"[2] Launching with an estimated carriage of about 10 million homes, and nicknamed "The Deuce",[3] ESPN2 aimed to be a more informal and youth-oriented channel than parent network ESPN.

[4][5] Its initial lineup featured studio programs such as SportsNight—which host Keith Olbermann characterized as a "lighter" parallel to ESPN's SportsCenter that would still be "comprehensive, thorough and extremely skeptical", Talk2—a nightly talk show hosted by Jim Rome that was billed as an equivalent to CNN's Larry King Live, Max Out—an extreme sports anthology series carried over from ESPN, and SportsSmash—a five-minute recap of sports headlines which aired every half-hour.

[4] ESPN2 would also be used to showcase new technology and experimental means of broadcasting events: on September 18, 1994, ESPN2 simulcast CART's Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix using only onboard camera feeds.

ESPN2 formerly broadcast matches of the UEFA Champions League, until rights for that tournament moved to Fox Soccer and its sister networks.

[10] On October 4, 2017, ESPN announced that it had acquired rights to the Formula One World Championship; the majority of the races are carried by ESPN2.

[11] The NHL returned to ESPN in the 2021–22 season; ESPN2 primarily serves as a secondary broadcaster during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

[12] ESPN2's former flagship show, the morning sports/entertainment program Cold Pizza, achieved minimal success and saw several format and host changes.

Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, a program that featured interviews with popular sports figures, had averaged extremely low ratings,[13][14] and had also faced several timeslot changes, until it was finally canceled in January 2007.

[15][16] On August 8, 2018, ESPN2 stunted as "ESPN8: The Ocho"—an homage to a fictitious eighth ESPN channel portrayed in the 2004 film DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, dedicated to unconventional and obscure sporting events.

ESPN2 also often carries SportsCenter at times when the broadcast on ESPN is delayed by a sporting event that overruns into one of the program's scheduled timeslots.

A tornado had damaged the original game site, the Georgia Dome, causing the remainder of the tournament to be rescheduled and re-located to the smaller Alexander Memorial Coliseum.