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What is the best sports streaming service overall?
You can experience the thrill of watching your favorite sports and cheering for your favorite teams, all from the coziness of your own home and without needing a cable or satellite TV subscription. There are now countless live TV streaming services that offer what you want across the sports universe. Among these options, DirecTV Stream stands out as a top choice for its regional sports networks and channels, but other services are less expensive and may be better for casual fans.
Choosing the best streaming service for sports can be a harrowing process, though — especially when you take into consideration that not every service carries your regional sports network. Case in point: Boston-area hockey fans looking for the Bruins or Major League Baseball fans hoping to catch the Red Sox need NESN to view the majority of their games. That’s even if they subscribe to a sport-specific, league-sponsored package like MLB TV, which doesn’t cover in-market games.Â
Streaming services generally don’t carry these RSNs, but DirecTV Stream and Fubo are the exceptions. They’re the only two services that offer the Bally Sports (formerly Fox Sports) channels from Sinclair. Fubo lets you watch your RSNs on its $80 Pro tier. Meanwhile, you’ll have to spring for DirecTV Stream’s $109-a-month plan to access its full RSN offerings.
Also, some sports, like Formula 1 racing, feature all of their contests on one national network, such as ESPN. When it comes to the NBA, you have to bounce around to watch every game. Out-of-market games are available on NBA League Pass, and some teams have their own ways to stream their games, such as YES Network, MSG Plus or SportsNet Plus. Read CNET’s guide for more on where to stream basketball.
Depending on location, diehard sports fans might ultimately save more money by getting a cable subscription, as your RSNs come bundled with ESPN, TBS, TNT and other local channels. This could especially make sense if the package is bundled with the home internet you’ll likely be getting anyway. If you’re a determined cord-cutter or know that you need only one or a few channels to get your sports fix, here are the best streaming services for you.
Read more: Best Streaming Devices for 2024
Best sports streaming services of 2024
” page-position=”” linktext=”Read our DirecTV Stream review” linkurl=”https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/directv-stream-review-expensive-but-the-best-option-for-streaming-nba-and-nhl/” like=”Carries large selection of sports channels/networks
Ideal for channel surfers
Live pause feature” dislike=”Expensive
Must upgrade to access most RSNs” can-collapse=”true” can-truncate=”true” truncate-on-page-load=”true” offer=”” techobjectinfo=”” overridecredit=”Sarah Tew/CNET” overridecaption=”
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DirecTV Stream is expensive. It’s the priciest of the five major live TV streaming services, but it’s also the one with the most RSNs and offers the most for sports fanatics. Its cheapest, $80-a-month Entertainment package includes the major networks as well as ESPN, TNT, FS1 and TBS. You’ll need to move up to the Choice plan to get any available RSN and many league channels such as the Big Ten network and NBA TV. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels and RSNs are available in your area.
” page-position=”” linktext=”Read our YouTube TV review” linkurl=”https://www.cnet.com/reviews/youtube-tv-review/” like=”Robust live channel selection
Excellent cloud DVR
Great interface and useful search bar” dislike=”Not a lot included in 4K upgrade” can-collapse=”true” can-truncate=”true” truncate-on-page-load=”true” offer=”{“id”:”75580e43-f158-43d1-ba1f-180a456eb1ae”,”label”:”YouTube TV”,”slug”:”youtube-tv”,”edition”:[“US”,”ES”],”imageId”:”40916dbf-909e-4b1c-9b4c-158029f91699″,”imgUrl”:”/content/image/redirect/40916dbf-909e-4b1c-9b4c-158029f91699/resize/75×56″,”typeLabel”:”Series”,”objectType”:”content_product_series”,”icon”:”type-icon ct-cmg-tech-product-series ct-small”}” techobjectinfo=”{“uuid”:”75580e43-f158-43d1-ba1f-180a456eb1ae”,”slug”:”youtube-tv”,”name”:”YouTube TV”,”productType”:”SERIES”,”updateType”:”PRISM”,”mod”:1724861085349}” overridecredit=”Sarah Tew/CNET” overridecaption=”
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YouTube TV costs $73 a month, though it’s currently $10 off for the first three months, and offers four RSNs, along with FS1, FS2, ESPN, TBS, TNT and all of the major national networks. The standard package includes just about every league channel with the exception of the NHL Network. There is an additional Sports Plus package, but it doesn’t offer much other than BeIn and NFL Red Zone, so you might be able to skip it. Plug in your ZIP code on YouTube TV’s welcome page to see which local networks and RSNs are available in your area.
ESPN’s stand-alone streaming service is great for casual sports fans and is a must-have accessory for hockey zealots. It costs $11 a month or $110 a year and shows all out-of-market NHL games. It’s also included as part of the $15-a-month Disney bundle, as well as in the Hulu Plus Live TV package.
ESPN Plus is heavily invested in global soccer, hosting LaLiga games from Spain and Germany’s Bundesliga. It’s also the home of some English soccer: the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup and the Community Shield, along with the EFL Championship — which is the league below the Premier League. The company used to carry all out-of-market MLS games, but lost the package to Apple after the completion of the 2022 season.Â
ESPN Plus doesn’t show any live NBA basketball or NFL football games, but it does offer coverage of Wimbledon and the US Open. During the MLB baseball season, the service carries select out-of-market Major League baseball games as well as unlocking the MLB Archives of classic games. It also offers some NCAA football and basketball, as well as the Little League World Series for fans looking to watch up-and-coming athletes. Some UFC matches are included as part of the subscription, with pay-per-view matches usually requiring an extra fee.
The service is also home to exclusive shows, such as Peyton’s Places starring Peyton Manning, and the vast 30 for 30 library. As an added inducement, the subscription removes the paywall on the ESPN website, giving you access to all online articles and reporting.
There’s something here for most sports aficionados and it’s almost a necessity for hard-core hockey and UFC fans.
” page-position=”” linktext=”Read our FuboTV review” linkurl=”https://www.cnet.com/reviews/fubotv-review/” like=”Great for soccer fans
Easy to navigate
Lots of channels for live sports” dislike=”Lacks TNT, TBS and other Turner channels
Expensive” can-collapse=”true” can-truncate=”true” truncate-on-page-load=”true” offer=”” techobjectinfo=”” overridecredit=”Ty Pendlebury/CNET” overridecaption=”
FuboTV’s home screen on an Apple TV is uncluttered and friendly
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FuboTV’s home screen on an Apple TV is uncluttered and friendly
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FuboTV’s home screen on an Apple TV is uncluttered and friendly
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Fubo starts at $80 per month and offers over 35Â RSNs, but tacks on an extra RSN fee up to $15 per month. It includes ESPN, but not TBS and TNT — which might be a problem for some sports fans. It also has most of your local networks like ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, along with FS1, FS2, BeIn Sports, the Big 10 and the Golf channel.Â
You’ll have to pay an extra $8 a month for the Fubo Extra Package or pay for the $100-a-month Elite streaming tier that includes Sports Plus for the NHL, NBA, MLB, SEC, PAC 12 and Tennis channels. Check out which local networks and RSNs FuboTV offers here.
Hulu Plus Live TV offers an interesting middle ground for sports fans. On the one hand, the service lacks the ability to get many league-owned channels, but on the other, it comes automatically bundled with an ESPN Plus subscription.Â
Hulu Plus Live TV costs $77 a month and carries four RSNs along with all the major networks plus ESPN, TBS, TNT, FS1 and FS2. It does come with the NFL network, but even the Sports add-on lacks the MLB, NHL, NBA or Tennis channels. The biggest appeal of the add-on is the inclusion of NFL Red Zone. Otherwise, it doesn’t bring much value to the package.Â
The inclusion of the Disney bundle might make Hulu Plus Live TV more appealing than some of the other services on this list. Not only do you get full access to the sports on ESPN Plus, but you also get Disney Plus as well. Perhaps Hulu Plus Live TV could be a good compromise for sports fans who are also Disney lovers or who share a house with those who are.Â
Click the “View all channels in your area” link at the bottom of Hulu Plus Live TV’s to see which local networks and RSNs are available where you live. You can snag the first three months at a discounted rate right now.
” page-position=”” linktext=”Read our Sling TV review” linkurl=”https://www.cnet.com/reviews/sling-tv-review/” like=”Inexpensive live TV option
Can use AirTV 2 tuner for local channels
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The Sling TV packages don’t have a ton to offer any but the most casual fan. Sling Blue currently lacks a single RSN, but you can use it to watch some national broadcasts. Sling TV’s Orange plan includes ESPN, while the Blue plan has FS1 and the NFL network. While both plans offer TBS, none of them gives you access to ABC, which could be a problem for many fans. The Sports Extra add-on, which costs $11 a month for either the Blue or Orange plan or $15 for the combined Orange and Blue plan, offers the NBA, NHL and MLB channels, along with the PAC 12, BeIn and Tennis channel, among others. The individual plans start at $40 a month each, and the combined Orange and Blue plan starts $55 a month (in some regions, it’s $60). And right now, you can get your first month for half off. You can see which local channels you get here.
” page-position=”” linktext=”Read our Paramount Plus review” linkurl=”https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/paramount-plus-review/” like=”Affordable monthly price
Live NFL games
Carries AFC games, UEFA Champions League, NWSL soccer” dislike=”Must have premium to get local CBS stations” can-collapse=”true” can-truncate=”true” truncate-on-page-load=”true” offer=”” techobjectinfo=”” overridecredit=”James Martin/CNET” overridecaption=”
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Paramount Plus starts at $8 per month and gives its subscribers access to NFL football games during the season, along with some UEFA Champions League soccer, college basketball, as well as most matches from the NWSL women’s soccer league. Upgrade to Paramount Plus with Showtime for $13 a month for access to live, local CBS feeds.
Users are able to access the AFC games in their local market, which might be a good option for anyone looking to grab CBS without spending a ton of money. You could also just get an over-the-air antenna and get all your local channels for free.
Peacock, owned by NBC, offers some live sports to go along with its on-demand entertainment. The $8-a-month Premium tier gives users access to English Premier League soccer, the Olympics, Sunday Night Football, select WWE events, Indy Car races and some PGA golf tournaments. The service also airs a few other less popular sports, such as rugby, figure skating, cycling and track and field. Access to Sunday Night Football is great during the season, but for most of the year the platform is best suited for soccer and wrestling fans. Upgrade to the Premium Plus plan at $14 per month to stream ad-free.
