Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ADR) (BUD), The Walt Disney Company (DIS): The World’s Wildest Market and 2 Television Milestones

Shortly after the tournament ended, ESPN raised $15 million in financing from Getty Oil and also signed the first million-dollar advertising contract in cable TV history with Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ADR) (NYSE:BUD). Interest was running high in the yet-unaired network, but Rasmussen was already losing his grip on the company, as Getty executive Stuart Evey had muscled his way to control.

Under Evey’s leadership, ESPN built its launch-day broadcast team and made for its first day on the air. The audience numbers were underwhelming, as only 30,000 viewers tuned in to that first SportsCenter with Lee Leonard and George Grande behind the desk. ESPN relied on Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ADR) (NYSE:BUD) for additional funding during its first two difficult years in operation — by the end of 1981, the Bud brewer had sunk $6 million into the network. Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ADR) (NYSE:BUD) exec Michael Roarty later called it “the best investment we’ve ever made.”

ESPN’s broadcast partnership with the National Basketball Association, which lasted from 1982 to 1984, helped the young network finally expand its audience. At the end of this deal, Getty sold ESPN to ABC, which helped build the network into a dominant force in sports broadcasting. A major deal with the National Football League in 1987 assured ESPN’s success, and the framework of this deal would last until 2006, long past the point when it had become part of the The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) empire. Today, ESPN — which now generates roughly $10 billion in total annual revenue across all its properties — is estimated to be worth a bit less than half of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s entire market cap, which is a pretty incredible figure when you consider just how diverse Disney’s empire actually is.

The article The World’s Wildest Market and 2 Television Milestones originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Alex Planes.

Fool contributor Alex Planes holds no financial position in any company mentioned here. Add him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter, @TMFBiggles, for more insight into markets, history, and technology.The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Walt Disney.

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