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ESPN (the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) premiered in 1979, and is one of the leading brands in sports-related programming. The network and its related businesses are 80%-owned by The Walt Disney Company and 20%-owned by The Hearst Corporation.
Appearances
- 2002: Animal, Pepe the King Prawn, Rizzo the Rat, and Rowlf the Dog appear to promote the Muppets' collaboration with NASCAR.
- 2005: Animal and Pepe the King Prawn appeared on All Access.
- August 2005: Statler and Waldorf appeared on Reel Classics Extra for 19 weeks starting in August 2005.
- February 2, 2006: Kermit the Frog appeared on Cold Pizza.
- 2007: Count von Count appeared in a series of segments to provide special commentary on sports playback footage as "the number of the day." Jerry Nelson looped the Count to a performance by Matt Vogel with assistance by Paul McGinnis.
- October 14, 2007: Kermit the Frog appeared in a segment titled "It's Not Easy Being Green" on Sunday NFL Countdown.
- 2008: Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker appeared in a series of commercials for the network's awards show, the ESPYs.
- November 15, 2011: Kermit the Frog, Gonzo, Bunsen, Beaker, Statler and Waldorf appeared on Mike and Mike in the Morning to promote The Muppets.
- November 15, 2011: Statler and Waldorf appeared on SportsNation in November 2011 to promote The Muppets.
- January 2013: The Swedish Chef appears in a SportsCenter commercial.
- March 2015: The Muppets appear in a series of online videos talking about their NCAA "March Madness" brackets as part of the ESPN Tournament Challenge. The videos featured Kermit and Miss Piggy (YouTube), Bunsen and Beaker (YouTube) and Statler and Waldorf (YouTube).
- December 21, 2020: The Muppets appeared on Monday Night Football, rebranding the evening as "Muppet Night Football" (YouTube).
References
- The Sesame Street video Count on Sports parodies the network as ESSN (Ernie's Sports Show News).
- In Miss Piggy's Rules, the section "Moi's Top 10 Reasons you Are Better Off Without Him" lists #7 as "you can reactivate the ESPN channel-blocker."