Country | United States |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Nationwide |
Headquarters | Bristol, Connecticut |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English and Spanish |
Picture format | 720p (HDTV) Downgraded to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed |
Ownership | |
Owner | The Walt Disney Company (80%) Hearst Communications (20%) |
Parent | ESPN Inc. |
Sister channels | |
History | |
Launched | October 1, 1993 |
Links | |
Website | espnpressroom |
Availability | |
Streaming media | |
WatchESPN or ESPN app | WatchESPN.com (U.S. cable subscribers only; requires login from pay television provider to access content) |
DirecTV Stream | Internet protocol television |
YouTube TV | Internet protocol television |
Hulu Live TV | Internet protocol television |
Sling TV | Internet protocol television |
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially formatted as a younger-skewing counterpart to its parent network ESPN, with a focus on sports popular among young adult audiences (ranging from mainstream events to other unconventional sports), and carrying a more informal and youthful presentation than the main network. By the late 1990s, this mandate was phased out, as the channel increasingly became a second outlet for ESPN's mainstream sports coverage.
As of December 2023[update], ESPN2 is available to approximately 70 million pay television households in the United States—down from its 2011 peak of 100 million households.[1]