A much friendlier timeslot as play should run through until around midday AEST.
This is an important newsflash, and you’re seeing it here first.
ESPN has revealed the blockbuster opening-day schedule for National Hockey League. And it all begins with the Panthers at home and their quest to three-peat.
Full schedule for Wednesday, October 8 (all times AEST) is as follows:
- 7.00am or 7.30am - The Point with Steve Levy, Mark Messier, P.K. Subban
- 8.00am - Florida Panthers vs. Chicago Blackhawks
- 11.00am - New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
- 1.30pm - Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche
NHL’s full schedule release is set for 3.00am on Thursday. Keep an eye on that.
Back to the current week, The 2025 ESPYS presented by Capital One - live Thursday at 10.00am - will be broadcast by… no one? ESPN2 only shows the preview show, but then that is followed by even more NBA Summer League. What a strange programming decision.
ESPYS: Foxtel guide states tape delayed at 7 on ESPN, after preview show replay at 6. Possibly live on D+?
Will be on Disney+
Even more schedule announcements out for today with the Little League World Series (two versions, baseball and softball) commanding attention from next week until the start of college football, US Open, and basically the return of a hectic sports cycle.
Below is a very, very long list of what exactly they will be covering, live on ESPN unless otherwise stated. Only games on linear television are shown. The symbol denote following the start time means all the games will concern that tournament unless otherwise stated. (Don’t ask me about the Australian version, because my guess is as good as yours on whether all of these will be shown.)
In circumstances where multiple games are listed, the second game starts 2 hours after the first, and so on. Asterisks denote 3 hours.
| DATE | 1ST GAME STARTS (AEST) | BROADCAST ORDER | LIVE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25 | Midnight LLS | Southeast SF2, New England SF2, Central SF2, Southwest SF2, Northwest SF2, Mid-Atlantic SF2, West SF2 | |
| Jul 26 | Midnight LLS | Southeast Final, New England Final, Central Final, Southwest Final, Northwest Final, Mid-Atlantic Final, West Final | |
| Aug 4 | 4.00am LLB | Southeast G12, Southwest G10 | |
| 11.00pm LLB | New England G4, Southeast G13, Metro G4, Southwest G11, Mid-Atlantic G3, Great Lakes G6, West G4 | ||
| Aug 5 | 9.00am LLSWS | G8: Asia-Pacific v W3 | ESPN2 |
| Aug 6 | Midnight LLSWS | G9: L1 v L7 | ESPN2 |
| 1.00am LLB | Mid-Atlantic G4, Great Lakes G7, Southeast Final, Northwest G4, Southwest Final, Mountain G6 | ||
| 9.00am LLSWS | G12: L4 v L6 | ESPN2 | |
| Aug 7 | Midnight LLSWS* | QF: W10 v W11, QF: W9 v W12, AUSL Pro Games | ESPN2 |
| 1.00am LLB | Midwest G12, New England G5, Northwest G5, Metro G6, Great Lakes Final, West G5 | ||
| Aug 8 | 3.00am LLB | Midwest G13 | ESPN2 |
| 3.00am LLB | LLSWS QF: W6 v W7, Mid-Atlantic G5, LLSWS QF: W5 v W8, New England Final, West Final | ||
| 7.00am LLB | Mountain G7 | ESPN2 | |
| Aug 9 | 3.00am LLB | Midwest Final, Mid-Atlantic Final, Mountain Final, Metro Final, Northwest Final | |
| 6.00am LLSWS* | L15 v W14, L16 v W13 | ESPN2 | |
| Aug 10 | 4.00am LLSWS | SF: W16 v W18 | |
| 7.00am LLSWS | SF: W15 v W17 | ESPN2 | |
| Aug 11 | 2.00am | LLSWS 3rd | |
| 5.00am | LLSWS Final | ABC | |
| Aug 14 | 3.00am LLBWS | Puerto Rico v Latin America, Mountain v Great Lakes, Panama v Australia, Southwest v Metro | |
| Aug 15 | 3.00am LLBWS | Japan v Europe-Africa, Southeast v New England, Mexico v Asia-Pacific, Midwest v Mid-Atlantic | |
| Aug 16 | 3.00am LLBWS | Canada v W1, Northwest v W2, Caribbean v W3, West v W4 | |
| Aug 17 | 3.00am LLBWS | L3 v L5, L4 v L6, L1 v L7, L2 v L8 | |
| 11.00pm LLBWS | L10 v W14, L9 v W13, L11 v L15 | ||
| Aug 18 | 3.00am LLBWS | L12 v W16 | ABC |
| 9.00am | Sunday Night Baseball: MLB LL Classic - Mariners v Mets | ESPN (main), ESPN2 (KidsCast) | |
| Aug 19 | 3.00am LLBWS | QFs: W5 v W9, W6 v W10, W11 v W7, W12 v W8 | |
| Aug 20 | 3.00am LLBWS | W20 v L21, W19 v L22, W18 v L23, W17 v L24 | |
| Aug 21 | 3.00am LLBWS | QFs: W21 v W23, W22 v W24, W25 v W27, W26 v W28 | |
| Aug 22 | 5.00am LLBWS | L29 v W31 | |
| 9.00am LLBWS | L30 v W32 | ||
| Aug 23 | 9.00am | LL Home Run Derby | ESPN (Taped from prev. day) |
| Aug 24 | 2.30am LLBWS* | SF: W29 v W33, W30 v W34 | ABC |
| Aug 25 | Midnight | LLBWS 3rd | ESPN2 |
| 5.00am | LLBWS Final | ABC |
Foxtel guide only goes up to the 29th at this point, but they’re showing the first two days on ESPN2. 25th 12am-12:30pm (live) 4:30pm-9pm (replayed), 26th 12am-9am (live) 3pm-9pm (replayed).
That is interesting and also very bizarre. I have also managed to get a hold of the guide.
On Jul 26, ESPN2 is going to suddenly cut off the Mid-Atlantic Final and ignore the West Final in its entirety to broadcast a MLB game that is only televised on the regional sports networks. It will not even receive a simulcast on MLB Network, that’s how absurd it is.
Sort of a bad look that you can see the bronze medals for the Mid-Atlantic and the West regions, but not the golds.
ESPN here does odd switches all the time. I suppose it is quite hard to fit things in when you’ve only got 2 channels (and D+ which they don’t seem to use as overflow mostly) and not 6 and a streamer.
At least ESPN AU can boast about having live events on all available linear channels. (There are both MLB games on E and E2 within that time.)
Trust me, in places where there are 6 channels and a streamer, in many cases you would be complaining about the same thing too.
Mostly because programming, instead of being on streamer due to linear television, has actually replaced linear.
Like the U.S., where one time ESPN2 and ESPNU went about two days with a single live event (college softball game) each day, while 5-8 of those games at any moment are live on ESPN+.
Or Canada, where TSN has 5 nationally available feeds named TSN1 to TSN5, but they all have a 16-hour period without a live sports event (mostly consists of SportsCentre and countdowns that have been seen to death), and if there’s an actual event, you can never tell if it’ll be on one feed, or two, or three, or all four.
Or Latin America, where ESPN has a complex broadcast structure to tailor regional contents and work around sports rights in each country. It goes like this (personal creation):
And yet, despite being the tennis rightsholder of Latin America (all the way from Slams to 250s), with a week of five 250s underway, they’re choosing to cover only the one in Los Cabos, Mexico, where it’s only on the Northern feed of ESPN3. The Southern region will not even see any of the 250s on Disney+.
It’s just these sensible programming decisions that as an armchair schedule maker, I would be able to do very well, and yet the ones in charge doesn’t.
Update on this: Apparently the schedule makers have noticed the omission and corrected.
From 9.00am tomorrow, ESPN2 will show the event live. That repeat telecast will stand.
Fourth programming notice this week. They really are doing it good in communicating that, don’t they?
Anyway, it’s back for the biggest, craziest, most action-packed year yet. ESPN8: The Ocho is Friday, August 1 - Monday, August 4 on ESPN2 with a stellar lineup of “sports?!” events.
30+ brand-new competitions will make Ocho debut this year, a record high, with 2 of them shown live.
The movie that inspired ESPN8, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, will be shown Sunday at 2.00pm on ESPN2.
So to summarize in August, this, then the Little Leaguers, then college football, then US Open to lead directly into the NFL season. What more could you want?
Below is a lineup of competitions to be shown live. (Channel signs on at 9.00am Friday.) Notes:
- Unless otherwise stated, all live events are on ESPN2.
- Unless otherwise stated, all live events come from ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Florida’s Walt Disney World Resort.
- Occasionally, ESPN2 will opt out of Ocho to broadcast mainstream sports events. These events are italicized.
| DATE | AEST | EVENT | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, August 2 | Midnight | Major League Paintball: 3v3 World Championship | |
| 1.00am | NWLA All-Star Game | ||
| 2.00am | OmegaBall World Invitational | ||
| 3.00am | Turf Wars Adult Kickball Tournament | ||
| 4.00am | ACL World Championship: Trickshot Challenge | In Rock Hill, SC | |
| SportsCenter Special w/ Gary Striewski & Randy Scott | On ESPN | ||
| 5.00am | The 4th Annual BullShooter Invitational Shootout | ||
| 6.00am | The Ocho Show w/ Clinton Yates, Arda Öcal & Cristina Alexander | ||
| 7.00am | The Popdarts Championship | NEW | |
| 8.00am | 2025 Slippery Stairs | ||
| 9.00am | 2025 Extreme Archery Championship | NEW | |
| 9.00am-11.00am | Banana Ball: Texas Tailgaters v Savannah Bananas | In Baltimore, MD On ESPN |
|
| 10.00am | The National Dodgeball League Championship Games | ||
| 10.00am-Noon | ACL World Championships: Women, Senior, Junior | In Rock Hill, SC On ESPNU |
|
| 11.00am | Pop-A-Shot 2025 National Championship | ||
| Noon-2.00pm | Hush Presents Pillow Fight Championship | ||
| Sunday, August 3 | Midnight-1.00am | F1 Hungarian GP Qualifying | |
| 2.00am | ACL World Championship: Pro Doubles Final | In Rock Hill, SC | |
| 4.00am | AUSL All-Star Cup: Games 1-2 | ||
| 4.30am-5.30am | ACL World Championship: Superhole | In Rock Hill, SC On ESPNU |
|
| 8.30am-11.00am | Banana Ball: Texas Tailgaters vs. Savannah Bananas | In Baltimore, MD | |
| 9.30pm | SportsCenter | ||
| Monday, August 4 | 1.30am-5.30am | 2025 US Open Ultimate Championships | In Denver, CO ESPN2 resumes normalcy after ending |
| 2.00am-4.00am | ACL World Championship: Pro Singles Final | In Rock Hill, SC On ESPN |
|
| 6.00am-8.00am | 2025 US Open Ultimate Championships | In Denver, CO On ESPNU |
Looks like there will be no live commentary of the T20 series on ABC Radio. SEN’s coverage is TBC.
Football content is heating up on ESPN, in all kinds of ways.
This weekend is a Back Together Weekend in the NFL. To put it simply, for those who don’t understand what that means, it’s simply teams opening doors to the training camps for fans, with various further initiatives like youth flag football games, community programming, giveaways, and player greetings.
ESPN will have live coverage from across the country on:
- SportsCenter 50-in-50 with Shae Cornette: Saturday 2.00am on ESPN, live from Packers’ camp
- NFL Live with Laura Rutledge, Dan Orlovsky, Louis Riddick, Adam Schefter and Field Yates: Saturday 11.00pm-2.00am on ESPN, 3.00am-5.00am on ABC
- SportsCenter 50-in-50 with Jay Harris and Hannah Storm: Sunday 9.00pm on ESPN, live from Commanders’ camp
The following Sunday, August 3, ESPN will also broadcast live PFHoF Enshrinement Ceremony from 3.00am-5.00am, anchored by Kevin Negandhi and Louis Riddick. Eric Allen (CB), Jared Allen (DE), Antonio Gates (TE) and Sterling Sharpe Sr. (WR) are (just some of?) this year’s honorees.
Meanwhile, starting July 29, ACC Network will go on the fifth annual Football Road Trip across the conference’s teams. Each 60-minute program - broadcast at 9.00am* with three on-site announcers each - includes season previews, interviews with key figures and showcase of the team’s unique aspects. (*Stanford’s airs 11.00am)
The same network also announced former Florida State HC and 2013 national champion Jimbo Fisher will join Saturday morning CFB program ACC Huddle. The program also receives a huge energetic boost - originally simply from wherever ACCN’s primetime game is from, it will now come from site of the day’s biggest ACC matchup. (Spoiler alert: They are normally, paradoxically, not scheduled for ACCN.)
It will be live from Death Valley, Illinois, and South Carolina for the first three weeks. The location will henceforth be determined weekly.
Back to ESPN, coverage of the blockbuster Tuesday (Sep 2) morning matchup between North Carolina and TCU will now begin at 9.00am. Matt Barrie will host the special pregame, alongside Tedy Bruschi, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and Pete Thamel. Kick-off is scheduled for 10.00am with Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe on the call.
On the radio side, Rich Eisen is back on his spiritual home. (He started out on the network 30-odd years ago.) The show will replace one co-hosted by Joe Fortenbaugh - who will still show up on many TV and radio shows across ESPN - and Q Myers - who will now move to the afternoon slot.
Eisen’s show (naturally football-focused since he is a contributor to NFLN) will start on September 3 on ESPN Radio, Tues-Sat from 2.00am-5.00am (+2h in Nov-Feb and +1h in Mar/Oct). You can also watch it live on Disney+ daily, and on ESPN+ some weeks in the year.
Of interest to ESPN viewers outside America, NBA’s opening day is scheduled as follows for Wednesday, October 22:
9:30am AEDT - Pregame show
10:30am - TBD vs TBD
1pm - TBD vs TBD
(Involved teams are said to be announced “shortly.” This post will be updated with this information once it is revealed.
May potentially clash with Game 1 of the World Series.)
If there confirmation about who and what will be on ESPN AU/NZ?
I assume they will still show NBC games like they showed TNT and I think Amazon is exclusive globally so ESPN probably wouldn’t show those games but maybe they will show more local tv team broadcasts instead
I can confirm that there is no confirmation on which games will be shown on ESPN AU/NZ.
However, this year will mark the first season that at least one game will be nationally distributed U.S.-wide each day. So based on the rights Amazon has, ESPN is safe with games* every weekday. (Dependent upon whether game slate for NFL, NHL or - November onwards - NCAA basketball of a given day is considered more interesting.)
Keep in mind that NCAA football postseason begins mid-December and NFL postseason begins January.
Also one number to note: ESPN says it will carry “around 240” regular-season games. In the U.S., NBA says that NBC will have up to 100 games, ESPN 80, Amazon 66. Adding them up and it’s 246. Does it mean…?
It’s a circumstance that I wish ESPN have more than four channels to deal with. If Fox was smart, they would turn over the overnights/mornings of 502 and 504 over to ESPN for E3 and E4 to carry all the action. (Obviously applicable Oct-Feb.)
*Games or whiparound studio coverage.
Previously ESPN had most of their ESPN and some ABC broadcast, most TNT broadcasts & also some local team broadcasts too.
So potentially they could be showing NBC broadcasts & Peacock exclusives since we don’t have Peacock but not Amazon since I saw that Amazon has global rights. Maybe they will show more local or NBA TV broadcasts instead on those days (Saturday in Aus)
We’ll see what the balance is once the season commences.
In another programming note, ESPN has provided the schedule for CFB and NFL through the latter’s Week 1. (Bracketed broadcaster means original U.S. broadcaster.)
NFL Preseason - All games 10.00am ESPN
Bears vs Bills (FOX) - Monday, Aug 18
Commanders vs Bengals (ESPN) - Tuesday, Aug 19
Giants vs Patriots (Amazon) - Friday, Aug 22
Titans vs Vikings (CBS) - Saturday, Aug 23
CFB - Sunday, August 24 (First day of new graphics)
Kansas State vs Iowa State (ESPN), Portland State at Tarleton State (ESPN2), Southern vs NC Central (ABC) - 2.00am ESPN2 *Coverage begins midnight
UC Davis vs Mercer - 9.00am ESPN
CFB Week 1 - Friday, August 29 to Tuesday, September 2
South Florida vs Boise State, Cincinnati vs Nebraska (ESPN) - Friday 7.30am ESPN2
Colorado vs Georgia Tech (ESPN) - Saturday 10.00am ESPN2
College Gameday built by the Home Depot - Saturday 11.00pm ESPN2
Southern Miss vs Mississippi State (ESPN), Florida State vs Alabama, Clemson vs LSU (ABC) - Sunday 2.00am ESPN
Syracuse vs Tennessee (ABC), Georgia vs Marshall, Texas A&M vs UTSA, Oregon State vs California (ESPN) - Sunday 2.00am ESPN2
South Carolina vs Virginia Tech (ESPN) - Monday 5.00am ESPN2
Notre Dame vs Miami (ABC) - Monday 9.30am ESPN
North Carolina vs TCU (ESPN) - Tuesday 10.00am ESPN2 *Coverage begins 9.00am
CFB Week 2 - Saturday, September 6 & Sunday, September 7
Louisville vs James Madison (ESPN2) - Saturday 9.00am ESPN2
College Gameday built by the Home Depot - Saturday 11.00pm ESPN
TBD*, Kentucky vs Ole Miss, Oklahoma vs Michigan (ABC) - Sunday 2.00am ESPN
Kansas State vs Army, BYU vs Stanford (ESPN) - Sunday 9.00am ESPN2
*Either Texas vs San Jose State or Duke vs Illinois
NFL Week 1 - Monday, September 8 & Tuesday, September 9
TBD (FOX/CBS) - Monday 3.00am & 6.25am ESPN
TBD (FOX/CBS) - Monday 3.00am ESPN2
Buffalo Bills vs Baltimore Ravens (NBC) - Monday 10.15am ESPN
Chicago Bears vs Minnesota Vikings (ESPN) - Tuesday 10.15am ESPN *Coverage begins 8.00am