Why do you want to broadcast on ESPN? Seriously, commercial TV is a giant pain in the neck.
Instead look at the model of other niche competitive events with heavily invested but small(er) followings: league of legends, starcraft, magic: the gathering, etc. (To name a few that I'm aware of/involved in.) Professionally produced webcasts with audiences of tens of thousands to millions; with the production and 'cast in house there's no outside producer getting in the way.
The webcast model lets you get your message to anyone that's interested without the guardian of 'the masses' getting in the way of that message.
So yay, webcast!