The Ocho is coming back.
ESPN will bring back the fan-favorite “alternate” channel this summer, the network announced Thursday.
ESPN8 will return its television from August 1 to August 4 on the network’s various platforms.
ESPN PR announced The Ocho’s return and indicated that Paintball, Pop-A-Shot, the famed Savannah Bananas, and others will be part of the broadcast.
Aug. 1-4, the largest, wildest ESPN8: The Ocho returns to ESPN platforms@TheRealPopAShot, Major League Paintball & @CarjitsuUSA among sports making their Ocho debut
Banana Ball (@TheSavBananas–@ThePrtyAnimals) kicks off action (8/1, 7p ET, ESPN2)
🔗https://t.co/GaFPoLwUmQ pic.twitter.com/6a3ZHq4Jk2
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) July 18, 2024
The history of the Ocho dates back exactly 20 years. In 2004, Dodgeball was released to plenty of fame and notoriety. One bit from that movie that just seemed to stick was “The Ocho.” The film used ESPN to give it some ‘legitimacy probably,’ but played around with the fact that the network had an assortment of networks.
Eventually, years later, ESPN decided to turn ESPNU into “The Ocho.” After its success, the network decided to make it an annual event. The weirdness and obscurity in sports are worth celebrating, so it makes sense for ESPN to keep on.
ESPN has several items planned for the eighth edition of The Ocho, including live Savannah Bananas games, Major League Paintball, Carjitsu, and Pop-A-Shot. The release also hyped the return of The Ocho Show, which will feature Victoria Arlen, Arda Ocal, and Christina Alexander, and the Never Tell Me The Odds podcast, which will feature Ocal, Ryan McGee, and Clinton Yates.
