ESPN

Country	Brazil
Broadcast area	Brazil
Headquarters	São Paulo, São Paulo
Programming
Language(s)	Portuguese
Picture format	720p (16:9 HDTV) (HD feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for SDTV sets)
Ownership
Owner	ESPN Inc. (operated by The Walt Disney Company Latin America)
History
Launched	ESPN: March 31, 1989 ESPN2: 2005 ESPN3: April 29, 2009 ESPN4: February 5, 2012 ESPN Extra: March 24, 2016
Former names	ESPN: Canal+ (1989–1991) TVA Esportes (1991–1995) ESPN Brasil (1995–2022) ESPN2: ESPN (2005–2022) ESPN3: ESPN HD (2009–2012) ESPN+ (2012–2018) ESPN2 (2018–2022) ESPN4: Fox Sports (2012–2022)
Links
Website	https://espn.com.br/
Availability
Streaming media
ESPN app	Watch live
Star+	Watch live

ESPN is the Brazilian division of ESPN Inc. Launched in March 1989 as Canal+, it was the first country-specific version of ESPN outside the United States, launched in June 1995. The channel has covered major sporting events, like the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics; the 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 1999, 2003 and 2007 Pan-American Games. High ratings and prestige in the segment have been marks of the channel; it also won the APCA award twice, in 1995 for "Best Sports Programming" and in 1998 for "Best Coverage of the 1998 FIFA World Cup".

Despite having a team that's regarded as one of the best in Brazilian sports broadcasting and important broadcasting rights for international competitions like La Liga, Premier League and the Bundesliga, major local series rights have historically not been present; the Campeonato Brasileiro, Copa do Brasil and the states' championships are held by local Grupo Globo and SporTV. ESPN, however, has purchased the rights to broadcast the 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions of the Copa do Brasil for TV and Campeonato Paulista, Copa Libertadores de América, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and Copa Sudamericana for radio.

Brasil made a partnership with Rádio Eldorado to broadcast sports on radio. The new Rádio Eldorado ESPN used Eldorado's radio assets and the team of commentators from ESPN Brasil. It was renamed Rádio Estadão ESPN in 2007 due to a partnership agreement with the O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper.^[1]

In 2005 the company incorporated ESPN International coverage, starting to broadcast in two channels. Before this date, programs such as the SportsCenter International Edition, MLB and the NFL were transmitted directly from Bristol, Connecticut, with Portuguese audio from Andre Adler, Marco Alfaro, Sergio Cesario, Roby Porto, José Inácio Werneck, and Roberto Figueroa. Since 2005, shows and games are recorded and broadcast from its studios in São Paulo, though morning schedules continue to include USA and Latin American programs.

Prior to May 2011, programs produced by ESPN Brasil generally did not use in-game score graphics, though international programs had them. Beginning that month, ESPN Brasil began using the same score and other graphics used by the US channel.

In March 2012, the ESPN'S network in Brazil started with the broadcast 100% in HD with sports events and original programs. This is the same practice of ESPN in USA. The four channels of ESPN in Brazil is broadcast fully in HD.

In October 2013, ESPN launched a second screen app, ESPN Sync, to connect to broadcasts of football matches.^[2][3]

On May 6, 2020, Brazil's antitrust regulator CADE announced that ESPN and Fox Sports could merge their operations in Brazil together as of January 1, 2022, and not before, due to Fox Sports' broadcast rights and structure in the country, with ESPN taking over broadcast rights and structure after the merger.^[4]

In November 2021, it was announced that Disney would retire the ESPN Brasil brand after 26 years on air. ESPN Brasil became ESPN, while the current ESPN became ESPN 2, while the current ESPN 2 became ESPN 3, Fox Sports became ESPN 4. The change happened on January 17, 2022 and will happen on February 15, 2024 for Fox Sports 2 and ESPN Extra.^[5][6]

ESPN channels in Brazil

Five separate channels of ESPN exist in Brazil:^[7]

• ESPN (formerly ESPN Brasil), the main channel, more football orientated with live debate, news, interviews and major international football games.
• ESPN2 (formerly ESPN), focused in US-based competitions (NBA, NFL and NHL).
• ESPN3 (formerly ESPN2), focused in extreme sports, MLB, tennis, rugby, cycling, golf and poker.
• ESPN4 (formerly Fox Sports), focused in motorsport, boxing, MMA and international football.
• ESPN Extra, focused in extreme sports and wrestling.

ESPN Brazil significant programming rights

Programs broadcast by ESPN Brazil

• Além da Bola
• ATP Tour Uncovered
• Bola da Vez
• Cestou ESPN
• Compacto NFL
• Coppa Italia Show
• Destaques da COMNEBOL Libertadores
• Destaques da COMNEBOL Sudamericana
• Destaques da UEFA Europa e Conference League
• Destaques dos X Games
• ESPN FC
• ESPN Filmes
• ESPN League
• FA Cup Highlights
• Futebol 90
• Futebol 360
• Inside Serie A
• La Liga World
• Linha de Passe
• Mina de Passe
• Momento ESPN
• Mundo Premier League
• MunDu Menezes
• NBA Action
• Pelas Quadras
• Premier League Stories
• Prévia da Coppa Italia
• Prévia da FA Cup
• Resenha
• Resenha da Rodada
• Show da Rodada: Coppa Italia
• Show da Rodada: La Liga
• Show da Rodada: Ligue 1
• Show da Rodada: Premier League
• Show da Rodada: Serie A
• SportsCenter Abre o Jogo
• SportsCenter Brazil
• SportsCenter U.S.
• The Inside Line
• UEFA Nations League: Match Day Highlights
• UEFA Nations League: Match Night Highlights

ESPN Brazil staff

• Abel Neto – "Futebol 360" host
• Airton Cunha – Tennis commentator
• Alana Ambrósio – "Cestou ESPN" host
• Alex Tseng – host
• André Donke – soccer commentator
• André Kfouri – Reporter; "ESPN League" and "SportsCenter" host
• Amoroso – soccer commentator
• André Linares – Reporter
• André Plihal – "Resenha" and "Bola da Vez" host
• Antero Greco – Soccer commentator and "SportsCenter" host
• Antonio Martoni – Rugby commentator
• Antony Curti – NFL, College Football and MLB commentator; "ESPN League" co-host
• Ari Aguiar – Play-by-play announcer and "ESPN League" host
• Bruno Vicari – "SportsCenter" host
• Carlos Eugênio Simon – referee commentator
• Celso Unzelte – soccer commentator
• Christian Fittipaldi – IndyCar Series commentator
• Cícero Mello – Reporter
• Cledi Oliveira – Play-by-play announcer
• Daniela Boaventura – "Futebol 90" host
• Diego Lugano – soccer commentator and "Resenha" and "ESPN FC" co-host
• Djalminha – soccer commentator and "Resenha" co-host
• Edgard Mello Filho – Motorsport commentator
• Eduardo Affonso – Reporter
• Eduardo Agra – NBA and College Basketball commentator
• Eduardo de Menezes – Reporter and "Além da Bola" host
• Eduardo Elias – "SportsCenter" host
• Eugênio Leal – soccer commentator
• Fábio Luciano – soccer commentator
• Fausto Macieira – MotoGP commentator
• Felipe Motta – "SportsCenter" host
• Fernando Campos – soccer commentator
• Fernando Meligeni - Tennis commentator
• Fernando Nardini – Play-by-play announcer and "SportsCenter" co-host
• Fernando Saraiva – soccer commentator
• Gian Oddi – Soccer commentator
• Gláucia Santiago – "SportsCenter" host
• Gustavo Berton – Reporter
• Gustavo Hofman – Soccer commentator
• Gustavo Zupak – Soccer commentator
• Hamilton Rodrigues – Play-by-play announcer
• Hugo Botelho – Play-by-play announcer
• João Castelo Branco – Reporter
• José Roberto Lux "Zé Boquinha" – NBA and College Basketball commentator
• Juliana Tesser – MotoGP commentator
• Léo Bertozzi – Soccer commentator
• Leonardo Gaciba – referee commentator
• Luciana Marianno – Play-by-play announcer
• Luciano Amaral – "SportsCenter" host; E-Sports host
• Luciano "KDRA" Lancelotti – Action sports commentator
• Luiz Carlos Largo – Play-by-play announcer
• Marcela Rafael – "SportsCenter" host
• Mariana Spinelli – "SportsCenter" host
• Mario Marra – soccer commentator
• Matheus Pinheiro – Play-by-play announcer
• Matheus Suman – Play-by-play announcer
• Maurício Bonato – Play-by-play announcer
• Mauro Naves – soccer commentator
• Mendel Bydlowski – Reporter
• Natalie Gedra – Reporter
• Osvaldo Pascoal – soccer commentator
• Paulo Andrade – Play-by-play announcer and "Linha de Passe" host
• Paulo Antunes – NFL and MLB commentator; "ESPN League" co-host
• Paulo Calçade – Soccer commentator
• Paulo Mancha – NFL and College Football commentator
• Paulo Soares – Play-by-play announcer and "SportsCenter" host
• Pedro Henrique Torre – Reporter
• Rafael Marques – soccer commentator
• Rafael Reis – Reporter
• Raphael Prates – soccer commentator
• Renan do Couto – Play-by-play announcer
• Renan Rocha – Play-by-play announcer
• Renata Ruel – referee commentator
• Renato Rodrigues – soccer commentator
• Ricardo Bulgarelli – NBA commentator
• Ricardo Melo – golf commentator
• Roberta Barroso – Reporter
• Rodrigo Bueno – soccer commentator
• Rogério Vaughan – Play-by-play announcer
• Rubens Pozzi – Reporter and Sportscenter co-host
• Silas Pereira – soccer commentator
• Teliana Pereira - tennis commentator
• Thiago Alves – Play-by-play announcer and Motorsport commentator
• Thiago Simões – Soccer and NHL commentator
• Ubiratan Leal – Soccer and MLB commentator
• Vinicius Moura – Play-by-play announcer
• Vinicius Nicoletti – Reporter
• Victor Martins – Motorsport commentator
• Weinny Eirado – NFL, MLB and College Football commentator
• William Tavares – "Futebol 360" host; play-by-play announcer and "Linha de Passe" co-host
• Wlamir Marques – FIBA Basketball commentator
• Zé Elias – soccer commentator
• Zinho – soccer commentator

See also

• ESPN
• ESPN (Latin America)
• ESPN International

References

External links

• (in Portuguese) ESPN Brazil official site
• ESPN on Twitter
• ESPN on Facebook
• ESPN on Instagram
• ESPN Brasil's channel on YouTube