Recently, Forbes has come up with a credible estimate of how much ESPN is worth and it may surprise you.

The total amount may not surprise you as much as its relation to the total net worth of Disney, its parent company.

Currently, it is estimated that ESPN is worth $40 billion dollars.

Disney as a whole is currently worth $84 billion, making ESPN almost half of its total worth.

As I said, that may shock you, but it didn't shock me. I have come to realize by working in this business, that Sports in general and the business surrounding them are exceeding expectations and perception.

With seemingly endless amounts of money being spent on pro and college TV deals, there doesn't seem to be a end in sight.

For example, The NBA will receive about $930 million a year for all its broadcast rights from ESPN, an increase of more than 20 percent from the previous average of $767 million, according to a person familiar with the deal.

This is just a prime example of how ESPN can demand the high dollars from sponsors and commercial advertisers not to mention the cable companies.

ESPN and ESPN2 combined get $5.81 in per-subscriber fees from cable companies and reach over 100 million homes.

In relation to some other networks, TNT & TBS combined get $1.80, while Fox News is 90 cents and CNN is 60 cents.

Again, I go back to the shock factor. Some people online have been commenting on the fact that they were shocked to see ESPN being basically half of Disney's net worth.

When it comes to sports, there's really one stop that all sports fans make first and that ESPN. Whether its ESPN itself, ESPN.com, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN Radio or one of their city specific sites, all sports news and broadcasts somehow come back to being related to ESPN.

I know from the time I was a young buck to my days now in the business, I always go to ESPN for my news, notes and entertainment.

Furthermore, its a brand. When you have ESPN Zones, Radio Stations Nationally, Apparel and Personalities that are recognizable, you have created a World Wide Brand that is known in almost every part of the World.

So I guess their trademark is certainly living up to their word in being the "World Wide Leader in Sports"

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