ESPNews

ESPNews (word origin: grammatical blend of ESPN and news, spoken as "ESPN news" and trademarked as "ESPNEWS"), launched on November 1, 1996, is a 24-hour-a-day sports news television channel produced by the sports network ESPN. It airs news, highlights, press conferences, and commentary by analysts all in relation to sports.

Description and history

ESPNEWS is typically offered on the digital tier on United States cable systems, and in some areas it is considered a premium channel. Satellite carriers offer it on their standard package Some regional sports networks not connected to Fox Sports Net also air ESPNews overnights or in the mornings to provide a pseudo-national sports report to their viewers, and fill time that would otherwise be taken up by paid programming or other low-rated shows. If a national ESPN broadcast is blacked-out in a particular market, the ESPN broadcast will usually be replaced by ESPNews.

The network is also simulcast on ESPN during coverage of major breaking sports news during the daytime hours that are not covered by SportsCenter, and a highlights rundown with the network's overnight anchor is one of the segments on ABC's early morning newscast, America This Morning.

It is somewhat known as the "minor leagues" of ESPN, as many current SportsCenter anchors started on the lower-level ESPNews.

ESPNews's "bottom line"—a small rectangular area at the bottom 1/5^th of the screen flashing scores—is more in-depth on the one airing on ESPN's other networks. It contains not only scores but also statistics and brief news alerts about the day's happenings in sports. It also remains on screen during commercial breaks. This particular BottomLine was re-designed as the network was re-launched on 2008-03-30.

On 2006-11-01, ESPNews' 10-year anniversary included a montage of highlights covered the past 10 years in sports and aired SportsCenter at 11pm-midnight ET the same day. The network airs SportsCenter on nights ESPN and ESPN2 are scheduled to overrun their respective programming, mainly past the 11pm-midnight ET timeslot, or during college football season where all three-four ESPN networks (including ESPN Classic and ESPNU) are airing games.

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio both have a channel which simulcasts the audio of ESPNews, with the network's television advertisements replaced with radio ads from each service. On 2008-02-04, XM re-branded it's channel to "ESPN Xtra and added radio programs from local ESPN Radio affiliates as well as the audio simulcast of ESPNews.

ESPNews simulcast ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning from 2004-05; the show moved to ESPN2 in 2006, but it still airs on ESPNEWS occasionally when live sports events (such as tennis' French Open or Wimbledon) air on ESPN2.

Shows

Current

Original

College Football Overdrive (2006-present)
ESPN Radio Primetime (2007-present)
ESPNEWS Pregame (2006-present)
ESPNEWS Gametime (2006-present)
ESPNEWS Postgame (2006-present)
Football Friday (2004-present)
The Blitz (2005-present)
The Highlight Zone (2008-present)
The Hot List (2003-present)
The Pulse (2004-present)

Re-broadcast

Outside the Lines Sunday (tape-delayed 2½ hours from ESPN's 9:30am ET airing)
SportsCenter (seen on nights when ESPN and ESPN2 have overrun programming)
The Sports Reporters (tape-delayed 2½ hours from ESPN's 10am ET airing)

Former

4 Qtrs (2003-2006; replaced by ESPNews Pregame)
Around the Horn (replaced by the first hour of the expanded ESPNEWS Pregame on 2008-07-21)
Coaches' Corner (aired on Tuesday from 2001-2005)
ESPNEWS Night Cap (2005-2006; used for latenight airings when sponsored by a major brewery; replaced by ESPNews Postgame)
Mike and Mike in the Morning (2004-2006 - simulcast of ESPN Radio show; moved to ESPN2 in 2006)
NFL Monday Quarterback (aired on Mondays from 2001-2005)
Pardon the Interruption (replaced by the first hour of the expanded ESPNews Pregame on 2008-07-21)

ESPN Radio Segment

Starting in 2007, ESPNEWS started to broadcast a half-hour segment of ESPN Radio every Sunday morning. The broadcast includes three commentators (a retired coach, a retired player, and an analyst) to break down the events of the featured sport, while the TV screen shows a list on the upper-left (the list is standings, statistical leaders, etc. of the featured sport), the upper-right of the screen shows highlights of the featured sport (usually of the player or team of discussion), and the bottom of the screen, above the ESPNews BottomLine, is a fan board.

ESPNews HD

On March 30 2008, at 8:00 a.m. EDT, ESPNews began broadcasting in high-definition from a new state-of-the-art studio inside ESPN's Building 4 Newsroom. A new control room built in ESPN's Digital Center functions as the nerve center for the new network. ESPNEWS HD is unique amoung HD channels as it is not simply a simulcast of the standard definition channel made available in wide screen. The layout and graphics are reworked spesifically for viewing on a HDTV, offering additional content not available on the standard definition ESPNEWS feed.. There are reworked HD sideline graphics, a descendant of the "Rundown" used in overnight versions of SportsCenter on ESPN, which wraps around the top left and bottom of the HD screen. The HD Sideline offers the display of textual information, headshots, news, and scores, while still delivering video highlights in the HD format. ESPNews is broadcast with a new set. The ESPNews theme song was remixed.

A new show called The Highlight Zone also debuted that night. The program is similar in format and pace to FSN's Final Score.