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Throughoutits history,ESPN and its sister networks have been the targets of criticism[1][2] for programming choices,biased coverage,[3]conflict of interest, and controversies with individual broadcasters and analysts.[4][5][6] Additionally, ESPN has been criticized for focusing too much on theDallas Cowboys[7],LeBron James,[8][9][10][11][12]Los Angeles andNew York teams in general (particularly theLos Angeles Lakers,Los Angeles Dodgers, andNew York Yankees),Shohei Ohtani,Aaron Judge,Lionel Messi, theSoutheastern Conference[13] (SEC),basketball andAmerican football and very little on other sports such asMajor League Baseball[14][15][16][17][18] (MLB), theNational Hockey League[19][20] (NHL), andWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Other criticism has focused on issues of race and ethnicity in ESPN's varying mediated forms, as well as carriage fees and issues regarding the exportation of ESPN content.[21]
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 asYahoo! Sports andFox Sports. Some scholars have challenged ESPN's journalistic integrity calling for an expanded standard of professionalism to prevent biased coverage and conflicts of interest.[22]Mike Freeman's 2001 bookESPN: The Uncensored History,[23] which alleged sexual harassment, drug use and gambling, was the first critical study of ESPN. And then in 2011, a detailed oral history[24] about ESPN byJames Andrew Miller andTom Shales calledThose Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN[25][26][27][28] was released.
ESPN has also been accused of overpaying for sports broadcasting rights, and thatWall Street analysts have raised concerns that this could be a major drain on Disney as a whole, since the amount of money that can be recuperated fromretransmission consent fees and advertising is limited; Disney still profits from the ESPN division but as of 2015 was cutting the network's higher-priced content to ensure long-term profitability.[29] In October 2015, ESPN laid off about 300 employees, citing the rights costs combined with the increasing trend ofcord-cutting.[30]
ESPN currently charges the highestretransmission consent fee of any major cable television network in the United States. In 2011, the main channel alone carried a monthly rate of $4.69 per subscriber (nearly five times the price of the next-costliest channel,TNT), with ESPN's other English language channels costing an additional $1.13 per subscriber; these prices rise on a nearly constant basis. By 2017, ESPN's fees had risen to over $7 for the main channel and roughly $3 for its sister outlets.[31] As of 2024, the rate was $9.42 per subscriber, which was steady compared to the previous year and had risen more slowly than TNT andregional sports networks.[32] Part of the cause of this high fee is the amount of money that ESPN pays for sports rights, particularly the NFL. In August 2011, ESPN agreed to pay the NFL $1.9 billion annually for the rights to carryMonday Night Football through 2021; this despite the fact that the broadcast networks pay approximately half that price for their packages, which include lucrative and highly watched contests such as theSuper Bowl, conference championships andThanksgiving games while ESPN's package does not (ESPN's package does include theNFL draft). Cable and satellite television providers condemned ESPN's most recent contract extension with the NFL and have contemplated moving the network to a higher programming tier to mitigate cost increases.[33]
In 2012, ESPN reportedly paid about $7.3 billion over 12 years for the broadcasting rights to all sevenbowl games of theCollege Football Playoff, an average of about $608 million per year. That includes $215 million per year which they previously agreed to air the Rose, Sugar and Orange bowls,[34] plus $470–475 million annually for the rest of the package.[35] Also in 2012, ESPN andMajor League Baseball agreed to an eight-year extension, increasing ESPN's average yearly payment from about $360 million to approximately $700 million.[36] In October 2014, ESPN signed a nine-year extension with theNBA, worth three times as much as the previous deal.[37]
These deals were made when new sports channels likeNBCSN andFox Sports 1 emerged, and so analysts believe that ESPN deliberately drove the prices up as a defensive measure to block these competitors from acquiring live rights.[38]Wall Street analysts have also raised concerns that the amount ESPN is paying for all of these rights could be a major drain onThe Walt Disney Company as a whole, since the amount of money that can be recuperated from retransmission consent fees and advertising is limited; Disney still profits from the ESPN division but as of 2015 was cutting ESPN's higher-priced content to ensure long-term profitability.[39] In October 2015, ESPN laid off about 300 employees, citing the rights costs combined with the increasing trend ofcord-cutting.[40] Another 100 employees, mostly in news gathering and including large numbers of public faces of the network, were laid off in April 2017.[31]
John Skipper's time as President of ESPN was tumultuous. During Skipper's tenure (from January 2012 to December 2017) ESPN lost nearly 15% of its subscribers and laid off more than 500 employees. Additionally, ESPN's television ratings declined significantly across the board and ESPN endured criticism from some quarters over the declining quality of its programming.[41][42][43][44][45]
ESPN has been accused of having abias[46] towards certain sports teams[47] and a "love affair" with superstar players and big market franchises, particularly teams and superstars that play in Los Angeles and New York City. ESPN'sombudsman,Le Anne Schreiber, responded to these criticisms by saying that the industry is ratings-driven.[48]SinceMLB Network launched on January 1, 2009,Baseball Tonight has been the target of criticism because of its perceived bias in favor of certain teams such as theBoston Red Sox,New York Mets, and theNew York Yankees, both based within driving distance of ESPN's studios inBristol, Connecticut. One opinion was expressed by former major-leaguerHeath Bell:
I truly believe ESPN only cares about promoting the Red Sox and Yankees and Mets – nobody else. That's why I like the MLB Network, because they promote everybody. I'm really turned off by ESPN andBaseball Tonight. WhenJake Peavy threw 8⅓innings on Saturday, they showed one pitch in the third inning and that was it. It's all about the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets.[49]
Additionally, the network's daytime debate shows (especiallyFirst Take andGet Up) have been criticized for focusing too much on the NBA and NFL, choosing narratives and drama over actual sports analysis. Athletes over the years have called out ESPN (and to a lesser extent its rivals likeFox Sports) for putting too much pressure on them and setting up a negative image on them, to which it’s analysts have declined to accept accountability. By far, the league with the most negative impact with ESPN has to be the NBA. Many viewers and players have accused the network for causing the fanbase to become more toxic than ever, from discriminating players that haven’t won a championship, to bias for big market teams like theLos Angeles Lakers,New York Knicks andBoston Celtics.[citation needed]
ESPN's NFL coverage has been criticized for having too many topics regarding theDallas Cowboys, particularly in seasons where the team struggles to win and fails to make the playoffs. The Cowboys’ ownerJerry Jones has been the target of ESPN’s criticisms, to the annoyance of viewers who complain about the network milking their topics regarding the Cowboys. In the early 2010s, the network’s flagship programFirst Take has been criticized for what is perceived by many as its excessive coverage of the career ofTim Tebow. During his tenure with theNew York Jets, in which he did not start in a game, and threw just eight passes the entire season, Tebow was nonetheless often a leading topic on the show.[50]
On August 4, 2009,Dish Network sued ESPN for $1 million in a federalbreach of contract lawsuit, alleging that the network violated the "Most Favored Nations" clause by not extending the same carriage terms that it provided to Comcast and DirecTV forESPNU andESPN Classic.[51] On August 5, ESPN announced it would fight the lawsuit and stated in apress release that "we have repeatedly advised Dish that we are in full compliance with our agreement and have offered them a distribution opportunity with respect to ESPNU and ESPN Classic consistent with the rest of the industry. We will not renegotiate settled contracts and will vigorously defend this legal action, the apparent sole purpose of which is to get a better deal."[52]
Dish Network moved ESPNU from its "America's Top 250" package to its "America's Top 120" package on September 30, 2009. However, the provider claimed that the change had nothing to do with the lawsuit.[53] On June 22, 2010, ESPN majority ownerThe Walt Disney Company pulled thehigh definition feeds ofESPNews,Disney Channel,Disney XD andABC Family from Dish Network's lineup, although the standard definition feeds of all four channels remained on the provider.[54] In March 2014, Disney signed a comprehensive carriage deal with Dish Network for its networks (along with several new networks, such asDisney Junior,Longhorn Network, andSEC Network), including high definition feeds andTV Everywhere access for the networks and ABC owned-and-operated stations, and the ability to distribute their networks on a plannedover-the-topinternet television service. As a condition of the new deal, Dish Network agreed to disable the ability to use the automatic commercial skipping function on itsHopper DVR on ABC programming within 72 hours of its original airing.[55][56] In December 2014, Dish Network reached a similar new carriage deal withCBS, restricting the use of AutoHop on CBS programming for seven days after its original airing.[57]
Disney's channels went dark again on Dish and Sling TV on September 30, 2022. The blackout ended almost 48 hours later.[58]
In April 2015, ESPN Inc. sued Verizon for offering ESPN and ESPN2 as part of an optional sports theme package under its new "Custom TV" offering for itsFiOS service, breaching a requirement for the two networks to be carried as part of the basic service.[59]
On December 17, 2021,YouTube TV stopped carrying all Disney-owned channels including ESPN due to a contract expiration. The channels were restored on the service the next day, after the companies reached a new agreement.[60]
Another contract expiration dispute occurred on YouTubeTV beginning October 30, 2025. The Disney owned channels including ESPN were restored on November 15.[61]
ESPN and sister Disney networks went dark onCharter Spectrum on September 1, 2023, interrupting coverage of the college football season opener and theUS Open.[62] Charter claims it intends to offer cheaper, non-sports packages to customers, as a way to fightcordcutting and to prepare for ESPN's potential launch of a full-service over-the-top subscription.[63] On September 11, 2023, all Disney networks returned to the lineup.
On September 1, 2024,The Walt Disney Company pulled its networks fromDirecTV after the two sidesfailed to reach a distribution deal. The removal, which includedABC Owned Television Stations andESPN, came hours before aUSC-LSU college football game on ABC (KABC-TV in USC's home market ofLos Angeles was among the stations taken off the satellite provider), and also affected ESPN's coverage of theUS Open tennis tournament. On September 7, two days before ESPN'sMonday Night Football was set to premiere forthe season, DirecTV filed a complaint with theFCC, claiming Disney had violated the commission's good-faith mandates by predicating any licensing agreement on DirecTV’s waiving any legal claims on Disney’s “anti-competitive actions,” including its ongoing packaging and minimum penetration demands.[64][65][66] On September 14, 2024, all Disney networks returned to the lineup, but by the time the networks returned, the US Open was already over.
In August 2006, ESPN announced that ABC Sports[67] would be fully integrated into ESPN,[68] using the channel's graphics and music for its sports presentations, in addition to handling production responsibilities for the ABC sports telecasts. The last live sporting event televised under the ABC Sports banner was the U.S. Championship Game of theLittle League World Series on August 26, 2006 (ABC was slated to carry the Little League World Series Championship Game on August 27, but the game was postponed to August 28 due to rain, and subsequently aired onESPN2). The changeover took effect the following weekend to coincide with the start of thecollege football season, withNBA,IndyCar Series andNASCAR coverage eventually following suit.
Despite the rebranding,George Bodenheimer's[69] official title remained "President, ESPN Inc. and ABC Sports" until his retirement at the end of 2011, upon which the "ABC Sports" portion of the title was retired.[70] In addition, ABC itself maintains the copyright over many of the ESPN-branded broadcasts, if they are not contractually assigned to the applicable league or organizer. ABC-affiliated stations owned byHearst Television (such asWTAE-TV inPittsburgh;WCVB-TV inBoston;WMUR-TV inManchester, New Hampshire;WISN-TV inMilwaukee andKMBC-TV inKansas City) have theright of first refusal over the local simulcasts of ESPN-televisedMonday Night Football games involving teams within their home market, which are very rarely waived to other local stations in their market areas. Equally, other Hearst-owned stations affiliated with other networks (such as NBC affiliateWBAL-TV inBaltimore) have been able to air NFL games from ESPN for the same reason.[71]
ESPN has been criticized for decreasing the number of sports broadcasts on ABC,[72][73][74] especially during the summer months. One such example isNASCAR: from 2007 to 2009, ABC aired all of the Chase for theNASCAR Sprint Cup races, along with the penultimate race to the chase. From 2010 to 2014, ABC only broadcast three Sprint Cup races with only one Chase race (held inCharlotte,North Carolina) to the outrage of many NASCARfans and sponsors. Several other events such as theRose Bowl, theCitrus Bowl and The Open Championship, have also been moved from ABC to ESPN. This, however, is not entirely the fault of ESPN, as ABC in general has attracted a primarily female viewership in recent years,[dubious –discuss] with sports largely attracting a male-dominated audience.[75]
Under NFL broadcasting rules, game telecasts aired on cable must be simulcast on broadcast television in the local markets of the teams playing, though the game cannot be televised in the market of the home team if it does not sell out tickets 72 hours before the time of kickoff – games that are not sold out must beblacked out in the market of origin. Similar rules and rights were previously in place for ESPN-televisedMajor League Baseball playoff games.
SomeArena Football League fans complained that ESPN's 2007 and 2008 game broadcast schedule "inequitably favors teams" such as thePhiladelphia Soul,Chicago Rush andColorado Crush, teams whose ownerships respectively includeJon Bon Jovi,Mike Ditka andJohn Elway. Fourteen of the seventeen ESPN games featured at least one of the three teams playing in the broadcasts. The Soul (whose part-owner and team president is formerArena Football League on ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski) appeared in seven of the 17 regular season games aired on ESPN platforms, more than any other team in the league.[76] This criticism was also present whenNBC opted to not let certain teams appear on their schedule. In 2008, the Chicago Rush had nine regular season games on ESPN and ABC, while the 2007 Arena Bowl ChampionSan Jose SaberCats appeared in just one – a Week 1 game against the Rush; and theNew York Dragons appeared in one broadcast, a 10:30 pm game versus the Crush. Other criticism includes the scheduling of games on various days and times, as opposed to a weekly AFL gameday.
Dave O'Brien joinedMarcelo Balboa on the lead broadcast team for the2006 FIFA World Cup coverage on ESPN and ABC Sports, despite having no experience callingsoccer matches before that year. Because The Walt Disney Company, owner of bothtelevision outlets, retained control over on-air talent, the appointment of O'Brien as the main play-by-play voice was made over the objections ofSoccer United Marketing, which wantedJP Dellacamera to continue in that role. Disney stated that its broadcast strategy was intended, in voice and style, to target the vast majority of Americans who do not follow the sport regularly. However,Mispronunciation and incorrect addressing of names, misuse of soccer terminology, and lack of insight into tactics and history plagued the telecasts, resulting in heavy criticism fromEnglish-speaking soccer fans, many of whom ended up watching the games on Spanish-language channelUnivision instead.[77][78]
ESPN[79] has been accused of putting more emphasis on overall negativity and the more violent aspect of MLS games (such as two confrontations, two challenges, and a player nursing a bloody head in its first six shots) in "Greatest Highlights of the Month" segment for their intermission reports.[80]
In 2006, formerSan Francisco Giants outfielderBarry Bonds starred inBonds on Bonds, a 10-partreality series that aired on ESPN. At the time, Bonds was mired in allegations of steroid use during his Major League Baseball career. ESPN was criticized[81] for allowing Bonds such a one-sided public pulpit, as he was the most powerful name in American sports journalism. The show was seen by some as ESPN giving up any semblance of journalism in favor of becoming apublic relations front for major sports teams and players. ESPN responded to the criticism by claiming that Bonds would not have creative control and that the episodes would be fair and balanced, and only document the day-to-day activities of Bonds as they occurred, not as Bonds wanted them to occur. ESPN and producer Tollin/Robbins Productions officially pulled the plug on the reality series, citing "creative control" issues with star Barry Bonds and his representatives.[82]
On May 14, 2023, ESPN was widely criticized[83] for its decision to implement asplit screen between itscoverage of Game 6 of theStanley Cup Playoff series between theVegas Golden Knights andEdmonton Oilers and aSunday Night Baseball telecast between theSt. Louis Cardinals andBoston Red Sox, which was being played at the same time and was ultimately won by St. Louis by the score of 9-1.[84]
On October 1–2, 2024,ABC aired Games 1 and 2 of theAmerican League Wild Card Series between theDetroit Tigers andHouston Astros. The games on ABC were produced by ESPN, and during the 4th inning of Game 1 fromHouston, the graphics department displayed incorrect stats[85] during the players' at-bats. During the top of the 8th inning of Game 2, ABC's broadcast was hit with further technical issues that this time, resulted in poor and out of sync audio quality.[86]
On February 20, 2025, ESPN informed MLB that it had agreed to mutually opt out of its current contract after the conclusion of the2025 season. In a memo to teams,commissionerRob Manfred described ESPN as a "shrinking platform" and expressed disappointment towards ESPN's decreasing commitment to MLB coverage, and stated that the league had "at least two potential options" for ESPN's package that would be presented to teams within the next few weeks.[87][88]
NASCAR's coverage during its time on ESPN when races aired on ABC was affected by local pre-emptions, usually forbreaking news and weather coverage in the vast majority of cases, but also due to conflicts inlocal programming schedules; many of these examples pre-dated the current solution of most television stations, where the NASCAR race is moved to a sister station ordigital subchannel network.
The2007 Subway 500 fromMartinsville Speedway was not shown on ABCowned-and-operated stationKABC-TV inLos Angeles (owned by ESPN co-parent The Walt Disney Company) on October 21 due to coverage of a series ofwildfires that affectedSouthern California, specifically theBuckweed fire inSanta Clarita and theCanyon Fire inMalibu. The race was instead shown on its seconddigital subchannel (branded as "ABC7+"), then not available on satellite providers or on select cable providers in the area.
Several stations chose to pre-empt the pre-race showNASCAR Countdown to carry local newscasts. KABC-TV pre-empted the pre-race program before every Saturday night race, and as well as before the2007 Ford 400, which was held on a Sunday afternoon, to air an episode of the Disney Channel seriesThe Suite Life of Zack & Cody from the network'sABC Kids block to fulfillE/I programming requirements enforced by theFederal Communications Commission. ABC affiliatesWPLG inMiami, Florida, andKSAT-TV inSan Antonio, Texas, also pre-emptedNASCAR Countdown at least once during the 2007 NASCAR season.
KTKA-TV inTopeka, Kansas, located about 55 miles (89 km) fromEmporia, the hometown of NASCAR Cup driver (and 2007 Chase participant)Clint Bowyer and about 55 miles from theKansas Speedway inKansas City, broke away from ABC's coverage of the2007 Bank of America 500 early on October 13 to air its nightly 10:00 pm newscast and did not resume its broadcast of the race. KSAT also aired a brief news update, which came during ared flag, but returned in time for the checkered flag.
The 2008 Sharpie MINI 300 was not seen on several ABC stations for various reasons, ranging from weather bulletins (such as those aired onWSB-TV inAtlanta andWSOC-TV in Charlotte) to stations airing coverage of theBig 12 men's basketball tournament at the time of the race (such as withKLKN inLincoln, Nebraska; where the race moved to an ESPN2 alternate feed, which is normally used whensyndication exclusivity rules force an ESPN blackout). In addition, ABC'sNew York Cityflagship stationWABC-TV carried the race, but pre-emptedNASCAR Countdown and the rain delay to cover a construction accident at ahigh-rise building inManhattan.[89]
One pre-emption instance involved the network's primetime programming, After a red flag during lap 284, the2008 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil, viewers in theEastern andCentral Time Zones were forced to watch the finish of the race on Lap 284 on ESPN2 as ABC ended its broadcast of the race to airAmerica's Funniest Home Videos at 7:30 pm Eastern Time, while the network continued the race to its conclusion (ending at 313 laps) in theMountain andPacific Time Zones.
Some complaints regarding ESPN have concerned the promotion of NBA telecasts.[90] The2003 NBA Finals received very little significant promotion on ABC or corporate partner ESPN; while subsequent Finals were promoted more often on both networks, NBA-related advertisements on ABC were still significantly fewer compared to promotions on NBC.[citation needed] NBA promos took up 3 minutes and 55 seconds of airtime on ABC during the week of May 23,2004, according to theSports Business Daily, comparable to 2 minutes and 45 seconds for theIndianapolis 500. Promotions for the Indianapolis 500 outnumbered promotions for the NBA Finals fourteen-to-nine from the timeframe between 9:00 and 11:00 pm Eastern Time during that week.[91]
In May 2025, ABC drew heat[92] for prioritizing airing theF1 Miami Grand Prix overGame 7 of the NBA playoff series between theGolden State Warriors andHouston Rockets. In fact, ABC nor ESPN did not air an NBA game what so ever on Sunday, May 4, 2025. NBA playoff action on that day was instead, handled byTNT.
ESPN's studio team was generally more criticized[93] than praised. After thePacers–Pistons brawl in November 2004, ESPN's studio team came under severe criticism, both by the media[94] and by ESPN itself[95] for their stance regarding the actions ofIndiana Pacers playerRon Artest (who entered the stands to confront a fan, sparking the melee).John Saunders came down hard on Pistons fans, referring to them as "punks",[95] whileGreg Anthony andTim Legler defended Artest. The day after the brawl, Steve Berthiaume said the event was a "full-scale riot", and Steve Levy led into a report on the brawl onSportsCenter by saying, "before you unconditionally blame the players, take a look and a listen."[96] He concluded the report on the brawl by calling it "on an overall sorry night for the NBA, and especially fans of the Detroit Pistons," without any reference to the Pacers.[96]
During the2006 WNBA Finals,Detroit Shock head coach, and former ESPN NBA analyst,Bill Laimbeer became irritated by ESPN's coverage. He was quoted by theDetroit Free Press as saying:
I just hear from our family and friends back home that, 'Boy, ESPN is killing you guys,' ... 'And(Nancy) Lieberman andDoris Burke are just trashing you left and right.' Not only me, but also some of our players on our ballclub. ... We're telling ESPN today to basically stick it.
On July 8, 2010, basketball playerLeBron James announced on a live, one-hour ESPN special titledThe Decision that he would leave theCleveland Cavaliers and join theMiami Heat, beginning with the2010–11 season.[97] In exchange for the exclusive rights to air the special, ESPN agreed to hand over its advertising and airtime to James. James arranged for the special to include an interview conducted byJim Gray, who was paid by James' marketing company and had no affiliation with the network. ESPN's reporting leading up to the James special, its decision to air the program, and its decision to relinquish editorial independence were widely cited as gross violations of journalistic ethics.[98][99][100]
Temple University head coachJohn Chaney once said "You can't get Dick Vitale to say 15 words without Duke coming out of his mouth".[101]
On March 1, 2025, ESPN suffered a malfunction with its broadcast truck during theAuburn Tigers/Kentucky WildcatsNCAA Division I men's basketball game televised onABC with 12:26 left in the 2nd half. According to a statement by ESPN, a generator that was connected to the truck atRupp Arena caught on fire, causing them to lose power and knock the game off the air. The game was then moved toESPNews due to thePittsburgh Penguins/Boston BruinsNational Hockey League game that was also scheduled forbroadcast on ABC (Had the technical issues not occurred, the first few minutes of the Penguins/Bruins game would have likely aired on ESPNews and would be moved to ABC once the Auburn/Kentucky game concluded). Many fans and viewers were angry and took to social media to express their displeasure with ESPN over the way they handled the technical problem.[102][103]
ESPN was accused of being too negative[104] in regards to its coverage[105] of the2024–25 College Football Playoff.[106] ESPN in general was accused of spending the entire first weekend of the playoffs on December 20–21 bashing the participating schools, criticizing fans, and overall making the broadcasts a miserable experience for viewers.
On January 20, 2025, ESPN received complaints[107][108] afterPresidentDonald Trump unexpectedly appeared to deliver a brief speech during halftime of theCollege Football Playoff National Championship, mere hours after hissecond inauguration. ESPN soon released a statement justifying its decision, arguing that it is a common practice that occurs during major sporting events.
On July 18, 2009,Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbackBen Roethlisberger was accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit filed by Andrea McNulty. ESPN came under fire for being the only major media outlet that refused to report on the story.[109][110] ESPN officials attempted to justify their actions by stating that the case is a private matter. Furthermore, ESPN claimed that since Roethlisberger had not addressed the issue publicly, and since no criminal charges had been filed, there was no reason to report on it. However, many have been quick to point out other instances where ESPN has reported on civil cases as well as statements addressing the matter by Roethlisberger's attorney.[111] The network's actions resulted in some media sources accusing them ofdouble standards and poor journalistic practices.[112] ESPN began reporting on the story on July 23, 2009; one month later on August 18, ESPN released a column on its website explaining the network's decision.[113][114]
In 2015, ESPN received criticism fromDeadspin for accepting advertising fromDraftKings, a dailyfantasy sports site, and integrating DraftKings into the network's football coverage throughproduct placement, breaching the ethical wall between journalism and sponsorship.[115]
In 2011, ESPN agreed to a deal with the NFL worth more than $15 billion.[116] This fact led several media organizations, includingForbes, to argue whether the financial relationship with the league creates a conflict of interest when ESPN covers the NFL.[117] The network has also been accused of alleged pro-NFL bias on labor issues with the league and the union and ignoring or downplaying crimes or scandals committed by owners.[118]
Also,The New York Times reported that ESPN spiked its partnership with thePBS seriesFrontline on the 2013 documentary "League of Denial", which chronicles the history of head injuries in the NFL, shortly after a meeting between ESPN executives and league commissionerRoger Goodell took place in New York City, though ESPN denies pressure from the NFL led to its backing out of the project, claiming a lack of editorial control instead.[119][120]
Boston-based journalist Michael Corcoran stated that in the first seven months after theDeflategate scandal became national news, ESPN.com used the term "Deflategate" in 844 separate articles or videos, includingChris Mortensen's erroneous report about 11 of the 12 footballs used in the2014 AFC Championship Game were 2 pounds per square inch (PSI) under NFL regulation.[121] This was compared to whenJimmy Haslam, owner of theCleveland Browns, was accused by theFBI in a 120-page affidavit[122] of a five-year-long "conspiracy to scheme" and "defraud its customers" out of millions in rebates for his companyPilot Flying J. In the first seven months after the FBI raided Haslam's company, ESPN only mentioned the scandal 23 times, less than 3 percent of the coverage of the allegations of football deflation. "ESPN should, at a minimum, disclose the details of its enormous vested interest before reporting any serious story about the league," Corcoran's article concluded.[118]
Nonetheless, in July 2015,The Hollywood Reporter reported that sources within ESPN believed that the NFL gave them a "terrible" 2015Monday Night Football schedule as "payback" for remarks made on air by both ESPN commentatorsKeith Olbermann andBill Simmons that were critical of the league and Goodell;[123] ESPN parted ways with both Olbermann and Simmons during that same year.[124]
ESPN immediately came under fire for their coverage[125] of the first two nights of the2020 NFL draft for focusing too much on the family tragedies of players as they are drafted. Sports blog siteBarstool Sports called it "tragedy porn",[126] adding that ESPN not only kept focusing on the death of players' family members, but also questionable stories like a mom battling drug addiction for 16 years.
In2006, ESPN took over theMonday Night Football package from its sister networkABC,[127] who had broadcast the series for 36 years. 14 years later, in2020, Aaron Barnhart ofPrimetimer wrote:
TheNFL was never one to turn down a lunatic network waving a blank checkbook, so it agreed to let ESPN takeMonday Night Football over tocable. Like a billionaire who locks histrophy wife up in theirHamptons home, ESPN immediately moved to minimize its prize. It started referring to the game as just "MNF", three letters, kind of likeWTF. It pulled inannouncers who would work for ESPN's modest salary.[128] The results, over 15 years, are plain to see. Now it isMonday Night Football, with its second-ratefootball matchups and endless turnover in the booth, that embodies the "droning blandness ofprime time", whileSunday Night Football is the biggest show on turf, and most weeks is thetop-rated show on television. AndNBC is not alone.CBS andFox have outbid ESPN in recent years for game and league rights, since nothing like live events can bring a crowd to broadcast TV. Meanwhile, cable customers fed up with high monthly bills have beencord-cutting at record pace. All of this has upendedDisney's apple cart. ESPN was able to justify paying sports leagues billions in contract deals because it made tens of billions in revenue on those games. ESPN has always been the priciest channel in your cable bundle, $9 per month per customer in 2017.[129]
Awful Announcing's Ben Koo wrote[130] on October 23, 2018, thatJason Witten was "in over his head" as an analyst. Koo added that "Witten made mistakes, was inconsistent, got tongue tied, and could be awkward at times". Meanwhile, the gimmick of placingBooger McFarland in on-field mobile platform[131][132] is clunky because all involved had to have direct comments and questions to each other explicitly, and there were lulls in the broadcast at times when it's not clear which of McFarland or Witten should be jumping in. As for play-by-play manJoe Tessitore, Koo regarded him as an acquired taste and many were not acquiring it. This was due to Tessitore's style[133] of "going HARD on a lot of calls, in energy and volume." Besides the commentators, Ben Koo complained about the distracting sponsorships fromOld Spice andGenesis Motor.
On November 29, 2018,Deadspin's Drew Magary said[134] that ESPN "Is too busy living inMonday Night Football's glorious past, trying to turn the franchise into an event with needless innovations and halftime concerts – likeThe Chainsmokers during last week'sRams-Chiefs game. All of those efforts to recaptureMNF's magic failed, but that hasn't stopped ESPN from continuously trying to doctor up ways to make the game as much of an EVENT as it was back in the 1970s. This is a show imprisoned by its own history. They still have pictures ofHoward Cosell adorning theMNF production trucks. They still use thetheme. They draggedHank Williams Jr. out of racist mothballs to sing his stupid fuckingsong from the '80s salad days. They still use ancient clips of Cosell slurring 'He could go all the way' and 'What a game this turned out to be' and all that nonsense. They refer to Monday records as if they are hallowed... None of that has stopped ESPN from still trying desperately to makeMonday Night Football a thing. In the process, they've in fact cheapened the product."
Early on in the2019 season, there were so manyTwitter complaints over ESPN's then newdown and distance marker that it was dropped after halftime.[135] ESPN had made the down-and-distance graphic yellow, so it looked like there was aflag on every play.[136] ESPN's Bill Hofheimer tweeted "Our ESPN production team is aware of the feedback on the #MNF down and distance graphic. We have called an audible and adjusted for the 2nd half of #HOUvsNO and for the #DENvsOAK game to follow."
When reviewing ESPN's production of theNew England Patriots-New York Jets game from Week 7 of the 2019 season,The A.V. Club's John Teti wrote[137] that "Once,Monday Night was the climax of an NFL week. Now it often feels like a last gasp.Monday Night isn't special anymore, but the production never formed a new identity to contend with that reality. So there's a lot of pretending. We all must pretend it matters when, say, a running back gains more yards in the third quarter of aMonday Night Football game than anyone has before. It's not clear why theMonday Night-ness of an achievement matters to anyone in 2019—though, did it ever? Regardless, part of the lore ofMonday Night Football is that the lore ofMonday Night Football is very important indeed."
Oliver Connolly, on November 26, 2019 inThe Guardian, wrote "Monday Night Football: the once great NFL show was now the worst on television".[138] The article cited the overblown announcing by Tessitore, incoherent analysis by McFarland and bizarregraphics. Connolly further wrote that "It often feels like the show's producers are more interested in their carefully choreographed packages and graphics than the actual game unfolding on the field. No other broadcast misses a play as consistently asMonday Night Football, continuing to prove that there is nothing in media or entertainment that cannot be ruined by more money and time."
Despite the growth in popularity ofmixed martial arts and its largest promotion – theUltimate Fighting Championship – in particular, many fans of the sport felt that ESPN treated MMA as a fringe sport by either not showing highlights of recent drawing matchups or by portraying the sport in a negative light.[139] Commentators such asMike Wilbon andTony Kornheiser ofPardon the Interruption, along withSkip Bayless, formerly ofFirst Take have openly criticized the sport as inferior toboxing.Jim Rome of the former ESPN programJim Rome is Burning however, often defends the sport and featured fighters as guests.[140]
Some MMA fans feel that the influence of ESPN's corporate parent The Walt Disney Company (both due to not having broadcast rights and due to Disney's traditionally family friendly image), along with the influence of the boxing media have contributed to what they perceived as negative coverage of the sport on the channel. Other complaints included the ESPN showMMA Live being aired in a late Friday night (1:00 am Eastern Time) timeslot that many MMA fans feel is inadequate, and is often prone to preemptions due to live programming.[141] After the UFC signed a television rights deal with rivalFox Sports, UFC presidentDana White lashed out at ESPN following the cancellation of an appearance for an interview promoting theUFC 134 event.[142][143]
In 2018, however, ESPN ultimately acquired the U.S. media rights to the UFC beginning in 2019, with a large focus on its subscription serviceESPN+.[144][145][146][147][148]
In its early days, ESPN aired variousprofessional wrestling programs, includingAWA Championship Wrestling from theAmerican Wrestling Association as well asWorld Class Championship Wrestling / (United States Wrestling Association). ESPN started distancing itself from professional wrestling after the more athletic-oriented AWA went out of business in 1991, two years afterWorld Wrestling Federation ownerVince McMahon admitted that professional wrestling wasstaged and was more about entertainment than about legitimate athletic competition. ESPN would not distance itself completely from professional wrestling, as the network commissioned theGlobal Wrestling Federation for three years following AWA's failure, and Canadian sister networkTSN held the Canadian rights toWWE Raw from 1996 to 2006, as well as the parent network having airedThis is SportsCenter ads featuringThe Undertaker,Stone Cold Steve Austin,John Cena andBecky Lynch on occasion.
On March 24, 2015, former UFC Heavyweight Champion and then-currentWWE World Heavyweight ChampionBrock Lesnar appeared onSportsCenter for a "huge announcement" after it became public knowledge that Lesnar's WWE contract was set to expire afterWrestleMania 31 and that he had been training for a return to MMA. However, Lesnar used the air time to announce that he in fact had re-signed with WWE and was retired from MMA, with part of the interview being done by then-SportsCenter anchorJonathan Coachman, himself a then-former WWE announcer. This would be followed up by a segment onSportsCenter covering Lesnar's match withRoman Reigns at WrestleMania 31 for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, featuring Lesnar, Reigns, and Lesnar's managerPaul Heyman in studio for the segment. (Seth Rollins ultimately won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the event after he cashed in hisMoney in the Bank contract mid-match.) Although ESPN was not criticized for covering WWE, it did receive criticism for covering WWE like a legitimate sport as opposed to entertainment; unlike other countries, the United States generally views professional wrestling as entertainment due to it being anopen secret that professional wrestling is staged.[149] Lesnar would subsequently return to MMA (while under contract with WWE) for a one-off match atUFC 200 while WWE and ESPN would gradually increase their collaboration into a regular segment onSportsCenter hosted by Coachman, as well as a subsection devoted to professional wrestling onESPN.com.
The association between ESPN and WWE has received criticism outside of mainstream media and within the two organizations themselves. Coachman (who himself would leave ESPN in 2017 and eventually return to WWE a few months afterwards) stated he had wanted a connection between ESPN and WWE for years following his departure from WWE in 2008, but had to wait "until the right person was in charge" before the two sides started forming a partnership.[150] In 2016, the wife of WWE wrestlerKevin Owens would post onsocial media their eight-year-old son's reaction following Owens winning theWWE Universal Championship. While the post would receive positive responses from most reporters, Amin Elhassin for ESPNtweeted that it was feel-good moment for their son "until he finds out its scripted". Fellow wrestlerCody Rhodes, who had left WWE earlier that year, said that WWE needs to cut ties with ESPN and that having mainstream recognition "ain't always worth it" when one of their reporters tries to ruin it for a child.[151] Rhodes did eventually return to the WWE atWrestleMania 38 in April 2022.
Despite ESPN and WWE having somewhat scaled back their relationship since (partially due to other mainstream sports media such asFox Sports,CBS Sports,Yahoo! Sports, andBleacher Report also reporting on WWE), the two still partner on occasion. Most recently, ESPN signed a five year deal with WWE to stream WWE Premium Live Events on their direct to consumer service.
On September 15, 2025 during anNFL game between theLos Angeles Chargers andLas Vegas Raiders,Monday Night Football play-by-play announcerChris Fowler repeatedly mispronounced John Cena and Brock Lesner's last names (pronouncing Cena as "Say-na" instead of "See-na" and Lesner as "Les-ter") while reading a promo for WWE's then forthcomingWrestlepalooza event onESPN's streaming service. This immediately gave viewers the inclination that Fowler wasn't entirely familiar with either John Cena, Brock Lesner, or WWE in itself.[152][153]
On July 4, 2021, ESPN experienced on and off technical difficulties during the last minutes of the 2021Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, whereJoey Chestnut set a new world record by eating 76 hot dogs to win the event for the 14th time. The issues forced the network to take two in-competition commercial breaks. The feed cut off again during the finish of the competition, thus preventing viewers from seeing it. Many fans and viewers took to social media to express their anger towards ESPN over the technical issues.[154][155]
Aside from ESPN's main competitors, such asFox Sports,NBC Sports,CBS Sports,Turner Sports, andYahoo! Sports, independent and regional sports-focused media firms and blogs, includingDeadspin (now owned byG/O Media),The Big Lead,Bleacher Report (now owned by Turner Sports parentWarner Media), and 700 Level (now associated with NBC Sports parentComcast), have served as alternatives for fans looking for balanced coverage or better local coverage.[156][157]
Accountability attempts by third parties range from news articles, websites, and blogs either in a response to specific events or the ongoing lack of or over coverage by ESPN.Rolling Stone writers Jordan Burchette andMichael Weinreb each published articles examining the implications of ESPN's perceived SEC bias during the 2014 college football season.[158][159] Moreover, independent blogging group Are You Cereal Box's main tactic is to track mentions of ESPN's allegedfavorite teams and players via mentions on ESPN.com's front page.[160]
The bookThose Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN notes thatApple CEOSteve Jobs reportedly told ESPN PresidentGeorge Bodenheimer in reference to the network's failed attempt at amobile virtual network operatormobile phone service,Mobile ESPN, in 2006, that "your phone is the dumbest fucking idea I have ever heard".[161]
Concerns were raised by some fans, bloggers andjournalists that ESPN's financial stake in theLonghorn Network (which launched in August 2011) created a potentialconflict of interest.[162][163][164] Some fear that ESPN's involvement in the network will inhibitjournalistic integrity as ESPN has a financial interest in the success of the athletic programs at theUniversity of Texas.Sports Illustrated writer Richard Deitsch wrote: "The network's existence... creates an impossible situation for ESPN's college football producers and reporters (plenty of whom care about reporting). For every story ESPN does on Texas and its opponents, they'll be skeptics wondering what the motivation was for the story."[165] It has also created issues where the various teams of theIowa State Cyclones, aBig 12 team well outside the prime Longhorn Network footprint, has had tosyndicate and create cable networks carried throughout Iowa (in this case,Mediacom carries a network known as "Cyclones.tv") to carry Longhorn Network-exclusive content involving the Longhorns as an opponent within Iowa under a secondary agreement with UT and ESPN.
Additionally, some questioned the stipulation included in the network's founding agreement that gives Texas the right to dismiss LHN announcers that do not "reflect the quality and reputation of UT."[162][166] An ESPN spokesperson addressed the situation by stating: "This is not common in ESPN agreements because this UT network is so unique/new for us ...The provision does not allow for random replacement of commentators or reaction to critical comments... it's more about potential situations where a commentator makes completely inappropriate comments or gets involved in inappropriate actions."[167]
LHN went dark on July 1, 2024 when Texas officially left the Big 12 for theSoutheastern Conference. The SEC has had its own dedicated ESPN channel,SEC Network, since August 2014.
Through the show's success,ESPN First Take has also experienced substantial controversy and faced increasing criticism.[168][169][170] The show was criticized for what is perceived by many as its excessive coverage of the career ofTim Tebow. During his tenure with theNew York Jets, in which he did not start in a game, and threw just eight passes the entire season, Tebow was nonetheless often a leading topic.[171]
As forwardLeBron James began a series of playoff appearances with the Cleveland Cavaliers, hostSkip Bayless became well known for his belief that James had been overrated by the media and not received enough criticism for his team's playoff failures.[172] Bayless has himself been criticized by fans as well as members of the media for exaggerating James' failures and diminishing his successes.[173] In an exchange withDallas Mavericks ownerMark Cuban, Cuban argued that Bayless had reduced his analysis of the2011 and2012 NBA Finals series to subjective assessments of player psyche rather than relying on objective analysis based on the schematic principles used by the teams in each series.[174]
The show has also received criticism for its treatment of issues of race. During a December 2012 discussion regarding Washington Redskins quarterbackRobert Griffin III and his commenting that he did not wish to be perceived solely as a black quarterback, frequent guest Rob Parker asked whether Griffin III was a "brother" or a "cornball brother". When pressed by host Cari Champion on what he meant, he mentioned that Griffin III had a white fiancée and questioned whether he was a Republican. Parker, though, acknowledged that he did not have any information substantiating that claim.[175] In response, Bayless asked whether Griffin III's braids did anything to assuage his concerns.[176] To many, this exchange was part of a larger trend of the nature of the treatment of issues of race by the show.[177]
In June 2015, ESPN's announcement ofCaitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce Jenner, as the recipient of that year'sArthur Ashe Courage Award, one of its annualESPY Awards, led to significant criticism among online commenters[178] and some members of the media, withBob Costas calling the decision to give Jenner the award a "crass exploitation play".[179] Most of the critics of the Jenner award consideredLauren Hill, whoplayed college basketball despite suffering from abrain tumor that would claim her life only a few months later, a more worthy recipient. Others citedNoah Galloway, anIraq War double amputee who competes in extreme sports and was also a finalist in thespring 2015 season ofDancing with the Stars, as a worthy candidate.[178]
ESPN made the decision to removeRobert Lee from the broadcast team calling theUniversity of Virginia home opener againstCollege of William and Mary on September 2, 2017, because he shares the same name asConfederate GeneralRobert E. Lee. Robert Lee, who is not related to the confederate general, is ofAsian American heritage. The decision was made in the aftermath of theUnite the Right rally inCharlottesville, Virginia, which protested the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee.[180]
On September 11, 2017,SportsCenter anchorJemele Hill made a series oftweets critical of PresidentDonald Trump, including describing him as a "white supremacist".[181][182] ESPN issued a statement saying Hill's comments "do not represent the position of ESPN. We have addressed this with Jemele and she recognizes her actions were inappropriate."[183] Hill later clarified that she stood by her comments as representative of her personal beliefs. "My regret is that my comments and the public way I made them painted ESPN in an unfair light", she added.[184] Some criticized Hill's comments,[185][186][187] includingWhite House press secretarySarah Huckabee Sanders, who called them "a fireable offense by ESPN";[188] Trump criticized the network and demanded an apology.[184] Others voiced support for Hill[189][190] and criticized ESPN[191] and the White House's responses, arguing that Hill's comments were accurate[192][193][194] and that a White House official suggesting Hill be fired infringed on theFirst Amendment.[195]
On October 8, 2019, in the wake of Chinese boycotts of the NBA afterHouston Rockets general managerDaryl Morey made a Twitter post in support of the2019–20 Hong Kong protests,[196][197] it was reported that ESPN's senior news director Chuck Salituro had issued an internal memo directing on-air personalities to not discuss political aspects of the controversy unrelated to their effects on sport, as per prior directives discouraging "pure politics".[198][199] On October 10, ESPN faced criticism for displaying a map of China during aSportsCenter report that includedTaiwan and thenine-dash line.[200]
Former tennis player and ESPN commentator Doug Adler was fired after making an allegedly racist comment aboutVenus Williams on-air. In January 2017, during the broadcast of theAustralian Open match, Adler commented "Venus is all over her. And you'll see Venus move in and put the guerrilla effect on, charging."[201] ESPN insisted that Adler did not use the wordguerrilla, but rathergorilla to describe Williams, who isAfrican-American. Adler apologized for the remark after being told by his superiors to apologize on air, but was fired by ESPN the next day.[202] In February 2017, Adler filed a lawsuit against ESPN for wrongful termination.[203]
In November 2019, ESPN's owner The Walt Disney Company launchedDisney+, which came with a publicity push through both ABC and ESPN personalities, and the latter was pointed out as a blurring of lines between corporate publicity and journalistic integrity.[204][205] For example, there was aSimpsons-themedSportsCenter "Top 10" to star NFL reporterAdam Schefter tweeting that Disney+ "will change lives". Writing inSlate, Laura Wagner said that the "tongue bath" for Disney+ "represents a new inflection point in ESPN's decline from journalistic institution to entertainment company". Wagner added "This clumsy marketing blitz is an embarrassing exercise that turns ostensible reporters into stooges. It's also a stark example of just how flimsy ESPN's editorial vision has become."[206] Meanwhile, Kelly McBride of the nonprofit journalism organization thePoynter Institute in an interview withThe Washington Post said "You're turning the journalist into a salesperson and asking them to upsell the product. That's not the relationship you want the journalist to have with the audience member. You want that relationship to be about trust in the journalist's expertise."[207]
In July 2020,New York Times writer Kevin Draper spoke[208] with more than two dozen current and former ESPN employees, who "described a company that projected a diverse outward face, but did not have enough Black executives, especially ones with real decision-making power. They said the company did not provide meaningful career paths for Black employees behind the camera and made decisions based on assumptions that its average viewer is an older White man, in spite of its audience trends."
Republican political leaders includingDonald Trump[209] and then-Fox News anchorTucker Carlson have accused ESPN incorporating their political bias[210] into sports news. A 2017 survey of 1,423 adults found that 30% of respondents believed that ESPN was politically biased. Of those respondents, 63% responded that they saw a liberal bias, while 30% saw a conservative bias.[211]
In August 2023,Penn Entertainment reached a ten-year, $2 billion agreement withESPN Inc., under which Penn would rebrand Barstool Sportsbook as "ESPN Bet".[212] To license the branding, Penn will pay $1.5 billion in cash, and give ESPN $500 million in shares. Concurrently, Penn announced that it would sellBarstool back to its founderDave Portnoy.[213][214]
In response to this transaction,SFGate columnistDrew Magary wrote[215] that the alliance could ultimately leave ESPN in a greater state of market vulnerability. At worse, Magary argues that ESPN could run the risk of rendering itself as little more than a niche product that only servesgambling addicts.
On February 14, 2024, ESPN garnered criticism for its perceived delayed response to abreaking news story regarding amass shooting following aSuper Bowl LVIII victory parade for theKansas City Chiefs.[216][217][218][219] ESPN first addressed the news on air at approximately 3:57 p.m. Eastern Time. For comparison,CNN began covering the shooting at 3:07 p.m. ET. Meanwhile,FS1 began simulcastingFox News' coverage at approximately 3:26 p.m. ET, after previously providing live coverage of the victory parade.[220]
On April 17, 2024,Toronto Raptors playerJontay Porter wasbanned by the National Basketball Association for violating the league's gambling policies. Despite the fact that ESPN reporterAdrian Wojnarowski first broke the news of Porter's lifetime ban onTwitter at approximately 12:16 p.m. ET, ESPN did not formally discuss the news on the air until almost two hours later.[221] Within that time frame, ESPN was instead airingThe Pat McAfee Show, which did not acknowledge the news of Porter's ban.
On the September 30, 2024 edition ofSportsCenter at approximately 7:16 p.m. ET,ESPN baseball analystEduardo Pérez shared the breaking news to anchorJay Harris thatMajor League Baseball'scareer leader in hits,Pete Rose had died.[222] Shortly thereafter, Harris ended his conversation with Pérez with no further questions to ask about Rose.SportsCenter soon segued back to a discussion from co-anchorHannah Storm about that night's forthcomingMonday Night Football game. It wasn't until approximately 7:34 p.m. ET thatSportsCenter formally aired a segment on Rose's death. In-between that time,SportsCenter devoted about six minutes to discussing the upcomingMonday Night Football match-up before moving on to a segment onNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of FamerDikembe Mutombo, whose death had been announced earlier in the day.
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