Can You Watch 2024 College Football Games on ESPN+?
Can You Watch 2024 College Football Games on ESPN+?
College football started this past weekend with Week 0, but the season begins in earnest this week. Can the Michigan Wolverines defend their title under new coach Sherrone Moore? Or will No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs go all the way? It’s time to find out when Week 1 of the 2024 college football season starts on Thursday, Aug. 29.
One of the best ways to watch college football in 2024 — especially if you are a fan of a team that doesn’t often get the marquee network slots — is ESPN+. The worldwide leader in sports’ streaming service will offer games from the AAC, ACC, Big 12, Conference USA, MAC, SEC, and Sun Belt, just to name a few.
To watch the rest of the 2024 college football season, you’ll need a live TV streaming service that carries ESPN, ABC, CBS, FOX, SEC Network, SEC Network+, ACC Network, ACC Network Extra, Big Ten Network, ESPNU, FS1, CBS Sports Network, ESPN2, The CW, and truTV to watch the majority of college football games. Additional games will also be streamed on ESPN+ and Peacock.
College Football 2024 Streaming Options:
Best Ways to Stream The 2024 College Football Games
Top Choice: Hulu + Live TV
- Carries NBC, ABC, CBS and many more top channels
- Free access to Disney Bundle included
- Includes a three-day free trial
Best Low-Cost Option: Sling TV
- 4 Months of Sling Orange, Blue, Sports Add-On for $199
- Get Sling Season Pass and save $92
- Carries most college football channels
How to Stream 2024 College Football Games
The 2024 College Football Games are airing on ESPN, ABC, CBS, FOX, SEC Network, SEC Network+, ACC Network, ACC Network Extra, Big Ten Network, ESPNU, FS1, CBS Sports Network, ESPN2, The CW, truTV, and Mountain West Network, which means Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo, and YouTube TV all carry the needed channels.
DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Get 50% OFF | Sign Up | |||
$86.99 | $94.99 | $82.99 | $28 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $82.99 | ||
ABC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
ACC Network | + $28 | ✓ | ✓ | - | + $11 | - | ✓ | |
ACC Network Extra | - | ✓ | ✓ | - | + $11 | - | ✓ | |
Big Ten Network | + $15 | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | + $11 | ✓ | |
CBS | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
CBS Sports Network | + $15 | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
ESPN | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
ESPN2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
ESPNU | + $28 | + $8 | ✓ | - | + $11 | - | ✓ | |
Fox | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
FS1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
SEC Network | + $28 | + $8 | ✓ | - | + $11 | - | ✓ | |
SEC Network+ | + $28 | + $8 | ✓ | - | + $11 | - | ✓ | |
The CW | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
truTV | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | + $6 | ✓ | ✓ |
Best Choice for Watching 2024 College Football Games: Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV is our top recommended service for watching the 2024 college football season, especially now that it offers a three-day free trial. And with plans starting at $76.99 per month, you can save a little bit of money by going with this service. Not only does it carry all the channels you need to watch college football across all conferences, but it also includes Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu in the price, which is a $14.99 monthly value.
For fans of Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, and Mountain West, it also offers CBS Sports Network at that price. Plus, you get ESPN, ABC, CBS, FOX, SEC Network, SEC Network+, ACC Network, ACC Network Extra (one of only three live streaming TV services that offer it), Big Ten Network, ESPNU, FS1, ESPN2, The CW, truTV, as well as access to additional, exclusive ESPN+ games. That makes Hulu + Live TV too good of a bargain to ignore for those who like to optimize their budgets.
Keep in mind that on Oct. 17, Disney will raise the price of nearly all of its streaming products, including Hulu + Live TV. Both the plan that includes the ad-supported Disney bundle and the one that comes with the ad-free option will increase by $6 per month. So, mid-way through the season, it might be worth looking into a lower-cost option.
Best Low-Cost Option: Sling TV
Sling TV is an excellent way to watch most of the biggest games of the 2024 college football season, without having to overpay. Sling TV carries Fox, NBC, and ABC in select markets, along with ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, SEC Network, SEC Network+, Big Ten Network and ACC Network Extra, in addition to FS1, Fox Sports 2, TNT, TBS, and truTV, with the NFL Network and NFL Redzone to boot. Not bad!
What makes Sling TV especially attractive right now for streaming college football is that for a limited time, Sling TV is offering Sling Season Pass, which combines Sling Orange + Blue and the Sports Extra add-on to unlock access to over 60 channels where viewers can watch live college football and NFL games. The deal gets users four months of service for just $199 upfront – saving you $92.
Related: How to Watch College Football on Sling TV: Live Stream Without Cable
Now, there are a few caveats with Sling TV’s offering. First, Fox, NBC, and ABC are only available in select markets.
Sling TV offers ABC in its Blue plan in eight major markets across the country, but it does provide access to ESPN3 across the country, so even if you aren’t in a region where Sling offers ABC, you will be able to stream all of the games that the network airs.
- Chicago
- Fresno
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- New York
- Philadelphia
- Raleigh-Durham
- San Francisco
Sling TV offers Fox in 18 major markets across the country. So, if you live near one of the cities listed below, you will be able to tune in:
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Chicago
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Detroit
- Gainesville
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis/St. Paul
- New York
- Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
- Seattle
- Tampa/St. Petersburg
- Washington, DC
And to get NBC with Sling TV, you need to live in one of these 11 major markets across the country:
- Boston
- Chicago
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Miami/Fort Lauderdale
- Hartford/New Haven
- Los Angeles
- New York
- Philadelphia
- San Diego
- San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
- Washington, DC
Finally, Sling TV doesn’t carry CBS at all so you can’t watch any games on that channel. We recommend grabbing a subscription to Paramount+ to catch college football games airing on CBS.
Good Alternative With Lots of Top Channels: DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM and its huge selection of top channels is a great choice for watching the 2024 college football season. The service comes with a five-day free trial for all new customers, and for a limited time, you’ll also get Max, Paramount+, STARZ, and MGM+ free for three months when you sign up at $79.99 per month.
DIRECTV STREAM carries most of the channels you’ll need to watch the 2024 college football season in their “Choice” plan for $108.99 per month. That will get you truTV, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPNU, and SEC Network, along with staples like ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. You’ll also get access to your local NHL and NBA teams via regional sports networks.
If you upgrade to the “Ultimate” plan for $119.99 per month, that will add CBS Sports Network, which will carry 70 games this season, including military service academies, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West, and select UConn home games. The dissolving of the Pac-12 didn’t have much an impact on DIRECT STREAM’s offering as they never carried the Pac-12 Network to begin with.
Choose $15 OFF each month for the first 2 months of Entertainment with Sports Pack or $20 OFF each month for the first 3 months of Choice or Ultimate.
Great Choice for Sports Fans: Fubo
Fubo plans start at $94.99 per month, but that price includes the regional sports network (RSN) fee that most customers have to pay which gives you access to a ton of MLB, NHL, and NBA regular season games across multiple markets. If you want to watch Big Ten, SEC, and ACC college football games, you must upgrade to “Fubo Elite” for $104.99 per month. That will add ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network, ESPNU, and SEC Network, in addition to top channels like NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC and more. Note that Fubo does not carry TruTV, so if you’re a fan of Mountain West football, you’ll be missing 14 of those games TruTV will carry. Remember that while it has a free trial, the length of that trial depends on what time of the month you sign up.
Get Your First Month of Fubo for Only $74.99 (normally $95) after your Free Trial.
Solid Option: YouTube TV
There’s nothing bad or wrong about YouTube TV, it’s a good live TV service overall; it just comes up a little shorter than the other services on our list. Plans start at $72.99 per month for this service, and while you will get all the channels you need to watch the 2024 college football season, you won’t get much in the way of free extras with this service.