Chris Dodd: “That story was the harbinger of what has become one of the great stories of the media in the last 100 years or longer.…”

“That story was the harbinger of what has become one of the great stories of the media in the last 100 years or longer. It is not an exaggeration to say that ESPN has radically changed the way we see, hear, and follow sports, not only here in America, but around the world. The network has truly become, as its slogan proclaims, 'The Worldwide Leader in Sports.' Over the past quarter-century, ESPN has transformed itself from a minuscule cable television network to one of the leading names in national media, reaching over 94 million Americans each week. If ESPN were an athlete, it would be the little-known draft pick from a small school who made it all the way to the Hall of Fame. It is hard to believe it today, but in those early years, ESPN found it difficult to fill up its schedule with sports. The June 27, 1978 issue of one of our local newspapers, the Journal-Inquirer, under the headline 'Network Planning TV Sports,' reported the modest goals of a new station that would televise 'up to 20 hours a week of both professional and amateur local sports programming.' Today, to say that ESPN has managed to fill its schedule is an understatement.”