ESPN acquired television's most successful and longest-running primetime series, Monday Night Football, continuing the legacy of ABC Sports. The package, which includes emerging technology rights, begins in 2006. ESPN concluded its Sunday Night Football package as the highest-rated series on ad-supported cable since 1987.

ESPN also struck agreements with Major League Baseball featuring enhanced Game of the Week series on Sundays and Mondays and an array of multimedia rights. ESPN and ABC Sports also acquired NASCAR rights through 2014. These three major league agreements secure cornerstone programming well into the next decade.

In 2006, ESPN and ABC Sports will carry high definition telecasts of 52 and 12 games, respectively, of the FIFA World Cup from Germany. Rights to the Men's and Women's World Cup soccer events were added through 2014.