The CW to stream live sports on ESPN Unlimited starting next month
The CW to stream live sports on ESPN Unlimited starting next month
The deal, which was announced in April, brings college football and basketball, professional wrestling, NASCAR racing, PBR, and more to the ESPN App.
After initially being announced in April, ESPN and The CW have confirmed that the oft-forgotten broadcast channel will begin streaming all of its exclusive sports content on ESPN Unlimited beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 4. This will give subscribers access to a wide range of additional sports events, including college football and basketball, Professional Bull Riders (PBR) events, and more.
Key Details:
- Coming soon: The CW will stream its live sports events on the ESPN App beginning Aug. 4.
- Highest tier only: The deal will be exclusively for ESPN Unlimited customers to stream games.
- Still linear: All of the sporting events will continue to air on The CW linear channel.
The deal between The CW and ESPN will see ESPN Unlimited become the streaming home for all CW Sports live events. Key to the timing of the launch, The CW currently has deals to broadcast ACC, Pac-12, and Mountain West football games — as well as men’s and women’s college basketball — so adding these broadcasts to the worldwide leader in sports’ already robust CFB offerings will be a boon for subscribers.
Other sports (and sports-adjacent content), including the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, WWE NXT, PBA bowling, PBR events, AVP Volleyball, and the 2026 Arizona Bowl, will also be available on the ESPN app’s premium tier as part of the deal. Sports from The CW will not be available to stream for ESPN Select customers; only ESPN Unlimited customers will get access. In total, The CW expects to bring more than 800 hours of live sports to the ESPN app, beginning with the Tuesday, Aug. 4 episode of “WWE NXT.”
In addition to the college football benefits, as ESPN Unlimited is the exclusive home of WWE Premium Live Events, adding shows from the wrestling promotion’s developmental territory can only continue to aid the sports giant’s flywheel. WWE NXT “Heatwave” PLE will also air on The CW and stream on ESPN Unlimited on Aug. 30.
Following the Tuesday, Aug. 4 premiere, the app will feature the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race from Iowa Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 8 and will cap off with the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, August 28.
“Joining forces with ESPN is a monumental next step in the evolution of CW Sports,” The CW president Brad Schwartz said. “The CW now offers more than 800 hours of premium live sports per year. This agreement extends the reach of CW Sports and enables us to capture audiences across the best of broadcast and the best of streaming, ensuring fans can access live CW Sports wherever they are and on whatever device they prefer.”
Fans can activate the ESPN Unlimited plan through their TV or mobile providers in addition to a standalone subscription. Earlier this week, YouTube TV finally became the latest distributor to provide complementary access to the service after months of customer frustration. If your cable, satellite, or live TV streaming provider offers this type of benefit, you can get ESPN Unlimited at no additional cost. However, if it does not — or you don’t have a live TV subscription — an ESPN Unlimited monthly plan runs $30.
The CW has actively worked to become a home for live sports in recent years, and the network only appears to be increasing its efforts. Last fall, it extended its deal with the Pac-12, adding a new inventory of games through 2031. The channel has been a partner to WWE’s NXT since 2024.
“Bringing CW Sports to the ESPN App is another step in delivering more value, choice, and flexibility for fans, expanding the range of live sports available within our streaming ecosystem,” ESPN executive Rosalyn Durant said. “This agreement gives fans even more live sports to watch year-round within the ESPN Unlimited plan, while extending the reach of CW Sports to new audiences. As we continue to evolve ESPN’s direct-to-consumer experience, collaborations like this allow us to better serve fans by making more of the sports they love available in one place.”
As The CW has attempted to grow its presence in the linear TV sphere since being purchased by Nexstar Media Group in October 2022, streaming has been the major factor in the equation missing. By teaming with ESPN, not only does The CW now have a way to stream its most expensive content, but it is able to do so without having to foot the bill for building and maintaining the platform. For ESPN, as it is beginning to enter the second year of its standalone streamer, being able to add additional content — especially from outside the ESPN family of networks — helps make the case to cord-cutters that ESPN Unlimited is a valuable addition to their streaming lineup and budget.
ESPN Unlimited
ESPN launched its highly anticipated direct-to-consumer streaming service on August 21, 2025. For the first time, this service gives sports fans access to its full lineup of linear channels without a traditional cable or satellite subscription.