ESPN buys North American Sports Network

BRISTOL, Conn. – The North American Sports Network will be renamed ESPN America starting February 1, when it broadcasts the Super Bowl. ESPN agreed in December 2006 to buy the network, which is based in London and dedicated to North American sports. Its broadcasts include Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NHL and college football and basketball. NASN is available in 14 million households in 43 nations, ESPN said Thursday, and has three million more subscribers in the Middle East. ESPN is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co. – AP