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, i.e. "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 were eventually merged.

It was announced in 2006 that ABC Sports would be totally integrated
into ESPN, using ESPN graphics, music, and production. The brand
integration does not directly affect whether ESPN (the cable
channel) or ABC carries a particular event, as in most cases this is
governed by contracts with the applicable league or organization.

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[Knightmessenger]

So the last football game produced by ABC was Super Bowl 40 in Detroit, last college was that USC-Texas Rose Bowl, right?

So what was the last sports event televised by ABC, was it the 2006 World Cup Final?

[TMC1982Part2]

@Knightmessenger

The last sports event to officially be televised under the ABC Sports brand was the 2006 Little League World Series Championship Game. It was suppose to be the LLWS World Championship Game, but a rain out forced it be broadcast on ESPN2 the following day. So it was extremely anti-climatic. ABC Sports will never improve as long as Disney, Bob Iger and George Bodenheimer are in the way.

[vividwatch47]

Why is the logo for A.B.C.;s coverage of the 1972 Summer Olympics at Munich sideways?

[TMC1982Part2]

That's the way that I found it online, so your guess is as good as mine.

[HTFFuturamaFan]

@faysal21adigun You maybe right about the shows and news part because ABC gave up their coverge of the Chase for Sprint Cup Sunday Races to ESPN in order for ABC to air extended political news coverege on Sunday mornings.

[thatdudecozz89]

ABC Sports>>>>ESPN on ABC, good job, TMC1982Part2 for putting this up...what a great way to show your respect to the ABC Sports legacy.

[Airborn365]

In many ways ESPN ruined ABC after they were both under the same umbrella:

* ESPN's massive sports coverage (including SportsCenter), along with the internet, have essentially killed the sports anthology (Wide World of Sports).

* ESPN's NFL Primetime (which debuted in 1987) killed Monday Night Football's Halftime Highlights show. MNF couldn't recover until Tim McGraw came along.

* ABC's graphics went low-budget in the late 1980s; during that time, SportsCenter had a crappy theme song.

[odiedude]

I think I agree with you. ABC Sports used to be king when it came to sports TV. Now I think CBS Sports is the true dominant division on the networks. It's a shame that ABC didn't try and save its separate sports division and had to let ESPN step in and take over. It will never be the same.

[faysal21adigun]

I'm starting to think that it is ABC's fault that their sports division is run by ESPN.If you see what they have done recently,they have lost the NHL,MLB in the 90s,and the most recent,Monday Night Football.Then they allow ESPN to take over their division and since all these losses,ABC had NOT attempted to stop the REAL failure of their sports division.Correct me if i'm wrong,but i think all ABC cares about is their shows and the news.They want all of sports TV to head to cable ASAP.

[dcbandnerd]

Ahh, ABC Sports. Once the standard in televised sports. Now...non-existent. Killed by an over hyped giant. :-(