ABC Sports was the trailblazer bringing unforgettable sports moments into living rooms across the country, from its early beginnings through its merger into ESPN. Today we take a look at the history, impact and enduring legacy of ABC Sports in the American sports media landscape.
The Origins of ABC Sports
In the 1960s, ABC Sports was created as the sports division of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Its birth was in direct response to an increasing demand for televised sports programming in the U.S. With visionaries like Roone Arledge at the helm, ABC Sports transformed the landscape of televised sports by pioneering new production techniques, such as slow-motion replays, handheld cameras, and superior graphics.
Innovations and Top Coverage
ABC Sports developed a reputation for high-quality sports programming, launching signature shows like Wide World of Sports, which went on the air in 1961. With the opening montage and its famous tagline, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,” the show was a basic element of American sports culture.
ABC Sports also had other major milestones on its watch —most notably becoming the first network to ever broadcast the Olympic Games, starting with the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. ABC’s coverage would set new benchmarks for how to televise the Olympics, with powerful storytelling, profiles of athletes, and analysis that drew audiences deeper than just the competition.
ABC Sports also helped make Monday Night Football (MNF) a hit when it debuted in 1970. MNF was an innovative idea that delivered professional football to network prime time and dramatically increased the NFL’s popularity. Seu programa se tornou um evento imperdível para os amantes de esportes com seus narradores lendários como Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford e Don Meredith.
ABC Sports and the Evolution of Sports Broadcasting
During the 1970s and ’80s, the ABC Sports brand was one of the most recognizable in the television landscape, bringing you everything from the World Series to college football to big boxing matches. The network also played a major role in promoting international sports, helping to heighten American viewers’ awareness of world competitions.
Besides its stellar event coverage, ABC Sports pioneered new storytelling techniques that accentuated human drama. With this method, sporting events became not only contests; they were stories rife with drama, victory and devastation.
The Transition to ESPN
We did this towards the end of the 90’s and early 2000’s around sports broadcasting with the meaningful migration to cable television. In 1984, ABC had purchased ESPN, and began layering its sports programming into the cable network. By the time we got into the mid-2000s, ABC Sports was basically absorbed by ESPN, and it was a sad but inevitable end to a great era, but at least its legacy lived on through the worldwide leader in sports.
Many of the major sports events that ABC Sports televised exclusively are now aired on ESPN and affiliated networks. That said, ABC continues to air marquee events like the NBA Finals and select college football games, so it hasn’t completely exited the sports broadcast game.
The Lasting Impact of ABC Sports
There’s no denying the impact of ABC Sports on modern sports broadcasting. Freed and Basics’ motto became “We’re out of the box, but we’re inside the box,” which refers to how many of the production techniques, camera angles, and storytelling methods pioneered by ABC Sports are now industry standards. As pioneers of Olympic coverage, Monday Night Football and Wide World of Sports, its legacy helped shape today’s sports media landscape.
Furthermore, ABC Sports helped raise the profile of many sports and athletes thereby fostering a more invested and passionate fanbase. ABC Sports has left behind a legacy that lives on within ESPN, in the forms of innovations and principles that defined its golden era and continue to inform the way we see sports on our screens today.
Wrapping It Up
The legacy of ABC Sports has had an undeniable imprint on the sports media landscape and the way fans consume live sports. From its trailblazing coverage of the Olympics to the creation of Monday Night Football, its imprint can still be seen on broadcasts today. Sure, ABC Sports has come to an end but the things it brought to televised sports have changed the landscape, and viewers will benefit.