# What does "ESPN" stand for?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-espn-stand-for/61579>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 11, 2001, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-espn-stand-for/61579 "2001-04-11T10:37:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2001, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-espn-stand-for/61579/1 "2001-04-11T10:37:47Z")

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What do the initials “ESPN” stand for?  
(I’m guessing the “S” is for “sports” and the “N” is for “network”.)

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**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2001, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-espn-stand-for/61579/2 "2001-04-11T11:36:00Z")

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It’s on the ESPN website in their FAQ. In fact…it’s the first question there:

ESPN FAQ

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WHAT DOES ESPN STAND FOR?  
It doesn’t stand for anything, but the story is this…When ESPN started in 1979 we were the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (thus, ESPN). However, the full name was dropped in February 1985 when the company adopted a new corporate name – ESPN, Inc. – and a new logo. We are a subsidiary of ABC, Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co. The Hearst Corporation has a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

Jman

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**Author:** ![Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2001, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-espn-stand-for/61579/3 "2001-04-11T13:35:31Z")

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Thanks Jman!