ESPN continues to expand its programming with the addition of ESPN+. With live sporting events, debate-style roundtables, and highlight-driven presentations, ESPN and its family of networks are still the best destinations for round-the-clock sporting coverage. With multiple networks and a streaming service, ESPN continues to make entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking content for every major sport. From documentaries about Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter in the 30 for 30 series to entertaining shows hosted by legendary athletes like Peyton Manning, ESPN+ has something for every fan.
Whether you love football or enjoy the UFC, ESPN+ features a variety of sports programming. Scrolling through ESPN+’s extensive library can be daunting, so we compiled a list of some of the best shows to watch on the ESPN+ streaming service.
Looking for more shows to watch? We have guides to the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, the best shows on Disney+, and the best shows on Amazon Prime Video.
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SportsCenter1979 -
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On The Clock2023
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Fate of a Sport2022
If you’ve ever watched ESPN, the jingle DaDaDa, DaDaDa is probably in your mind. After 40-plus years, SportsCenter is still ESPN’s flagship program. The sporting news program changed the way the media covers sports.
With highlight clips, news packages, in-depth analysis, and interviews, SportsCenter provides up-to-the-minute information on every major sport. What started as a show that would air once a day has progressed to over 12 live shows daily. The series continues to serve as a go-to program for many sports fans looking to stay up-to-date on their favorite teams and leagues.
The XFL has its version of the NFL’s Hard Knocks with Player 54: Chasing the XFL Dream. The docuseries focuses on the creation of the league under new ownership from Dany Garcia (Black Adam) and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Red Notice). After the league filed for bankruptcy in April 2020, Garcia and Johnson purchased the league in August 2020, and the league began its inaugural season in February 2023.
The 54 symbolizes the odd-man out of an NFL roster, which only carries 53 players. The series focuses on the dreamers of the XFL, the castoff football players and coaches looking to continue their careers in the sport they love.
Arguably the most important position in professional sports is quarterback. A good quarterback can positively set an NFL franchise up for the next decade, but a bad quarterback can set a team back for years. Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, decided to evaluate and mentor the top four prospects at the position ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The result became On The Clock, a four-part original series that chronicles the journey of Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Kentucky’s Will Levis, and Florida’s Anthony Richardson, from the 2022 college football season to the NFL Draft. The Manning brothers provide an insightful look into the pressures of being a top quarterback and what it takes to succeed at the position.
Lacrosse is typically viewed as a niche sport that can never become as popular as football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, especially at the professional level. There was a running joke that pro lacrosse players needed 9-to-5 jobs during the week to support themselves due to lacrosse’s low salaries. In 2020, one man, Paul Rabil, one of the greatest pro players to ever pick up a stick, changed the trajectory of the sport.
Fate of a Sport depicts Rabil’s pursuit to create his own professional lacrosse league, which would become the Premiere Lacrosse League (PLL). Imagine Michael Jordan decided to create his basketball league while on the Chicago Bulls or Derek Jeter attempted to start another baseball league as a member of the New York Yankees. That’s essentially what Rabil tried to do and succeeded. Fate of a Sport is a fascinating view into how one player and his older brother strived to change professional lacrosse for the better.
Go behind the scenes in the life of an MMA fighter in UFC Embedded. Think of UFC Embedded as MMA’s version of Hard Knocks. Before every pay-per-view event, the UFC documents the days leading up to fight night through the eyes of the fighters on the main card. It’s an all-access video blog series that features interviews with the fighters, family members, friends, and coaches.
From training in the gym and sparring with teammates to signing autographs and making media appearances, the series chronicles every aspect of fight week, providing the fans with an inside look into what it takes to be a UFC athlete.
Eli Manning explores the intricacies and wonders of college football in Eli’s Places. Serving as the spinoff to Peyton’s Places, Eli’s Places focuses on college football as the youngest Manning brother travels around the country, exploring what makes college football a way of life.
Eli travels to some of college football’s most iconic locations, such as Notre Dame and the Rose Bowl, and interviews legends of the sport along the way, including Jim McMahon and Tim Tebow. Eli even went undercover at Penn State walk-on tryouts as “Chad Powers” in one of the standout episodes of season 2. Eli’s Places is a fun, upbeat view of a game loved by so many fans nationwide.
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