Why does ESPN show car auctions and poker games??

Answer 1

Some of that programming is "purchased" time by a company, and ESPN will guarantee that the series/program will air a certain number of times OR it is produced by ESPN and is cheap filler (the production costs are nil and it can draw ratings that appeases sponsors).

In the case of poker, the production costs are miniscule and there remains a solid market for what essentially is a package of "old" events.....what you see on ESPN is vastly edited for airing.