ESPN Celebrates America’s 250th Anniversary with Nationwide Sports Programming Event

ESPN will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with special programming across TV, digital platforms, and live events.

What’s Happening:

• ESPN is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with a wide range of programming across television, digital platforms, and daily studio shows as part of Disney’s “Disney Celebrates America” initiative.
• The centerpiece is a special two-hour edition of SportsCenter airing July 4 at 5PM ET on ABC, featuring live reports, historical retrospectives, and contributions from ESPN personalities including Chris Berman, Stephen A. Smith, Scott Van Pelt, Joe Buck, and Pat McAfee.
• The special will include live segments from across the country, including a Savannah Bananas game at the University of Iowa, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, and Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
• ESPN.com will run a five-day multimedia series called “AMERICA 250 Road Trips,” featuring reporters exploring how sports have shaped American identity through storytelling, maps, video, and photography from June 29 to July 3.
• The series includes contributions from Alyssa Roenigk, Kent Babb, Aishwarya Kumar, Roberto José Andrade Franco, and Dotun Akintoye, each focusing on different themes of American sports culture.
• ESPN studio shows Get Up and First Take will feature special America 250-themed content beginning June 29, highlighting historic moments and standout sports plays.
• ESPN will continue its Independence Day tradition with live coverage of the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4, featuring competitors Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo.
• The hot dog eating contest will air on ESPN2 and ABC, with Chestnut competing for his 18th title and Sudo aiming for her 12th.
• The ESPN App will participate in a 24-hour cross-platform “Disney Celebrates America” broadcast spanning ABC, Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, and other Disney networks from July 3-4.

ESPN and Freedom 250:

• ESPN will serve as the exclusive broadcast partner for the 2026 Patriot Games, with competition coverage streaming on the ESPN App and culminating in a one-hour primetime special on ABC on August 13.
• The national competition, organized by Freedom 250, will feature high school athletes ages 14-17 from across the United States, its territories, and tribal nations competing in a series of challenges focused on strength, endurance, agility, teamwork, and perseverance.
• The Patriot Games competition will take place August 9-11, 2026, with ESPN's coverage designed to bring the event's stories, performances, and scholarship race to a nationwide audience before the primetime ABC recap special.

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