The streaming world can be a confusing place, especially for sports fans. With rights going from one streamer to another, teams changing conferences between seasons, and new platforms and plans popping up overnight, it can almost be too much for one person to handle. Fortunately, that’s what we here at The Streamable are here for. As the NFL and college football seasons get underway, there are two exciting new streaming options that are becoming especially attractive to sports fans: Sling TV’s new subscription passes and the ESPN direct-to-consumer streamer.

We are going to break down the two exciting new options to help you figure out which one is best for your specific streaming needs.

Day Pass, Week and Weekend Passes vs. ESPN streamer: Which is best for you?

Price

For many consumers, the price tag on a streamer is even more important than all of the content options. As prices continue to creep up, finding a service that fits your budget is increasingly difficult. Both Sling’s new subscription passes and the standalone ESPN streamer offer a discount over full live TV streaming services, but in very different ways. Sling offers three distinct subscription options; while traditional streaming services require you to sign up for at least a month, Sling’s new subscription passes offer one-day, one-weekend, and one-week options. Not only are these plans cheap in and of themselves at $4.99, $9.99, $14.99, respectively, but they also save customers money by not requiring them to pay for channels and content that they don’t plan on watching.

ESPN, on the other hand, has two plans, both of which operate on the more traditional monthly and annual subscription options. ESPN Select is very similar to the old ESPN+ plan that comes with an on-demand library and a broad collection of non-marquee live sports for $12 per month or $120 per year. The ESPN Unlimited option is the one that college fans are most likely intrigued by, as it offers all programming from across the ESPN family of networks and streamers. This more robust offering runs $30 monthly and $300 annually. Of course, as with all things Disney streaming, bundling options are available depending on what other services you have or are interested in adding.

Channels

As mentioned above, ESPN Unlimited brings together all of live sports, studio shows, documentaries, and analysis from across the worldwide leader in sports. That means that you will get everything from ACC Network, ACC Network Extra, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, SEC Network, and SEC Network+ in one place. However, because this is an ESPN-specific streamer, there are no other channels available in the service.

The way that Day Pass, Week, and Weekend Passes work is that the primarily provide access to Sling’s Orange base package. In terms of channels that provide live sports coverage, that includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, TBS, and TNT (which simulcasts all sporting events found on ABC). However, if the sporting event you are looking for isn’t on one of those channels, Sling has other options. For as little as $1, you can upgrade to the Sports Extra add-on, which provides access to ACC Network, beIN Sports, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, FS1, FS2, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL RedZone, NHL Network, SEC Network, and Tennis Channel.

Not only does this include nearly all of the channels available on the ESPN streamer (save ESPN Deportes), but it also includes numerous other options, and comes with nearly two dozen entertainment channels as well: A&E, AMC, BBC America, BET, CHARGE!, Comedy Central, Disney Channel, Food Network, Freeform, Fuse, HGTV, The History Channel, IFC, Lifetime, Local Now, Nick Jr., and QVC. And, like with the Sports Extra add-on, Sling’s new subscription passesSling’s Passes also allows you to upgrade with the News Extra, Entertainment Extra, Hollywood Extra, Lifestyle Extra, Heartland Extra, and Kids Extra plans as well.

Comparison

In Conclusion

Both Sling’s new short-term subscription option and ESPN’s standalone streaming service provide numerous advantages over traditional streaming setups. Both allow consumers the ability to sign up only for the channels and content that interest them most, and therefore, to avoid paying for things that they don’t need or want. However, by virtue of being limited to only one company’s content, the ESPN streamer is not as strong of a value at $30 per month. With Passes, Sling allows more casual sports fans the opportunity to dip in and out of subscriptions to check out only the games, events, and shows that matter most to them.