Originally launched on 5 December 2002 as NASN (the North American Sports Network), ESPN America broadcast a selection of top North American professional and collegiate sports leagues including Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Canadian Football League (CFL), 24 hours a day on digital cable and digital satellite television.

In the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Nordic countries events shown on ESPN America included Major League Baseball, the College World Series, NCAA college football and college basketball, the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship Frozen Four plus the Arena Football League, Major League Lacrosse, and the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship Final Four.

In continental Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Iceland the broadcast also included NFL programmes.

ESPN America also showed the Little-League World Series from Williamsport, PA and the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest from Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY.

NASN paid £11.6m in March 2006 for the rights to show ten live MLB games a week.

[4] On 1 March 2010, ESPN America began showing a European edition of SportsCenter, anchored by Michael Kim.

In late 2006, former owners Benchmark Capital Europe and Setanta Sports agreed to sell the network to ESPN for €70m.