ESPN To Add Two Live Games
According to an international TV schedule released by the AFL, two games from Round 2 will appear this weekend on ESPN2/ESPN3. We are attempting to confirm this with ESPN. The announced schedule is:
ESPN2 Fri 6/12/20 5:30 AM US EDT Geelong vs Hawthorn ESPN3 Sun 6/14/20 1:30 AM US EDT Sydney vs Essendon
(Note: future schedules will be on our TV schedules page, just click on yellow button above.)(Update 6/12 10:30 AM:) While ESPN has yet to confirm this, the first match did air as scheduled. Overnight, the AFL broadcasting department advised us that up to two matches per week will air for the duration of the AFL season on one of the ESPN networks in the US, not including finals. We will continue to update this note as more information becomes available. Once ESPN replies, we will seek schedules for upcoming weeks and add them to our schedule pages.
(Update 6/13: From ESPN press release: "ESPN has brought back one of its earliest fan favorites, live Australian rules football, which returned Friday morning at 5:30 a.m. ET with the Geelong Cats vs. Hawthorn Hawks on ESPN2. Regular-season action will continue with one live match per week on a linear TV channel and one on ESPN3. ... A total of 32 Australian Football League (AFL) games across 16 weeks will be presented. Commentary and graphics will come from the host broadcaster. ESPN, which launched in September 1979, gained some of its first national attention by airing Australian Rules Football in its first year as the sport quickly grew a cult-like following. ESPN continued with AFL through 1985, airing the Grand Final live the final three years. ESPN2 aired AFL in 1996-97 and 2010-11.")