Sept 7, 1979: George Grande (L) and Lee Leonard ESPN’s first SportsCenter show on September 7, 1979. (ESPN Images)
August 28, 2017: (L-R) Randy Scott, Sage Steele and Jay Harris on the set of SportsCenter:AM.
(Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)
(Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)
ESPN launched on September 7, 1979, with the 7 p.m. ET premiere of its flagship program – SportsCenter. The show would soon come to define the sports news genre, and now 38 years later, SportsCenter is still the industry leader. The show has seen many changes throughout its history, but its mission remains the same. Since those humble beginnings in 1979, ESPN became a classic American business success story, now with more than 50 multimedia sports assets, including eight U.S. television networks, ESPN International, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, and more.