Want to stream ESPN? Find out the best streamer for the channel
Want to stream ESPN? Find out the best streamer for the channel
The Worldwide Leader in Sports offers a huge amount of live sporting events, and we’ll break down the best way to stream the channel without cable.
There’s no doubting ESPN’s supremacy as a sports cable channel. The self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports has live games from every major American sports league, with “Monday Night Football” NFL games, NBA and NHL regular season games, and MLB games on Sunday nights during baseball season.
ESPN also carries a huge selection of college sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, football games from multiple conferences, the majority of College Football Playoff games, and so much more. These lists barely scratch the surface of the live sports you can watch on ESPN, and it doesn’t even factor in beloved shoulder programming like “SportsCenter.”
There are multiple ways to stream ESPN without cable, but which is best? I’ll walk you through the list of services that carry the channel below, and let you know which we recommend the most!
What’s the best live TV streaming service for watching ESPN?
How to stream ESPN
As the most popular cable channel of them all, ESPN is widely available on top live TV streaming services. Five total streamers carry the channel: DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV. It can be hard to know the difference between these services, however, so I’ll let you know which we recommend and why below!
| 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 | ||
| ESPN | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
Best choice for watching ESPN via streaming: Sling TV
Sling TV is far and away our favorite choice for watching ESPN without a cable subscription. The channel is found in Sling’s Orange plan, along with Disney Channel, ESPN2, and ESPN3. Sling’s Orange package starts at $46 per month, making it the cheapest way to stream ESPN without cable.
If you prefer to get additional channels like Bravo, Discovery, FS1, FX, USA Network, and more, you can combine Sling’s two base packages into the ultimate offering, Sling Orange and Blue. This plan costs $61 per month, still nearly $20 less than the next-closest-priced service.
Second choice for watching ESPN via streaming: Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV is also a great choice for watching Hulu + Live TV. It’s not as cheap as Sling TV, with plans starting at $82 per month, though it does come with a three-day free trial. Hulu + Live TV carries ESPN, as well as sports channels like ACC Network and SEC Network in its base plan.
Hulu + Live TV also comes with Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for more sports coverage at no extra cost when you sign up for the service at the $83-per-month level. It’s a great value and a good service for piling up extra live sports channels.
Third choice for watching ESPN via streaming: DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM almost beat out Hulu + Live TV thanks to its longer free trial. All new DIRECTV STREAM customers get a five-day free trial when they sign up, after which plans start at $87 per month. It carries ESPN everywhere and includes the biggest selection of top cable channels outside ESPN of any service on this list, including local broadcast channels and other sports networks like FS1 and TNT.
Fourth choice for watching ESPN via streaming: Fubo
If you want regional sports options as well as national ones, Fubo is the best way to go. This service offers regional sports networks (RSNs) in its Pro package and above, starting at $95 per month (including the RSN fee). Fubo carries FanDuel Sports Network channels, as well as independent RSNs from Altitude to YES Network. You can also opt for Fubo’s Essential plan to skip the RSNs and the associated fee, which starts at $80 per month.
Last choice for watching ESPN via streaming: YouTube TV
YouTube TV carries ESPN everywhere, so it’s a good choice for watching ESPN without a cable subscription. It comes with a free trial, though it varies in length depending on what time of month you subscribe. Its plan starts at $83 per month, but unlike Hulu + Live TV, it doesn’t wrap any free streaming services in with your channel package. It’s perfectly fine for streaming ESPN, we just think there are better options.
Can you stream ESPN on ESPN+?
ESPN+ has more than 30,000 live sports events every year, and you can sign up for just $12 per month. Unfortunately, it doesn’t carry a live stream of ESPN linear channels. To get just those channels without a live TV streaming subscription or cable plan, viewers will have to wait for ESPN’s new Flagship streaming service to launch before the 2025 football season.