Live sports are on hold, but there's still plenty to watch on ESPN+
Original content always was a part of the plan — and now it's the only sports we've got besides replays
What happens to a live sports streaming service when sports stop doing anything live? That's what we've found out the past couple weeks with practically every sporting event everywhere shut down, leaving sports networks like ESPN scrambling to fill live time slots with — well, with anything they can.
And it's not like ESPN doesn't have a wealth of content it can plug in. First, there's still plenty of sports news out there, like when some old guy named Tom changes teams or something. And ESPN also has a pretty deep stable of feature content, like the famed 30 for 30 series.
And ESPN+ — the dedicated streaming arm of ESPN — has been in the original content game from the get-go, with shows like Peyton's Places and Miles to Go . Throw all of that together and you still have a pretty decent lineup on ESPN+.
And with that, here's everything you can watch while live sports are on their extended break.
Sports in the time of COVID-19
Plenty of sports left to watch
ESPN+ is a great source for live sports, but also for original content and documentaries, which can help pass the time while we wait for the games to get going again.
What you can still watch on ESPN+
- 30 for 30: ESPN's award-winning documentary series
- 30 for 30 Shorts: ESPN's award-winning documentary series
- 30 for 30: Nine for IX: Documentary series celebrating the 40th anniversary of Title IX.
- 30 for 30: Soccer Stories: Compelling narratives from around the international soccer landscape.
- Alex Morgan: The Equalizer: Behind-the-scenes look at Alex Morgan and her fellow teammates who are paving the way for the generations of female athletes who will follow their lead.
- Backstory: Investigative reporter Don Van Natta Jr. goes beyond what viewers think they know about unresolved sports stories of the past and present.
- Basketball: A Love Story: Director Dan Klores creates a vibrant mosaic of basketball by exploring the complex nature of love as it relates to the game.
- Becoming: Featuring LeBron James, CC Sabathia, Alex Morgan and more. Inspiring stories chronicling the journeys of world-class athletes, "Becoming" gives young viewers an inside look at the challenges and triumphs of some of their favorite sports stars.
- Best of Boxing: Sit ringside for hundreds of the most legendary bouts in the history of the sweet science, all on-demand.
- Best of E:60: ESPN's award-winning Sunday morning sports magazine show, featuring the biggest names and the best stories in sports.
- Best of SC Featured: SportsCenter's award-winning storytelling series. These are the greatest stories in sports… informing, inspiring and revealing. The Power of Sports.
- Classic US Open: Classic US Open Matches
- Classic Wimbledon: Classic Wimbledon Matches
- College Football 150: ESPN celebrates college football and its history, providing fans an in-depth look at the topics which have defined the sport over the last 150 years.
- Declared: A 7-episode docu-series following four NBA prospects in the lead up to the 2019 Draft preparing with NBA skills trainer, Chris Brickley.
- Detail: In-depth game analysis from the perspective of players across the NBA, NFL, UFC and more.
- Draft Academy Season 2: An 8-part documentary following six players on their journey to the 2019 NFL Draft, including Nick Bosa, Drew Lock, Marquise Brown and Josh Jacobs.
- Earn Everything: Go inside the Duke basketball program like never before with behind the scenes access as they prepare for the 2018-19 season.
- Enhanced: Premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and executive produced by Alex Gibney, Enhanced explores the race to the edge of human performance. Featuring CJ McCollum, Megan Rapinoe, Daryl Morey, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Mark Cuban, Devin Booker and more.
- ESPN Films Presents: Films from ESPN
- Indianapolis 500 On Demand: Relive all of the historic moments from The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
- Inside the College Football Playoff: Sooners, Buckeyes, two types of Tigers. All with one goal, the National Championship.
- Last Train to Russia: The next venue of the World Cup has a train that goes all over its territory, from St. Petersburg to Siberia. Russia, the biggest country in the globe, can be traversed in the carriages of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
- Miles to Go: Les Miles and Kansas Football: This 18-part series gives fans a comprehensive, behind-the-scenes look at Kansas Head Coach Les Miles and Athletic Director Jeff Long as they seek to raise the Kansas football program to national prominence.
- More Than An Athlete: An eight-part series about the improbable journey of LeBron James and his three best friends from Akron, Ohio, to a global stage.
- NBA Rooks: Follow Zion, Ja, RJ, De'Andre, Coby and more top rooks as they balance basketball and life during an exciting NBA season.
- NBA: Year One - Season 1: Featuring Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell and Ben Simmons and more, an all-access with top NBA rookies from before they are drafted until the end of their first season.
- NBA: Year One - Season 2: Featuring Luka Doncic, DeAndre Ayton, Trae Young, Mo Bamba and more, an all-access with top NBA rookies from before they are drafted until the end of their first season.
- NFL Archives: Hey Rookie Welcome to the NFL
- NFL Archives: SoundFX: Sound FX brings you the best mic'd up moments from around the NFL.
- NFL Films Presents: Documentary-style features on pro football that showcase its history, players, coaches, and fans.
- NFL's Greatest Games: NFL's greatest games
- O.J.: Made in America: It is the defining cultural tale of modern America: A saga of race, celebrity, media, violence, and the criminal justice system. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
- Peyton's Places: Through conversations with former players, coaches and key figures, Peyton Manning gets to the heart of football history and its cultural impact.
- Quest for the Stanley Cup: A 7-part, behind-the-scenes docuseries going on and off the ice and in locker rooms for an all-access pass during the pursuit of the Stanley Cup.
- Ring Science: Undefeated, former pound-for-pound champion, Andre Ward, breaks down the strengths and weaknesses of two fighters before their big fight as well as takes us through what each must accomplish in order to come out victorious.
- Road To The NHL Winter Classic: Go behind the scenes as the Blackhawks and Bruins prepare to face-off outdoors at Notre Dame Stadium on New Year's Day.
- The Boardroom - Season 1: Executive produced by Kevin Durant, The Boardroom will explore the most fascinating trends and innovative endeavors across the business of sports.
- The Boardroom - Season 2: Executive produced by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman, The Boardroom brings fans inside the business of sports, featuring real-time conversations with athletes and executives about what's really changing the game.
- The Harder Way: Former NBA all-star Penny Hardaway returns to his alma mater, University of Memphis, to lead the nation's #1 recruiting class through the gauntlet of the NCAA season.
- The Masters Films: ESPN+ will offer the full collection of official Masters Films, featuring a one-hour recap of each Masters Tournament from 1960-2018.
- The Prospects: The Prospects takes a deep dive follow into the careers of boxing's next big superstars. The Prospects provides a never seen before glimpse behind the curtain into the world of big time boxing, thru the eyes of young fighters on the cusp of stardom.
- Training Days: Rolling with the Tide: Go inside practices and closed door meetings with coaches and players as they prepare to defend their CFP National Championship.
- UFC 25 Greatest Fights: UFC 25 Greatest Fights counts down the best fights in UFC history, ending with the greatest fight of all time.
- UFC Destined: An all-access look at how UFC's top fighters prepare for their UFC super fights.
- UFC Fight Flashback: UFC Fight Flashback is an Emmy-award winning series offering an enhanced replay of the sport's biggest fights.
- UFC Main Event: UFC Main Event showcases the best fights of recent vintage revealing the backstories of the athletes and their mindsets.
- UFC Reloaded: UFC Reloaded offers television audiences a full event replay of recent UFC Pay-Per-Views and Fight Night events.
- UFC Top 10: UFC Top 10 ranks the best of the best in a variety of categories, and counts them down from ten to number one.
- UFC Unleashed: UFC Unleashed features the best fights from the UFC archives, all in one show.
- We Are LAFC: An all-access documentary series chronicling the creation of the LAFC franchise and its inaugural season
- Why We Fight - Season 1: An immersive, gritty docu-series that dives into the worlds of fighters across the globe, joining them as they train and prepare for the fights in which the stakes are high, and the dangers are real.
- Why We Fight - Season 2: Season 2 of Why We Fight follows Cat Zingano as she explores the motivations and stories of fighters across the globe.
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