Recent events
Recent events tied to this brand in public sources.
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2026
ESPN launches ESPN JV YouTube channel for next generation of sports fans
ESPN launched ESPN JV, a new YouTube channel designed to engage young audiences with original sports content. The channel launched with about a dozen videos including the new animated series The Sports Explorers, developed through a creative collaboration between ESPN and WSC Studios, and has promised collaborations including Disney Jr.
2026
ESPN launches ESPN JV, a new YouTube channel for kids
ESPN launched ESPN JV (Junior Varsity), a new YouTube channel for kids available at youtube.com/@ESPNJV, offering original videos, interactive sports challenges, athlete trivia and athlete-driven storytelling. The channel includes the original animated series The Sports Explorers created by ESPN Creative Studio and developed through a collaboration between ESPN and WSC Studios, and features collaborations with Disney Jr.
2026
Disney offers voluntary early retirement packages to senior executives
The Walt Disney Company expanded its cost-cutting efforts by offering voluntary early retirement packages, known as the Voluntary Early Retirement Offer (VERO), to senior leaders across its corporate, entertainment and sports divisions. The offer is available to US-based employees from director through executive vice president across Disney Entertainment, ESPN and corporate divisions who meet age and service requirements.
2022
ESPN and American University announce journalism fellowship partnership
ESPN announced a partnership with American University to create a fully funded fellowship in investigative journalism. The position was described as initially funded for three years.
2022
Disney promotes Michael Paull to streaming president
Disney promoted executive Michael Paull to the newly created role of Disney streaming president, overseeing Disney+, ESPN+ and Star+.
2021
Goodyear extends college football aerial coverage agreement
Goodyear extended its agreement with Disney Advertising Sales on behalf of ESPN to provide preferred aerial coverage for college football and exclusive aerial coverage for the College Football Playoff Semifinals and National Championship on ESPN.
2021
Disney and YouTube TV reach a distribution agreement
Disney and Google's YouTube TV reached a new distribution agreement restoring carriage of Disney's networks, including ESPN, ABC and FX, after a brief disruption.
2021
ESPN disputes Big 12 allegations
ESPN sent a letter to the Big 12 disputing the conference’s allegations that ESPN had engaged in conduct intended to harm the Big 12 and secure financial benefits for ESPN. ESPN called the claims baseless and denied wrongful conduct.
2021
Disney announces ESPN+ price increases
Disney announced that ESPN+ monthly pricing would rise by $1 to $6.99 and annual pricing would rise from $59.99 to $69.99. The annual price change was to begin August 13; the price of the ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+ bundle would remain unchanged.
2021
Disney+ announces subscription price increases
Disney+ announced that monthly subscriptions would increase by one dollar to eight dollars, the annual plan would cost 80 dollars, and the bundle with Hulu and ESPN would also increase by one dollar, starting Friday.
2021
ESPN+ access problems affect UFC 257 viewers
Technical issues prevented some users from purchasing or accessing parts of the UFC 257 pay-per-view broadcast on ESPN+. ESPN said it resolved the issue by 11 p.m. ET and would issue partial refunds to affected viewers.
2021
ESPN Plus outage during UFC pay-per-view event
Some ESPN Plus users in the US were unable to access parts of a UFC pay-per-view event because of a technical issue. Disney said the issue was resolved by 11PM ET and that it would provide partial refunds to affected users.
2020
ESPN announces job cuts
ESPN told employees that 300 people would lose their jobs and 200 open positions would be eliminated.
2020
IBM and ESPN announce Trade Assistant feature
IBM and ESPN announced Trade Assistant with IBM Watson, an AI-powered feature for the ESPN Fantasy Football app designed to help fantasy football players make more informed, fair trades throughout the 2020 season.
2020
ESPN apologizes for NFL Draft graphic
ESPN apologized for an on-screen graphic about Tee Higgins’ mother’s drug addiction, saying it was a mistake and that the graphic lacked proper context.
2020
ESPN secures a deal for the documentary Willie
ESPN secured a deal for Willie, a documentary about Willie O’Ree. ESPN2 was scheduled to premiere the film on February 17, with ESPN’s digital outlets offering it throughout Black History Month.
2020
ESPN airs 30 for 30 promotional commercial
ESPN aired a commercial during the College Football Playoff national championship game promoting upcoming installments of its 30 for 30 documentary series, including documentaries about Bruce Lee, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, and Vince Carter.
2019
ESPN announces higher UFC pay-per-view price
ESPN announced that the price of UFC pay-per-view broadcasts would rise from $59.99 to $64.99 starting with the January 18 event. ESPN+ subscribers could still obtain a discounted package with a one-year subscription.
2019
ESPN settles harassment lawsuit
ESPN reached a settlement with former on-air personality Adrienne Lawrence, who had sued alleging sexual harassment. The settlement terms were not disclosed, and the lawsuit was to be dismissed.
2019
ESPN names Nittanyville student section of the year
ESPN recognized Penn State’s Nittanyville football student section as the Live Más Student Section of the Year at the College Football Awards Show.