• by Wayne Friedman , July 7, 2015

ESPN’s sports award show, “The ESPYs,” will see Capital One return as its presenting sponsor, as well as new and returning advertisers buying commercial time for the show’s big move to ABC next week.

The 23-year-old show, which has aired on the ESPN cable sports network since its inception, will shift to sister broadcast network ABC, on July 15 at 8 p.m., hosted by Joel McHale.

Capital One returns in its fourth year as presenting sponsor.

New first-time “associate sponsors” include MetroPCS and Nike. Returning associate sponsors include Cadillac, Miller Lite, Gatorade and Grey Goose Vodka.

In addition to being the presenter of the ESPYs Countdown and the Nomination Special, Capital One also has special photo technology brand associations during the show -- Capital One Venture Cam, on the red carpet. It also sponsors the Capital One Cup, recognizing collegiate athletics excellence.

“The ESPYs,” hosted by Drake in 2014, slipped 3% in TV viewership from the 2013 edition, pulling in 2.2 million average viewers, from 2.3 million the year before, per Nielsen. Looking at key 18-49 viewers, “The ESPYs” last year earned a 1.1 rating — up from 2013’s 1.0 rating, but down from 2012’s 1.2 rating.

On Twitter, “The ESPYs” on ESPN and its Spanish-language ESPN Deportes had a unique audience of 8.3 million and nearly 1.6 million tweets, according to Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings.