ESPN Logo
ESPN is an American multinational cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., which is owned by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The headquarters of the channel is located in the USA, the city of Bristol, Connecticut. They are many Americans’ prime choice when it comes to watching big league matches, such as NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, college football and basketball, and so forth. Basically, the channel broadcasts live or recorded broadcasts of games, as well as news programs oriented toward sports. In addition, the channel shows current sports talk shows and sports documentaries. Moreover, there is also an ESPN magazine and even restaurants that have a sports theme.
Meaning and History
ESPN calls itself a world leader in sports. It was created by Bill Rasmussen with his son Scott and Ed Egan. They first aired in 1979 and ever since their focus was on sports. The abbreviation stands for ‘Entertainment & Sports Programming Network’. Since 1983, ESPN sports programs have been broadcasted on networks beyond the borders of the United States. In 1985, the channel was renamed ESPN, which was a more convenient and easy-to-remember name. Although it is necessary to have a cable subscription to watch ESPN, sports lovers are able to easily watch all games aired by the channel online.
What is ESPN?
ESPN or Entertainment and Sports Programming Network is a major American entertainment TV channel. Most of the events that are broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2 are available for viewing in real-time or with a time shift in WATCHESPN if one has a valid cable subscription. ESPN programs are being aired in over 200 countries.
1979 – 1985
The 1979 logo is a plain emblem showcasing the channel’s abbreviation (‘ESPN’) written in capital red letters. The font is a rather basic sans-serif style with rounded corners in some places and straight cuts in others. It is rather bold and all the letters are placed very close, so they are almost touching. The red letters are then framed by a dim orange oval border that has about the same thickness as the letters themselves.
1985 – Today
In 1985, they changed the logo to a more futuristic bright red writing. It was still an acronym, but with wide, large geometric shapes. They also added a continuous line of blank space through the top half of these letters, which was coming right above the middle line of the “E” and “S” and across the center of the “P”. It looks as if the top horizontal ‘caps’ are just floating above the rest of the logo. The letters are just slightly italicized and tightly spaced like in the first logo.
Font and Color
The company changed its logo only twice. Originally, it featured a pumpkin orange border and a darker shade of red for the name. The new logo was bright red with a white line going across the whole word. Although the new font looked different from the original, both fonts combined rounded elements and straight lines and corners into an interesting typeface. They both look classic, simple, yet quite recognizable. The current font is designed by Nick A. Lynch and is called ESP.
