athletic Conference , Big 12 Conference , Mid-American Conference , Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference , Sun Belt Conference and the Western Athletic Conference . ESPN distributes various content on Snapchat Discover, including a Snapchat-only version of SportsCenter . ESPN MVP (initially known as Mobile ESPN) was a 2005 attempt at operating a mobile virtual network operator with exclusive mobile content, first as
1508-455: The NFL Draft , bringing it also to a mass audience and over time creating a television "event". That same month the network began broadcasting Top Rank Boxing on ESPN , marking the beginning of its involvement with televised professional boxing . The show lasted 16 years, and ESPN has since shown boxing live intermittently with other shows including ESPN Friday Night Fights and others. For
1566-629: The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences . John Skipper John Skipper is an American television executive, former executive chairman of DAZN Group, former president of ESPN , and co-founder of Meadowlark Media . Skipper attended Lexington Senior High School in Lexington, North Carolina . He then attended UNC-Chapel Hill and earned a bachelor's degree in English literature. After receiving his master's degree in
1624-791: The Texas Longhorns varsity sports teams of the University of Texas at Austin . It features events from the 20 sports sanctioned by the Texas athletic department, along with original programming (including historical, academic and cultural content). It was discontinued on June 30, 2024, a day before the Longhorns' move to the Southeastern Conference . ESPN owns and operates regional channels in Brazil, Caribbean , Latin America , Netherlands, Oceania and Sub-Saharan Africa . In Canada, ESPN
1682-560: The World Series of Poker as its headliners) as well as serving as an overflow channel for ESPN – launched on cable systems reaching to 10 million subscribers. It became the fastest-growing cable channel in the U.S. during the 1990s, eventually expanding its national reach to 75 million subscribers. Ownership of ABC, and thus control of ESPN, was acquired by Capital Cities Communications in 1985. ESPN's parent company renamed themselves as Capital Cities/ABC Inc. Capital Cities/ABC Inc.
1740-403: The "exclusive beer advertised on the network". ESPN launched on September 7, 1979, beginning with the first telecast of what would become the channel's flagship program, SportsCenter . Taped in front of a small live audience inside the Bristol studios, it was broadcast to 1.4 million cable subscribers throughout the United States. ESPN's next big step forward came when the channel acquired
1798-625: The 2013 cancellation of Highlight Express , programming consists mainly of rebroadcasts of SportsCenter . ESPNews also serves as an overflow feed due to programming conflicts caused by sporting events on the other ESPN networks. ESPN Deportes ( Spanish pronunciation: [i.es.piˈen deˈpoɾtes] , "ESPN Sports") is a subscription television network that was originally launched in July 2001 to provide Spanish simulcasts of certain Major League Baseball telecasts from ESPN. It became
Ramona Shelburne - Misplaced Pages Continue
1856-805: The NBA and NFL), and very little on women's sports or extreme sports. Baseball , ice hockey , and soccer fans have also criticized ESPN for not giving their respective sports more coverage. Other criticism has focused on ethnicity in ESPN's varying mediated forms, as well as carriage fees and issues regarding the exportation of ESPN content. Some critics argue that ESPN's success is their ability to provide other enterprise and investigative sports news while competing with other hard sports-news-producing outlets such as Yahoo! Sports and Fox Sports . Some scholars have challenged ESPN's journalistic integrity, calling for an expanded standard of professionalism to prevent biased coverage and conflicts of interest. On October 8, 2019, Deadspin reported that an internal memo
1914-441: The U.S. to carry on DAZN. Skipper explained that he wanted the service to eventually be a larger competitor to entities such as ESPN and compete for more significant sports rights, but that they wanted to "build our brand in this country, expose the quality of our technology and start to meet people." Of his personal condition, Skipper added that "I'm in a great place. I am excellent, quite healthy. I think you can tell that. I have
1972-607: The Whalers), first rented office space in Plainville, Connecticut . However, the plan to base ESPN there was put on hold because of a local ordinance prohibiting buildings from bearing rooftop satellite dishes . Available land to build their own facility on was quickly found in Bristol, Connecticut (where the channel remains headquartered to this day), with funding to buy the property provided by Getty Oil , which purchased 85% of
2030-654: The backing of ABC, ESPN's ability to compete for major sports contracts greatly increased, and gave it credibility within the sports broadcasting industry. Later that year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma (1984) that the NCAA could no longer monopolize the rights to negotiate the contracts for college football games, allowing each school to negotiate broadcast deals on their own. ESPN took full advantage and began to broadcast
2088-428: The channel as "ESPN Classic" in 1998. The channel broadcast notable archived sporting events (originally including events from earlier decades, but later focusing mainly on events from the 1990s and later), as well as sports documentaries and sports-themed movies. It was discontinued on December 31, 2021. The Longhorn Network was a subscription television network that launched on August 26, 2011, focusing on events from
2146-423: The company from Bill Rasmussen on February 22, 1979, in an attempt to diversify the company's holdings. This helped the credibility of the fledgling company; however, there were still many doubters about the viability of their sports channel concept. Another event that helped build ESPN's credibility was securing an advertising agreement with Anheuser-Busch in the spring of 1979; the company invested $ 1 million to be
2204-516: The couple announced the birth of their first child, son Daniel Charlie Barich. On June 8, 2022, Shelburne gave birth to the couple's second child, son Jacob Bryan Barich. ESPN ESPN (an abbreviation of its original name, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network ) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by The Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Communications (20%) through
2262-465: The decision to focus on his personal life. On May 8, 2018, it was announced that Skipper had been hired as executive chairman of DAZN Group, a British international sports media company. Skipper will operate out of New York City. The company subsequently announced plans to launch its international sports streaming service DAZN in the United States later in the year, anchored by a deal with British promoter Eddie Hearn to hold major boxing events in
2320-437: The highest-rated NFL telecasts for the next 17 years (before losing the rights to NBC in 2006). The channel's decision to broadcast NFL games on Sunday evenings resulted in a decline in viewership for the daytime games shown on the major broadcast networks, marking the first time that ESPN had been a legitimate competitor to NBC and CBS, which had long dominated the sports television market. In 1992, ESPN launched ESPN Radio ,
2378-553: The impact of COVID-19 on its business, Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek indicated during a 4th quarter fiscal year 2021 earnings conference that the company would increase its presence in online sports betting, including in partnership with third parties. In 2023, The Pat McAfee Show moved to ESPN as part of a five-year $ 85 million deal. The show replaced the Noon ET airing of SportsCenter and This Just In with Max Kellerman . Since September 2006, ESPN has been integrated with
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2436-488: The joint venture ESPN Inc. The company was founded in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen , Scott Rasmussen and Ed Eagan. ESPN broadcasts primarily from studio facilities located in Bristol, Connecticut . The network also operates offices and auxiliary studios in Miami , Orlando , New York City , Las Vegas , Seattle , Charlotte , Washington, D.C. , and Los Angeles . James Pitaro has been chairman since March 5, 2018, following
2494-509: The men's golf tournament to The Stanford Daily in her freshman year at Stanford University. Prior to joining ESPN, Shelburne spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News as a reporter and columnist from 2002-2009. At ESPN, Ramona gained a national following writing about Frank and Jaime McCourt 's divorce and the 2010-2011 Los Angeles Dodgers ownership dispute . On February 14, 2016, Shelburne made her radio debut in
2552-560: The network's success, criticism of ESPN includes accusations of biased coverage, conflict of interest , and controversies with individual broadcasters and analysts. Bill Rasmussen came up with the concept of ESPN in May 1978, after he was fired from his job with the World Hockey Association 's New England Whalers . Rasmussen and his ESPN co-founder Ed Eagan, joined by Rasmussen's son Scott (who had also been let go by
2610-672: The resignation of John Skipper on December 18, 2017. As of December 2023 , ESPN is available to approximately 70 million pay television households in the United States—down from its 2011 peak of 100 million households. It operates regional channels in Africa, Australia, Latin America, and the Netherlands. In Canada, it owns a 20% interest in The Sports Network (TSN) and its five sister networks. Despite
2668-568: The rights to broadcast coverage of the early rounds of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament . It first aired its games in March 1980, helping bring attention to what is today known as " March Madness ". The channel's tournament coverage also launched the broadcasting career of Dick Vitale , who at the time he joined ESPN had just been fired as head coach of the Detroit Pistons . In April of that year ESPN began televising
2726-639: The same field from Columbia University , he went to work for Rolling Stone , beginning as an executive assistant before being promoted. He also worked for Us and Spin before becoming senior vice president of Disney Publishing Group . In June 1997, Skipper became senior vice president and general manager of ESPN the Magazine . In October 2005, he was named as executive vice president of content. On January 1, 2012, he became president of ESPN Inc. and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks . In 2017, Skipper's contract with ESPN's parent company, Disney,
2784-438: The seven Stanley Cup Finals to both ESPN and ABC. All other nationally televised games would air on TBS and TNT under a separate deal the league struck with Turner Sports the following month. On August 8, 2023, ESPN and Penn Entertainment announced a deal to brand Penn's sportsbooks with ESPN branding. Penn's existing Barstool Sportsbook would be rebranded as ESPN Bet in fall 2023. On February 6, 2024, ESPN announced
2842-402: The sports division of sister broadcast network ABC , with sports events televised on that network airing under the banner ESPN on ABC ; much of ABC's sports coverage since the rebranding has become increasingly limited to secondary coverage of sporting events whose broadcast rights are held by ESPN (such as NBA games, NHL games, and the X Games and its related qualifying events) as well as
2900-427: The sports network had been terminated, among them athletes-turned-analysts Trent Dilfer and Danny Kanell , and noted journalists like NFL beat reporter Ed Werder and Major League Baseball expert Jayson Stark . Further cost-cutting measures taken included moving the studio operations of ESPNU to Bristol from Charlotte, North Carolina , reducing its longtime MLB studio show Baseball Tonight to Sundays as
2958-535: The television rights to major sports events contracts as its majority corporate parent would not provide the funding, leading ESPN to lose out for broadcast deals with the National Hockey League (to USA Network ) and NCAA Division I college football (to TBS ). For years, the NFL , NBA , and Major League Baseball refused to consider cable as a means of broadcasting some of their games. However, with
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#17327806676503016-619: Was a four-time All-City Selection in softball , four-time member of Los Angeles Times All-Area team, and the 1997 L.A. City Softball Co-Player of the Year. Academically, she was a National Merit Finalist, valedictorian , student body President, and graduated with a 4.21 GPA . Shelburne received a softball scholarship and earned her bachelor's degree in American Studies and master's degree in Communication from Stanford University . At Stanford from 1998 to 2001, Shelburne
3074-530: Was a three-time Academic All-American athlete in softball, and made appearances in both the NCAA tournament in the 1998 season and the Women's College World Series in the 2001 season. She played outfield for Stanford Cardinal for four years, and as a sophomore in 1999 she was selected to the academic All- Pac-10 second team. Shelburne was softball teammates with ESPN baseball analyst Jessica Mendoza at Stanford. In 1997, Shelburne submitted her first article on
3132-414: Was also praised for pushing ESPN to become "more diverse on air and online when it came to both gender and race." During Skipper's tenure, ESPN lost nearly 15% of its subscribers as consumers moved to streaming and over-the-top (OTT) options and laid off more than 500 employees as all traditional media companies were impacted by cable's decline. Additionally, ESPN's TV ratings declined significantly across
3190-438: Was discontinued with the service's full merger into the ESPN app. ESPN Regional Television (formerly branded as ESPN Plus) is the network's syndication arm, which produces collegiate sporting events for free-to-air television stations throughout the United States (primarily those affiliated with networks such as The CW and MyNetworkTV or independent stations ). ESPN Plus syndicates college football and basketball games from
3248-763: Was extended through 2021. In his time as President, Skipper was noted for negotiating large television rights contracts for sporting events, including a nine-year, $ 12 billion deal with the National Basketball Association and a $ 7.3 billion deal for the College Football Playoff , as well as all four tennis Grand Slams and golf's Masters Tournament . On December 18, 2017, Skipper revealed that he had been struggling with substance addiction , and announced that he would be resigning as president of ESPN in order to focus on treatment. John Skipper told The Hollywood Reporter that
3306-515: Was sent to ESPN employees instructing them to avoid any political discussions regarding the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong in the aftermath of a tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey . ESPN has won 232 Sports Emmy Awards in 35 years of eligibility. In 2024, ESPN apologized for submitting fake names for Sports Emmy award consideration over many years, and returned 37 trophies that had been awarded to ineligible recipients to
3364-463: Was then acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 1996 and was re-branded as Walt Disney Television . Challenges began to appear in the 2000s. ESPN began to shed viewers, more than 10 million over a period of several years in the 2010s even while paying large sums of money for the broadcast rights to properties like the NFL, NBA and College Football Playoff . On April 26, 2017, approximately 100 ESPN employees were notified that their positions with
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