Roone Pinckney Arledge, Jr. (July 8, 1931 – December 5, 2002) was an
American sports and news broadcasting executive who was president of
ABC Sports from 1968 until 1986 and
ABC News from 1977 until 1998, and a key part of the company's rise to competition with the two other main television networks,
NBC and
CBS, in the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s. He created many programs still airing today, such as
Monday Night Football,
ABC World News Tonight,
Primetime,
Nightline and
20/20.