ESPN

Headquarters:
ESPN Plaza
Bristol, CT 06010
Employees: 3,500
Division of Disney Corp.

Website: http://www.espn.com

Career Site

ESPN is the most-popular cable channel and is synonymous with sports. Based in rural Bristol, CT, ESPN, Inc, is the leading sports entertainment company in the world with over 40 business entities. The company is comprised of seven domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Now, ESPN Today), ESPN HD (a high-definition simulcast service of ESPN), ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (25 international networks and syndication), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, SportsTicker, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN Zones (sports-themed restaurants), and other growing new businesses including ESPN Broadband, ESPN Wireless, ESPN Video-on-Demand, ESPN Interactive and ESPN PPV.

ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

ESPN is the leading cable network for sports programming available in 90 million homes in the U.S. Its signature program is SportsCenter, which features highlights and features about the day's sports events.

Most major sports including football, basketball, baseball and college sports can be seen on ESPN networks. It even launched ESPN U in 2005, a network devoted to college sports.

ESPN will begin broadcasting Monday Night Football in 2006 after parent company ABC decided to stop carrying the games due to financial reasons.

History

ESPN (originally Entertainment & Sports Programming Network) was the idea of a Connecticut man, Bill Rasmussen, in 1978. A former sportscaster, Bill's original idea was a sports network for Connecticut. As soon as he investigated the idea, he discovered that it would be no more expensive to be a national service. Needing land, he bought less than an acre, sight unseen, from the city of Bristol in a swampy industrial park on the edge of town. Ironically, when the satellite company visited, they complemented him on his choice, as the topography to the west provided a natural buffer to interference without inhibiting any outgoing signals. Construction on the first building soon began, and ESPN debuted on September 7, 1979.

Benefits

Below are benefits offered which usually begin on the date of hire.

- Medical Coverage
- Vision Coverage
- Dental Coverage
- Employee Life Insurance
- Dependent Life Insurance
- Employee Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
- Long-Term Disability (LTD) Benefit
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
- Short Term Disability Benefits
- Savings and Investment Plan
- Retirement Plan
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
- Holidays/Floater Days
- Vacation
- Unpaid Leave
- Long-Term Care Insurance (LTC) Plan
- Direct Deposit
- Credit Union (American Broadcast Employees Federal Credit Union)
- Educational Reimbursement Program
- Employee Assistance Program
- Employee Discount Program
- Matching Grant Program

The Bristol campus also features a 5,000 square-foot health and fitness facility.

Updated June 15, 2005

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