ESPN is an American basic cable sports channel. They broadcast games in multiple sports niches, including basketball, football, soccer, baseball, and more. The channel is available in over 200 countries and it also has a Spanish-speaking sister network. ESPN is watched by around 800,000 viewers weekly in the United States alone. If you’re trying to find ESPN on DirecTV, then we have the perfect guide. Plus, we’ll tell you how you can find the channel’s sister networks, too!
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Description: Pick your choice of ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney Plus. Plans start as low as $4.99/month for ESPN+ only. | Description: Free trial available. Watch 75+ channels, including local channels and special premium channel offers. | Description: Take a 7-day free trial and stream more than 70 channels live. Record your favorites with unlimited DVR. |
Pick your choice of ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney Plus. Plans start as low as $4.99/month for ESPN+ only.
Free trial available. Watch 75+ channels, including local channels and special premium channel offers.
Take a 7-day free trial and stream more than 70 channels live. Record your favorites with unlimited DVR.
ESPN Channel Guide
| Channel Name | Channel Number on DirecTV |
|---|---|
| ESPN | 206 |
| ESPN2 | 209 |
| ESPNews | 207 |
| ESPN Deportes | 466 |
| ESPNU | 208 |
The History of ESPN
ESPN started in 1978 as a brainchild of Bill Rasmussen. The network didn’t officially take off until 1979 though, and only because Anheuser-Busch became an advertiser. The company invested $1 million to be the channel’s exclusive beer company.
ESPN became popular in 1980 when it aired the early rounds of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, which is now dubbed “March Madness.” Later that year, ESPN televised the 1980-1981 NFL draft and even started broadcasting boxing matches.
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) purchased ESPN in 1984. This helped the channel negotiate deals for college football and basketball games. By 1992, ESPN had become a regular part of American life, and the channel launched ESPN Radio and ESPN2, which offered niche sports like snowboarding. Since 1996, ESPN has been owned by Walt Disney Television.
ESPN Programming
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While ESPN mostly showcases games from sports like NBA, NFL, MLB, and more, it also has the latest and greatest news on sports and talk segments. A few popular shows include SportsCenter, Sunday NFL Countdown, and The Pat McAfee Show.
ESPN2 Programming
If you enjoy high school sports, Formula 1 Racing, and the UFC, then ESPN2 is the channel for you. You’ll also find the popular shows from ESPN on this channel, including SportsCenter. Other shows are ESPN2 exclusives, like Unsportsmanlike with Evan, Canty, and Michelle.
ESPNews Programming
Want to catch up with all of the news surrounding sports? ESPNews offers news-only programming, with shows like Around the Horn, NBA Today, and Pardon the Interruption.
ESPN Deportes Programming
ESPN Deportes is a Spanish-speaking channel that provides the same sports coverage as ESPN but with a few exclusives. This includes soccer matches, an ESPN Deportes version of SportsCenter, and Ahora o Nunca, a show that discusses sports culture.
ESPNU Programming
Calling all women’s sports fans! While there are other sister stations that offer collegiate matches, ESPNU focuses on women’s sports as well, including women’s college volleyball and women’s college soccer. They also offer other matches like college football.
ESPN Sister Stations
ESPN has quite a few sister stations involved with the network, as many are owned by Walt Disney Television. However, we will only be covering the more sports-related channels, as the others, like Disney Channel, Freeform, Lifetime, and more have already been discussed. However, if you want a full breakdown of all of the sister channels owned by Walt Disney Television, there are many different guides.
ESPN Sports-Related Sister Stations Guide
| Network Name | Channel |
|---|---|
| ABC | Not Available |
| Longhorn Network | 677 |
| SEC Network | 611 |
| ACC Network | 612 |
ABC
Before we dive into what ABC offers its viewers, it’s important to note that this channel is not currently available on DirecTV. This is because DirecTV could not come to an agreement with Nexstar, thus their contract wasn’t renewed. As of right now, there are still no agreements, so channels like ABC, CW, and NBC won’t be available on the network until they’re renewed.
If you decide to watch ABC online or get another cable service, you’ll be able to watch ESPN recorded games, as well as shows like The Good Doctor, Abbott Elementary, and Good Morning America.
Longhorn Network
The Longhorn channel is a sports channel created by The University of Texas at Austin, ESPN, and Learfield. It only focuses on the Texas Longhorns and the University of Texas at Austin varsity sports teams. So if you’re a fan of everything Texas and sports, this is the channel for you.
SEC Network
The Southeastern Conference Network offers coverage of collegiate sports in the SEC conference. The SEC Network showcases live and recorded events like games, news, and more. This includes games from the University of Florida, the University of Georgia, the University of Kentucky, the University of South Carolina, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Alabama, just to name a few.
ACC Network
Similar to the SEC Network channel, the ACC Network focuses on games from the collegiate Atlantic Coast Conference. You’ll only find games related to the colleges in the ACC, including Duke University, University of North Carolina, Florida State University, Clemson, Notre Dame, and the University of Pittsburgh, to note a few.
ESPN on DirecTV Wrap-Up
Many sports lovers enjoy watching ESPN, and the network has grown to include a ton of different options for viewing, no matter what your sports preferences are. So if you’re a sports fan, then you’ll never get tired of flipping through each of these channels and watching all that they have to offer.
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