ESPN in late 1979 had only been on the air for a couple of months and back then they would pay cable companies to carry them.
Berman told me years ago that he first understood what ESPN could become when they showed the 1980 Beanpot and fans in Buffalo cheered Northeastern's first win that nobody in Boston saw.
ESPN in 1979-80 relied heavily on showing Washington and Hartford games to show anything live.
@Aussie Bruin ESPN's big breakthrough would come in 1983 when they aired a boat race in Newport, Rhode Island working with Network 7 and 10 , WJAR-TV in Providence, and WBZ-TV in Boston. I seem to recall that was a big event down under.