Turns out Ricky Bobby was wrong. Just because you’re not first doesn’t mean you’re last. ESPN2 is a living testament to that. The secondary channel is nearly as essential as ESPN itself, offering up countless live games across all the sports you care about, and replays of your favorite ESPN programs like SportsCenter. Here’s everything you need to know to find an ESPN2 live stream.
What is ESPN2?
Launched in 1993, ESPN2 was originally designed to be a more youth-centric sports network, and it showed in its graffiti logo and the graphics that ran over shows like SportsNight with Keith Olbermann and more extreme alternative sports coverage, like snowboarding and lumberjack logging. By the late 1990s, the youthful angle began getting phased out for more mainstream coverage, allowing the overall ESPN brand a secondary channel for what was certainly an overflowing schedule. Now on ESPN2, you can find games and matches from the MLB, Major League Soccer, NCAA football and basketball, and even NASCAR on ESPN2. It’s also essential for streaming college football.
- Launched: October 1, 1993
- Owner: The Walt Disney Company
- Slogan: The World Wide Leader in Sports
- Headquarters: Bristol, Connecticut
- Related Channels: ESPN, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, Longhorn Network, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Bases Loaded
ESPN2 live stream: 5 ways to watch ESPN2 online for free
If you have a way to watch ESPN online, chances are you can also stream ESPN2. The channels tend to be packaged together on most of the major live TV streaming services. The exception is FuboTV, which doesn’t offer any ESPN channels. Here are your best options for an ESPN2 live stream and what you need to know about each one.
| 7 Day Trial | FREE |
| Live TV +Hulu |
$54.99 |
| Live TV +Hulu (no ads) |
$60.99 |
Hulu Live TV is one of the most popular ways to stream live TV, perhaps because you gain access to a massive library of on-demand content including classic and current TV shows, movies, not to mention Hulu’s original programming. As far as live-streaming goes, you’ll have a ton of local, entertainment, and sports channels to flip through, including HGTV, a full suite of ESPN channels, Cartoon Network, FX, and even deep cuts like Nat Geographic and Syfy.
| Sling Orange | $30 |
| Sling Blue | $30 |
| Sling Orange & Blue | $45 |
For a more à la carte service, look to Sling TV. It offers two cable packages, Sling Orange and Sling Blue, each of which costs $30 per month. If you grab them both (Sling Orange + Blue) you can save $10 per month. Sling Blue offers more bang for your buck with over 40 channels, including sports necessities like FS1, NBCSN, and NFL Network. You’ll also gain access to the usual cable mainstays like Food Network, Discovery, Cartoon Network, SYFY, and FXX. Whichever package you choose, you can save $10 on your first month. Here’s the complete guide to Sling TV channels.
| Standard | $54.99 |
| Family | $69.99 |
| Ultra | $79.99 |
FuboTV was built from the ground up with sports fans in mind. There are different channel packages available whether you’re looking for basketball, soccer, golf, or even outdoor sports like rock climbing. But no worries, all the great cable channels you’re after are here too, including Viceland, Bravo, TBS, and IFC.
| Core | $29.99 |
| Plus | $39.99 |
| Latino | $9.99 |
| Latino Mas | $19.99 |
Vidgo offers a package for under $40 a month that pulls together more than 60 English-language channels into its National English Package, including ABC, Fox, the Disney family of channels, the ESPN family of channels (including ESPN Deportes), FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes and BeIN Sports. It offers an array of entertainment favorites, including A&E, HGTV, History, Lifetime, and a full range of Nickelodeon channels, including TeenNick and NickToons.
College sports fans will love it, too: The ACCN, Big Ten Network, the Longhorn Network, and Pac-12 Network are all on the Core package, and for $10 more, the Plus package offers all six market-specific Pac-12 Networks.
| Plus | $65 |
| Max | $80 |
| Ultimate | $135 |
There’s a good chance that you’re already looking to AT&T for your wireless needs. The second you sign up, you’ll gain instant access to 45+ channels, including local channels and even free HBO in the Plus and Max channel suites. Plus, it comes with CloudDVR, which lets you record up to 20 hours of TV per month. One account works on two devices, but you can add more devices for only $5.
YouTube TV is a great solution for families because one subscription can add up to six accounts, and each account comes with unlimited cloud DVR. You can’t beat the variety, either: There are sports channels like NBCSN, NBA TV, and four ESPN channels, while Disney, Disney XD, Disney Junior, and Cartoon Network will keep any kid (or kid at heart) busy for hours. It also comes with a few Spanish-language channels like Telemundo and NBC Universo. AMC, BBC America, and IFC are there too, so you won’t miss out on all that prestige TV. (You can find the full list of YouTube TV channels here.)
Other ways to watch ESPN2
1) Official ESPN site
If you’re want to watch ESPN2 on desktop, you can always do so from your web browser. ESPN recommends that you run the latest version of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Explorer, and that you have an internet speed of at least 2 Mbps. (For a full list of system requirements, go here.) You’ll find all of the live ESPN2 programming under the Watch tab. Just press the play button on the video player, and you’ll be prompted to enter your login information. ESPN accepts DirecTV Now, Hulu, Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube TV credentials in addition to standard cable providers. Just select which one you use from the list, put your information in, and you’re set.
ESPN
2) ESPN app
Cost: Free to download
Devices: Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Android and Kindle Fire, Google Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, and iOS and Android devices
ESPN
Sports Channels Streaming Guides
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*First Published: Jul 31, 2020, 1:25 pm
Joseph Knoop
Joseph Knoop is a gaming writer for Daily Dot, a native Chicagoan, and a slave to all things Overwatch. He co-founded the college geek culture outlet ByteBSU, then interned at Game Informer, and now writes for a bunch websites his parents have never heard of.
