LA2015, the Organizing Committee for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, and ESPN have reached a global programming deal that will see ESPN bring coverage of the world’s largest sports and humanitarian event — the Special Olympics World Games Los Angeles 2015 – to millions of fans around the world. Through the agreement, ESPN becomes the Official Broadcaster of the event, which begins July 25, 2015.
The agreement provides ESPN with rights to the 2015 Special Olympics World Games Opening Ceremony from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, daily competition, Closing Ceremony and other cultural activities. ESPN will produce the Opening Ceremony live as well as a nightly highlights program and KABC-TV will also play a role in the coverage for the Los Angeles market. ESPN will feature both English- and Spanish-language coverage of some parts of LA2015. Specific programming and coverage details will be announced in the months ahead.
Sports fans around the world will have access to ESPN’s coverage via its networks and media platforms in the U.S., Mexico, Spanish-speaking Latin America, the Caribbean, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Special Olympics International, ESPN and the Games Organizing Committee will work together to find additional regional media partners to bring the World Games to more fans and sports participants around the world.
“ESPN’s reach and caliber of coverage made them a natural partner for the Special Olympics World Games,” said Patrick McClenahan, President and Chief Executive Officer of LA2015, the Games Organizing Committee. “ESPN’s legacy of work with Special Olympics and our shared values of athletes first, unity, competition and overcoming adversity among others, strengthen the foundation of these World Games as a global celebration of the courage, determination and joy of our athletes.”
John Skipper, ESPN President, Co-Chairman of Disney Media Networks, said, “This agreement reflects our belief in sport as a powerful vehicle to showcase and promote acceptance and inclusion. We are very proud of our long relationship with Special Olympics and our commitment to highlight the power of sport to positively impact people of all ability levels.”
Disney, ESPN and The Special Olympics
Disney and ESPN have long supported the Special Olympics.
Last year, Disney became a Founding Champion of the LA2015 World Games.
In September 2013, Disney and ESPN announced a global two-year, multi-million dollar financial and in-kind investment supporting the Special Olympics Unified Sports initiative, which leverages the power of sports to promote an environment of social inclusion and acceptance, by uniting people with and without intellectual disabilities.
ESPN previously provided coverage of the 2011 World Games in Athens on ESPN3.