ESPN Australia celebrates its 30th anniversary all September – ESPN Australia will celebrate 30 years of serving Australian sports fans on September 19, as part of a September long celebration that covers broadcast, digital and social media as well as crowning Australia’s Biggest Sporting Moment from 1995-2025.
ESPN first beamed into Australian lounge rooms in 1995 on Optus Vision, a launch network for the birth of subscription television in Australia. 16 years later, in 2011, ESPN2 launched to deliver more live sports to Australian viewers, followed in 2015 by an Australian edition of espn.com with local coverage and analysis.
Throughout the journey ESPN has enjoyed a long-standing distribution partnership with The Foxtel Group, beginning in 2002, which now includes Kayo Sports. ESPN has also enjoyed a long association with Fetch TV and Sky in New Zealand and earlier this year made the transformative move to offer ESPN on Disney+ in Australia and New Zealand.
ESPN is now the most widely distributed premium sports network across pay TV and streaming and reaches millions of Australian and New Zealand sports fans every day.
ESPN Australia has lived its mission to serve sports fans by expanding the horizons for Aussie viewers, becoming THE destination for premium US sport including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, as well as fueling the growth of basketball in this country with the most extensive coverage ever offered.
The ESPN Australia ecosystem includes ESPN on Disney+ and the ESPN television networks, ESPN.com.au, ESPN Podcasts and Australia’s largest tipping platform, ESPN Footytips. Millions of Australian sports fans come to ESPN for sports coverage with authority and personality.
“ESPN has an exceptionally strong and authentic presence in the Australian sports landscape and I am incredibly proud how we have evolved over our 30 years here,”
– said Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Senior Vice President and Managing Director ANZ and Head of ESPN, Asia-Pacific.
“Sport is in the blood of Australians, and the connection we’ve built fans here is really special. Many of the most globally iconic sports moments have aired live on our Australian networks. When you think about how many fans we are reaching now, the audience that we’re growing and the programming we’re bringing as both ‘Your Home for Hoops’ and ‘The Best of the US’, it really is creating a whole new platform for those sports and it is an opportunity for us to continue to make it bigger and better.”
As part of ESPN30 celebrations ESPN asked the Australian public to vote on their Top 30 Australian Sporting Moments from 1995-2025 and almost 200,000 votes were cast through the ESPN Australia website and social media accounts.
ESPN Australia will begin unveiling the ESPN30 countdown, with moments 21-30 dropping from September 8, 20-11 on September 15 and the final 10 moments, including the Top Sporting Moments between 1995 and 2025 on September 22.
The 30 Biggest Aussie sporting moments of the last 30 years
Iconic sporting moments that made the final list include Cathy Freeman’s 400m Gold Medal at the Sydney Olympics, John Aloisi’s penalty against Uruguay that took the Socceroos’ to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ian Thorpe’s heroics at Sydney 2000, Ash Barty’s triumphs at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, Cadel Evans becoming the first Australian to win the Tour de France in 2011 and Stephen Bradbury’s amazing Winter Olympic Gold Medal.
ESPN Australia will also premiere a ESPN30 countdown special on September 22, featuring Australian sporting legends Susie O’Neill, John Aloisi, James Tomkins, Andrew Gaze, Steven Bradbury, Bronte Campbell, Aaron Finch and more discussing the biggest sporting moments between 1995-2025 as chosen by the fans.
The ESPN30 Countdown special will be available on Disney+, Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Fetch TV and Sky NZ.
ESPN30 celebrations take place amid a massive month with the new NFL season having just kicked off and the NBL, WNBL and NBA seasons following shortly, ensuring a feast for sports fans across the ESPN ecosystem.
ESPN and ESPN2 are available on Disney+, Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Fetch TV and Sky NZ.
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ESPN Australia celebrates its 30th anniversary all September
