ESPN2 is a popular American television network which falls under the joint ownership of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications. After initially having the format of a younger counterpart to its parent network, ESPN, focusing on sports which were popular among young adult audiences, it is now a pay television network offering mainstream sports coverage.

As of September 2018, ESPN2 is watched by approximately 86 million households, which represents a 93.2% share of the users who watch pay television in the United States.

ESPN2 was launched on October 1, 1993, and its first aired program was the premiere of SportsNight, a sports news program originally hosted by Keith Olbermann and Suzy Kolber. Initially, ESPN2 had an estimated coverage of 10 million homes. The original goal was for it to be a more informal and youth-oriented destination compared to its parent network, ESPN. In contrast to ESPN, ESPN2 featured a heavier emphasis on programming that would appeal to its younger demographic, which was reflected in its overall presentation. For example, its first logo was graffiti-themed.

Over time, ESPN2 moved away from its niche segment and began airing more mainstream sports programming. It went as far as acquiring rights to the Formula One World Championship in 2017 and now carries the majority of the races. New shows were introduced and in January 2005, ESPN2 started broadcasting in high definition (the 720p resolution format).

Initially, ESPN2 aired an array of studio programs – for example, there was SportsNight, a ‘lighter’ version of SportsCenter on ESPN. Talk2 was a nightly talk show hosted by Jim Rome, which the network advertised as an alternative to the show Larry King Live which people tuned into on CNN. Meanwhile, there was a sports anthology series called Max Out which was originally on ESPN, and fans could stay up to date on the top headlines by watching a five minute recap on the show SportsSmash every 30 minutes.

ESPN2 initially had a number of programs which were dedicated to specific sports and aired for 30 minutes at a time. Examples include NFL 2Night, NHL 2Night and RPM2Night. Their intended demographic was young adults between the ages of 16 and 34.

Currently, ESPN2’s main focus is on mainstream sporting events, including Major League Baseball games, the East–West Shrine Game, much of the 2006 World Baseball Classic, many Major League Soccer games, NCAA football games, NCAA basketball games, the WNBA, the Arena Football League, regular season KHL games and more.  Saturday afternoons are dedicated to the NASCAR Nationwide Series races. There is ample tennis coverage as well, with the channel broadcasting all four Grand Slam tournaments – including the ATP Masters 1000 events.

All of this makes ESPN2 an important channel for any sports fan to have. It is also one of the channels you can easily watch without cable. With ESPN2, you’ll have access to a variety of sporting events including college football, NBA, NFL games and more.

Sling TV

• ESPN2 is available with the Sling Orange package for just $30 a month
• Sling Orange includes 16 of the most popular cable channels
• There are 10 hours of Cloud DVR storage available, with the option to upgrade to more
• Supports multiple mobile devices, smart TVs, games consoles and living room devices

Hulu Live TV

• Plans start at just $55 a month
• Over 60 channels are available
• Supports multiple devices, from Android and iOS to Roku and more
• Lets two streams run at the same time
• Includes the Hulu library of on-demand content

AT&T TV Now

• 40+ channels for $65 a month
• Larger package of 60+ channels is available
• Local channels and on-demand nationwide access included
• 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage offered
• Stream on computers, mobile devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, Roku and more

Vidgo

• 7 day free trial
• 60+ channels for $40 per month
• Cancelations available at any time
• Stream on mobile devices, computers, Roku and Amazon Fire TV
• Stream on 3 devices simultaneously