What is the purpose of having ESPN alternate and Sports alternate channels?

[nycyanks07]

They never show anything on those channels and the few times something is shown it is always blacked out. Those channels are wasting space in my opinion. There is no point in having any of those channels if the out of market restrictions are going to apply. Someone please explain the reason for having these channels.

 

[chaddux]

From time to time, they do show alternate games in certain areas. Although they may be blacked out in your area, they are showing somewhere so they are not just wasting space.

 

[n0qcu]

The alternate channels are used if the main(primary) channel is blacked out in your area.

 

[nycyanks07]

Ok. So let's say they list Celtics vs. Bulls on one of those channels. The only people that get it would be?? I am guessing that people in Chicago and Boston are watching that game on their local regional sports channel, so where is that game being shown?

 

[osu1991]

Last night the OSU-Georgia game started on one of the alternate channels for those of us in Oklahoma and Georgia because the previous game ran over on ESPN 2.