In this desperate time of no sports, ESPN decided to revitalize their station, ESPN 8 “The Ocho”. Starting out as a fictional channel in the 2004 movie “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”, ESPN 8 “The Ocho” was a fan favorite because of the comedic commentary, and the novelty of ESPN actually broadcasting dodgeball.
ESPN 8 “The Ocho” began officially airing on ESPN in 2017. The parody station typically runs on August 8th, but this year it has made an additional appearance in the wake of pretty much all sports being shut down for the foreseeable future. With events such as axe throwing, Spikeball, and the National Tetris Championships, ESPN 8 “The Ocho” is must see TV.
While I don’t think that there would be a market for “The Ocho” all year, I do think that ESPN could afford to bump up the air time a couple times a year. Right now, “The Ocho” is only televised once a year, so the hype for the events is very high. The list of events and the schedule for what events are going to be televised at what time are highly anticipated.
(Keeping in mind that most broadcasts were replays of 2019 due to the cancelation of all sports in response to COVID-19) Here was the schedule for this year’s ESPN 8 “The Ocho” line up:
| Time (ET) | Program |
| Midnight | Johnsonville ACL Cornhole Championships: 2020 Kickoff Battle |
| 2 a.m. | World Axe Throwing League: 2019 World Championship |
| 4 a.m. | U.S. Open Ultimate Championships |
| 6 a.m. | 2019 Spikeball College Championship |
| 7 a.m. | 2019 Las Vegas Highland Games |
| 7:30 a.m. | Putt Putt Championships |
| 8 a.m. | 2019 IDEAL Electricians National Championship |
| 9 a.m. | E:60 as part of ‘The Ocho’ |
| 9:30 a.m. | 51st National Stone Skipping Competition |
| 10:30 a.m. | 2007 World Sport Stacking Championships |
| 11:30 a.m. | 2019 World Sign Spinning Championship |
| 12 p.m. | 2006 Krystal World Hamburger Eating Championship |
| 1 p.m. | 2006 Johnsonville Brat Eating World Championship |
| 2 p.m. | European TramDriver Championship |
| 3 p.m. | 2019 Stupid Robot Fighting League |
| 3:30 p.m. | 46th Annual Cherry Pit Spitting Championship |
| 4 p.m. | Professional Arm Wrestling Championships |
| 4:30 p.m. | 2019 Golden Tee World Championship |
| 5 p.m. | 2018 Classic Tetris World Championship |
| 5:30 p.m. | E:60 on ESPN8 Presented by Liberty Mutual |
| 6:30 p.m. | America’s Dodgeball Continental Cup: USA vs. Canada |
| 7:30 p.m. | 2019 Jelle’s Marble Runs |
| 8 p.m. | Slippery Stairs: College Tour |
| 8:30 p.m. | 2019 Death Diving World Championship |
| 9:30 p.m. | Dodge Juggle |
| 10:30 p.m. | Moxie Games |
I, personally, love the idea of an obscure sports network. I think that ESPN 8 gives lots of people the opportunity to be recognized for their hard work. While something like unicycle football is a bit silly, it doesn’t mean that those players don’t work just as hard as other athletes. ESPN 8 has given these people a platform to have their hard work and their dedication to be recognized. For many of these people, it is the first time that they will ever be on television, or be recognized for their accomplishments.
What sport are you most excited for?
John Marrs Sports Blog 