ABC Tribute Photo Montage

Like its longtime competitors CBS Sports and NBC Sports, ABC Sports was originally just the sports division of a major American network, ABC. The seeds of its eventual integration with ESPN occurred when the cable network’s majority owner Capital Cities Communications bought ABC in 1985. Although some ESPN sportscasters such as John Saunders and Dick Vitale began to also appear on ABC Sports telecasts, ESPN and ABC Sports continued to operate seperately. After the The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC in 1996, Disney started to slowly integrate ESPN and ABC Sports. ESPN personalities like Chris Berman, Mike Tirico, and Brad Nessler worked on ABC Sports programs. In 1998, ESPN adopted ABC Sports’ Monday Night Football graphics and music for its Sunday Night Football broadcasts. During that same year, ESPN signed a five year deal to televise National Hockey League games, also letting the cable network to essentially buy time on ABC to air selected NHL games. This was noted in copyright beds at the conclusion of the telecasts, ie “The Preceding Program has been paid for by ESPN, Inc.” ESPN then signed a similar television rights contract in 2002 so it could produce and broadcast National Basketball Association games on ABC. Meanwhile, Disney continued to consolidate the corporate structure of ESPN and ABC Sports. Steve Bornstein was given the title as president of both ESPN and ABC Sports in 1996. The sales, marketing, and production departments of both divisions …