ESPN8 The Ocho

Last updated
ESPN8 The Ocho
Founded2017;7 years ago (2017)
Parent ESPN

ESPN8 The Ocho is an annual special program block showcasing seldom-seen obscure sports that airs on the networks of ESPN Inc.

Contents

The Ocho consists of lesser-known, unconventional and humorous sports and other competitions with some athletic or physical skill component, including Pop-A-Shot, roller derby, crossnet, Quidditch, trampoline dodgeball, air hockey, darts, cornhole, disc golf, kabaddi, omegaball, chess boxing, bed races, sport stacking, electrician games, dodge juggle, death diving, cherry pit spitting, robot fighting, firefighter games, cow chip throwing, pizza dough throwing, frog jumping, cheese rolling, grocery bag competitions, extreme pogo, shuffleboard, breakdancing, and more. It is traditionally aired in early August, the eighth month of the year. Much of the programming consists of previously recorded content and reruns previously aired on the ESPN networks, [1] some as far back as the 1990s. [2]

As of December 2023, ESPN8 The Ocho is also offered as a FAST channel on ABC's website and app. [3]

Origins

The concept of ESPN8 originated as a fictional television channel in the 2004 film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story , in which it was a full-time channel showcasing obscure competitions that are "almost a sport" (its name being a comic exaggeration, since at the time there were only four linear ESPN channels—ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS and ESPN Classic; the fifth, ESPNU, launched a year after the film). Its nickname "The Ocho" (Spanish for "eight") was a play on ESPN2's 1990s nickname "The Deuce." [4] [1]

Starting August 8, 2017, ESPN paid homage to its lampooned portrayal in Dodgeball by airing a day-long "ESPN8: The Ocho" marathon on its college sports channel ESPNU as a way to fill airtime on the channel during the collegiate offseason. The 2017 airing was a success, prompting ESPN to repeat the block the next year, this time licensing the Dodgeball film from 20th Century Fox for inclusion in the block (ESPN's parent company would buy 20th Century Fox the next year); it made some other adjustments to the 2018 schedule, including heavier editing to shorten each sport's time slot, hoping to accommodate short attention spans. [2]

Continuation

Due to a lack of live sports programming during the COVID-19 pandemic, ESPN announced on March 22, 2020, that it would reprise the stunt earlier than scheduled on ESPN2. [5] It did it on May 2, 2020, on ESPN, and then August 8, 2020, on ESPN2 as well as the Big Screen in Fortnite Party Royale . [6] A collection of sports that were featured on ESPN8, as well as the ESPN8 broadcast on these said networks, were available on the ESPN app.

Beginning in 2022, the majority of "OCHO Day" programming are events broadcast live from two venues in Rock Hill, South Carolina – The Rock Hill Sports & Event Center and Manchester Meadows. [7] [8] Rock Hill is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, where ESPN has production facilities for ESPNU and the SEC Network. [9] [10]

The event was held again on ESPN2 on August 3, 2023. [11] [12] For 2024, to celebrate "ocho years of The Ocho," the block expanded to four days, with the Savannah Bananas as the tent-pole; all three games of the team's Louisville, Kentucky series were telecast live in prime time, including the second game on ESPN's flagship channel, the first time the ESPN8 brand has expanded there. [13]

In December 2023, ESPN launched an ESPN8 free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel on ABC.com and the ABC app. [14] In April 2024, the FAST channel launched in Canada under the name TSN The Ocho.

Impact

The tongue-in-cheek inclusion of such sports on ESPN's schedule has led to increased exposure opportunities for those sports, which have performed well for ESPN. ESPN added a cornhole tournament airing in July 2018 outside the block, which it noted outdrew the WNBA All-Star Game, regular season Major League Baseball games and the final stage of the Tour de France among the key demographic of men age 18 to 49. [1] The inclusion of the Excel World Championships, an eSport that involves using spreadsheet programs in a competition to solve a series of problems, helped give the contest mainstream attention and credibility. [15]

ESPN8 appeared in the 2024 TV series Knuckles as the in-universe broadcaster of a bowling tournament, with commentators played by Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer. [16]

Scheduling

2024

August 1

August 2

  • 12:30 a.m. Red Bull Gameball Royale
  • 1:30 a.m. Ultimate Ninja World Series Finals
  • 2:00 a.m. Three Rivers Waitstaff Competition
  • 2:30 a.m. Sasquatch Uncut Beard and Mustache Competition
  • 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. encore programming from previous ESPN8 years
  • 6:00 a.m. Origins Gaming Tournament of Pieces Speed Puzzling
  • 6:30 a.m. Competitive Speed Cubing
  • 7:00 a.m. International Jump Rope Union World Championship
  • 7:30 a.m. Freestyle Trampoline Association World Championship
  • 8:00 a.m. Blade Masters: Axe and Knife Throwing
  • 9:00 a.m. FlingGolf All Star Skills Challenge
  • 10:00 a.m. BullShooter Invitational Shootout (electronic darts)
  • 11:00 a.m. OmegaBall
  • 12:00 noon Pop-a-Shot National Championship
  • 1:00 p.m. Viii Sports
  • 2:00 p.m. The Ocho Show (studio program)
  • 3:00 p.m. American Wiffleball Association All-Star Game
  • 4:00 p.m. USA Dodgeball All-Star Showcase
  • 5:00 p.m. TurfWars Adult Kickball Championship
  • 6:00 p.m. Major League Table Tennis Showcase
  • 7:00 p.m. Slippery Stairs
  • 8:00 p.m. American Cornhole League Armed Forces Event
  • 10:00 p.m. Silverback Breaking Invitational

Game 2 of the Savannah Bananas/Party Animals Louisville series aired on ESPN under the ESPN8 brand.

August 3

  • 1:30 a.m. Emerald Downs Corgi Races
  • 2:00 a.m. World Dog Surfing Championships: Best Waves
  • 2:30 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. encore programming from previous ESPN8 years
  • 6:00 a.m ZoneBall Clash
  • 6:30 a.m. Speed Chess Championship Final (from 2022)
  • 7:00 a.m. Microsoft Excel World Championship Finals
  • 7:30 a.m. ProSayulita SUP Open
  • 8:00 a.m. Battle of the Buoy 2
  • 8:30 a.m. National Putting Tour Final (from 2023)
  • 9:00 a.m. Forehand Strike U.S. Open
  • 9:30 a.m. SXY National Beach Tennis Invitational

(break in programming)

August 4

  • 12:00 midnight Carjitsu Championship
  • 12:30 a.m. Ultimate Tire Wrestling
  • 1:00 a.m. Major League Paintball Atlantic City Open
  • 1:30 a.m. OneWheel World Championship Race for the Rail (from 2023)
  • 2:00 to 6:30 a.m. encore programming from previous ESPN8 years
  • 6:30 a.m. Teqball World Series from Tulsa, Oklahoma
  • 7:30 a.m. Roofball World Championships
  • 8:00 a.m. Hamlin Adult Big Wheel Races
  • 8:30 a.m. ESPN Presents: Never Tell Me the Odds "Top Sports Seen in Star Wars "

Source: [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

SportsCenter (SC) is an American daily sports news television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of American cable and satellite television network ESPN. The show covers various sports teams and athletes from around the world and often shows highlights of sports from the day. Originally broadcast only once per day, SportsCenter now has up to twelve airings each day, excluding overnight repeats. The show often covers the major sports in the U.S. including basketball, hockey, football, and baseball. SportsCenter is also known for its recaps after sports events and its in-depth analysis.

ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications.

<i>Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story</i> 2004 sports comedy film by Rawson Thurber

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story is a 2004 sports comedy film written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and starring Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, and Rip Torn. The film follows a group of unlikely misfits who enter a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament in the hopes of winning $50,000 to save their cherished local gym from being taken over by corporate health fitness chain Globo Gym.

ESPNews is an American multinational digital cable and satellite television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications.

ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the Hearst Communications. The channel is primarily dedicated to coverage of college athletics, and is also used as an additional outlet for general ESPN programming. ESPNU is based alongside its sister networks at ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

ESPN Megacast, formerly known as ESPN Full Circle, is a multi-network simulcast of a single sporting event across multiple ESPN networks and services—with each feed providing a different version of the telecast making use of different features, functions or perspectives. These simulcasts typically involve ESPN's linear television channels and internet streaming platforms, and may occasionally incorporate other Walt Disney Television networks at once.

<i>ESPN College Football</i> Television franchise series

ESPN College Football is the branding used for broadcasts of NCAA Division I FBS college football across ESPN properties, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN+, ABC, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, ESPNews and ESPN Radio. ESPN College Football debuted in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ESPN Classic</span> American television channel telecasting vintage sporting events (1995-2021)

ESPN Classic was an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications.

ESPN College Basketball is a blanket title used for presentations of college basketball on ESPN and its family of networks. Its coverage focuses primarily on competition in NCAA Division I, holding broadcast rights to games from each major conference, and a number of mid-major conferences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Wisconsin Badgers football team</span> American college football season

The 2005 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Barry Alvarez, the Badgers completed the season with a 10–3 record, including a 5–3 mark in the Big Ten Conference, good for a third-place tie with Michigan, Northwestern and Iowa.

The 2012 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by first-year head coach Larry Fedora and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The Tar Heels finished the season 8–4 overall and 5–3 in ACC play to tie for first in the Coastal Division with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Miami Hurricanes. Due to NCAA sanctions imposed in the wake of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill football scandal, North Carolina was ineligible for the conference title and banned for postseason play for the 2012 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament</span> American college baseball tournament

The 2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament began on Friday, May 30, 2014, as part of the 2014 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64 team double elimination tournament concluded with the 2014 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, which started on June 14, 2014, and ended on June 25, 2014, with the Vanderbilt Commodores upsetting the 3rd seed Virginia Cavaliers 3–2 in the decisive Game 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Houston Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 2016 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 69th year of season play for Houston. They were led by head coach Tom Herman during the regular season and played their home games at TDECU Stadium in Houston. The Houston Cougars football team is a member of the American Athletic Conference in its West Division. They finished the season 9–4, 5–3 in American Athletic play to finish in a tie for third place in the West Division. They were invited to the Las Vegas Bowl where they lost to San Diego State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savannah Bananas</span> Baseball team in Savannah, Georgia

The Savannah Bananas are an exhibition barnstorming baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. The team was founded in 2016 and has played at Grayson Stadium since its inaugural season. Until 2022, the Bananas competed as a collegiate summer baseball team in the Coastal Plain League's (CPL) West division, where they won three Petitt Cup championships. However, after the growth of their alternate "Banana Ball" format, the team transitioned entirely to exhibition games against their partner touring teams, the Party Animals, the Firefighters, and the Texas Tailgaters, the newest and first non Savannah, Georgia based team, similar to the decades-long format of basketball's Harlem Globetrotters and their partner touring team, the Washington Generals. The team has been featured by ESPN, The Wall Street Journal, CNN 10, and Sports Illustrated because of its sports entertainment and viral videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team</span> American college football season

The 2020 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Hurricane played their home games at Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and competed in the American Athletic Conference. They were led by sixth-year head coach Philip Montgomery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Kentucky Wildcats football team</span> 2021 University of Kentucky football season

The 2021 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky (UK) in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky, and competed in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by ninth-year head coach Mark Stoops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Tulane Green Wave football team</span> American college football season

The 2022 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Green Wave played their home games at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, and competed in the American Athletic Conference. They were led by seventh-year head coach Willie Fritz. They finished the season 12–2, 7–1 in AAC play to earn a trip to the AAC championship game. The Green Wave defeated UCF to win the AAC championship, the school's first conference championship since 1998 and its first AAC championship. They received a bid to the Cotton Bowl Classic to play No-10 ranked USC. It was their first major bowl game since the 1940 Sugar Bowl. Tulane defeated USC in the Cotton Bowl 46–45, scoring 16 points in the final four minutes to win the game. In the game, with 4:30 remaining and the team facing a 15-point deficit, Tulane's win probability stood at 0.2%, yet the Green Wave pulled off the incredible comeback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on American sports broadcasting</span>

When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, all major professional and collegiate organizations responded by suspending operations indefinitely. This effect was passed down to the world of sports broadcasting, which includes live coverage of thousands of events on an annual basis through stations and network available over the air, through cable, satellite, and IPTV companies, and via streaming and over-the-top services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Georgia Bulldogs football team</span> American college football season

The 2023 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the University of Georgia in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The team was led by Kirby Smart in his eighth year as Georgia's head coach. The Bulldogs entered this season as the two-time defending consensus national champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Tulane Green Wave football team</span> American college football season

The 2023 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Green Wave were led by Willie Fritz in his eighth and final year as head coach. They played their home games at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. They entered this season as the defending AAC champions.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rosenthal, Phil. "'ESPN8: The Ocho' to replace ESPNU — if only for a day". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  2. 1 2 Steinberg, Brian (August 8, 2018). "Bold strategy, Cotton: Inside ESPN's crazy plans to turn 'The Ocho' into a business". Variety. Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  3. ↑ Donnelly, Jim (December 18, 2023). "Watch Free: The 'ESPN8: The Ocho' Unlocked Channel Is Now Streaming with No Sign-In Needed!". ABC.com. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  4. ↑ "ESPN is creating ESPN8: 'The Ocho' for one glorious day". SB Nation. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
  5. ↑ "ESPN8 'The Ocho' is back, normally you have to pay double for that kind of action, Cotton". AL.com. 2020-03-19. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  6. ↑ "ESPN Celebrates Four Years of ESPN 8: The Ocho by Streaming in Fortnite's Party Royale on August 8". August 4, 2020.
  7. ↑ City of Rock Hill, South Carolina. "City Calendar - ESPN8: The Ocho". cityofrockhill.com. Granicus. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  8. ↑ Pascucci, Robert. "Exploring the wacky world of ESPN's OCHO day in Rock Hill". South Carolina Educational Television. South Carolina ETV Commission. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  9. ↑ Brooks, Amanda. "Go (Day) Long With Alyssa Lang In ESPN's Buzzing Charlotte Studios". ESPN Front Row. ESPN. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "Spotlight on ESPN's Charlotte Office". Life at Disney (powered by Disney Careers). Disney.com. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  11. ↑ "'ESPN8: The Ocho' bringing back 'seldom seen sports': How to watch cornhole, corgi races". USA TODAY.
  12. ↑ "How to watch ESPN8: The Ocho, 2023 edition". ESPN.com. August 2, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Blum, Lily (2024-07-18). "Ocho Years of the Ocho! ESPN8: The Ocho Returns as the Number One Destination for Seldom-Seen Sports". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  14. ↑ Lucia, Joe (2023-12-20). "ESPN8: The Ocho is now live as ESPN's first FAST channel". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  15. ↑ Pierce, David (2023-08-03). "Excel's esports revolution is coming back to ESPN this week". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  16. ↑ Knight, Rosie (April 27, 2024). "Knuckles Pays Homage to Hollywood Comedies Throughout the Ages". IGN. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.