The Best Streaming Services For Watching Live Sports in 2026

Hulu + Live TV features a broad offering of the astir fashionable sports crossed its much than 95 channels, including NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA, planetary soccer, UFC, and more. In summation to games airing connected section channels, determination are respective sporting events to ticker regularly connected ESPN, CBS Sports Network, NFL Network, and FS1, conscionable to sanction a few.

Since Hulu + Live TV besides includes the Disney Bundle arsenic portion of its monthly subscription price, you'll besides summation entree to ESPN Unlimited which unlocks each ESPN chanels, further exclusive sporting events (like UFC and assemblage sports), archetypal programming, and more.

Hulu + Live TV besides includes a three-day escaped trial, truthful you tin trial retired the work earlier you usage it.

ESPN Unlimited With NFL+ Premium

Best for Streaming Live NFL Games

ESPN Unlimited is inactive a caller service, but arsenic of September 3 you tin present take to bundle it with NFL+ Premium. This caller streaming enactment comes aft ESPN announced it was acquiring NFL Network backmost successful August. The work volition see everything disposable connected ESPN Unlimited arsenic good arsenic the afloat suite of sum from NFL+ Premium for $39.99. You tin besides take to bundle this with Disney+ and Hulu for a constricted time.

This caller streaming work won't person all of the NFL games available, but it volition person astir of them. Access to ESPN channels volition get you Monday Night Football portion the NFL+ Premium subscription volition get you entree to section and primetime games arsenic good arsenic NFL RedZone connected Sundays. The main downside is that NFL+ lone allows you to ticker these games unrecorded connected your telephone oregon tablet. This caller bundle is 1 of the champion options for streaming NFL games unrecorded this year.

Fubo

Best Variety

Fubo whitethorn not beryllium a household name, but it's our prime for the champion assortment of sporting events to watercourse and present adjacent includes entree to ESPN Unlimited. It features much than 55,000 sporting events per twelvemonth including NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, NCAA assemblage sports, NASCAR, golf, tennis, boxing, MMA events, and overmuch more. Additionally, planetary shot fans tin bask fashionable options specified arsenic Premier League, LaLiga, UEFA Champions League, Ligue 1, Liga MX, and Serie A.

If you're itching for adjacent much sports programming, Fubo besides has assorted sports add-on packages that see other channels specified arsenic NFL Redzone, MLB.TV, NBA League Pass, a fig of planetary sports channels, and galore NCAA conference-specific channels. If you privation to effort retired the work earlier you commit, determination is simply a fubo seven-day escaped proceedings disposable for caller subscribers.

While Fubo is inactive a standalone streaming service, it's worthy noting that the institution is successful the process of selling to Disney. According to caller reports, that merchantability is expected to hap sometime successful aboriginal 2026. This merchantability would spot Hulu + Live TV combining with Fubo eventually.

Peacock

Best For Premier League Soccer and WWE

Since Peacock is owned by genitor institution NBC Universal, you'll person plentifulness of sports astatine your fingertips to watercourse with this subscription. Premier League soccer, arguably 1 of the astir fashionable sports worldwide, is wide disposable to watercourse connected Peacock. With season-long unrecorded sum and exclusive matches available, you'll beryllium capable to drawback the biggest matches from the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, and more.

For fans of WWE, Peacock is simply a no-brainer arsenic it's the exclusive unrecorded streaming location for each WWE premium lawsuit including Wrestlemania. But that's not each Peacock has to connection arsenic you'll besides beryllium capable to drawback each NFL Sunday Night Football crippled arsenic good arsenic Big Ten assemblage basketball.

Although Peacock doesn't presently connection a escaped trial, determination are occasionaly subscription deals for the work that driblet the terms beauteous significantly.

ESPN Unlimited

Best for ESPN Networks

ESPN has officially launched a caller streaming work that includes the afloat suite of ESPN Networks successful 1 package. ESPN Unlmited has expanded what the erstwhile service, ESPN+, had offered prior. In addtion to archetypal content, the caller work includes the pursuing channels: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPN connected ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SECN+ and ACCNX.

ESPN besides precocious reached a woody with the NFL that volition yet bring the NFL Network implicit to the service. There was besides a caller statement reached with WWE that volition bring WrestleMania to ESPN Unlimited sometime successful 2026. So portion this work is inactive reasonably new, there's much expected to get connected it adjacent year.

An ESPN Unlimited subscription is $29.99 per period oregon $299.99 annually. New subscribers besides person the enactment to motion up a Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited bundle astatine nary other outgo for the archetypal 12 months. If you're looking for conscionable the contented offered connected ESPN+ previously, you tin take to motion up for the cheaper ESPN Select plan.

DirecTV Stream

Best Cable Alternative

DirecTV Stream is the satellite-free offering from DirecTV that anyone tin motion up for. This streaming-only enactment includes everything you'd expect from a cablegram alternate including section networks and fashionable sports channels specified arsenic ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN U, NBC Golf, FS1, NBA TV, MLB Network, and the Tennis Channel.

For sports fans specifically, the DirecTV Choice bundle is the champion bang for your buck, providing entree implicit 125 channels, including large nationwide games and a beardown enactment of determination sporting events based connected your location.

For caller subscribers, DirecTV Stream has a five-day escaped proceedings that lets you trial retired the service. DirecTV Stream is besides our apical prime for streaming NBA games live.

Paramount Plus

Best for PGA Golf

Paramount+ offers each the sports contented you'd expect from CBS Sports, including NFL connected CBS games and each UEFA Champions League shot match. Along with a room of sports movies and TV shows, Paramount+ provides regular programming from CBS Sports HQ, documentaries, and more.

For play fans, upgrading to the Paramount+ with Showtime program is simply a large option, arsenic it includes everything successful the Essential tier and adds entree to large PGA Tour events similar the Farmers Insurance Open and the Wyndham Championship.

Paramount+ really does connection a escaped proceedings for caller subscribers and is simply a large mode to get sports and different streaming favorites. Paramount is the location of franchises similar Sonic the Hedgehog, SpongeBob, and caller South Park episodes, truthful it's a bully 1 to effort for escaped if you haven't already.

Paramount besides precocious reached a woody with UFC that volition bring the athletics to Paramount+. This is simply a 7 twelvemonth woody that is expected to statesman this year.

MLB.TV

Best for out-of-market MLB games

Major League Baseball games are disposable with astir each of the streaming services connected this list, but nary work has everything. Due to assorted licensing agreements, it's intolerable to find each MLB games connected a azygous service, but an MLB.TV subscription volition get you the most. For $94.99 a twelvemonth oregon $29.99 a period you'll get entree to each out-of-market game. This includes some the the regular play and offseason games.

If you privation to trial retired the work to spot what benignant of sum you'll get, determination is simply a 7-day escaped proceedings presently available.

Prime Video

Best All-Around Subscription Service

Anyone with an Amazon Prime subscription volition get entree to Prime Video. Amazon Prime is inactive chiefly a buying service, but the streaming payment has grown rather a spot successful caller years and present includes a assortment of sports. Thanks to a declaration with the NFL, Prime Video is present the location of Thursday Night Football. And arsenic of this year, determination are adjacent NBA games available.

It surely doesn't person each crippled oregon lucifer available, but Prime Video has go a large powerhouse successful the satellite of sports streaming and is decidedly worthy considering if you're looking for an affordable option. An Amazon Prime memberhsip costs $14.99 per period and determination are escaped trials disposable for caller subscribers arsenic good arsenic students.

Sports Streaming FAQs

Can You Watch Live Sports For Free?

Yes, you tin ticker prime unrecorded sports for free. Although, the benignant of athletics and frequence varies significantly. You tin entree section channels with a TV antenna and ticker galore fashionable sporting events including NFL, MLB, and NBA games, conscionable to sanction a few, implicit the air. Streaming services similar Sling Freestream besides connection ad-supported entree to definite unrecorded sports.

Which Sports Streaming Services Have Free Trials?

Just astir each sports streaming work mentioned supra has a escaped proceedings you tin instrumentality vantage of. Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Amazon Prime, and Paramount+ each person trials that scope from 3 days to a week. And, if you clip it well, you whitethorn adjacent beryllium capable to ticker aggregate unrecorded sporting events that you're funny successful during the escaped proceedings period. The lone outliers presently without a escaped proceedings are Peacock and ESPN+, though the second is disposable arsenic portion of the Hulu + Live TV escaped trial.

If you're looking to watercourse much than conscionable sports, cheque retired our database of the champion streaming services with escaped trials successful 2026 oregon much specifically dive into the unrecorded TV services with escaped trials database we've curated.

Matthew Adler is simply a Commerce, Features, Guides, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You tin travel him connected the tract formerly known arsenic Twitter @MatthewAdler and ticker him watercourse connected Twitch.

Originally posted:

Jan 5, 2026 4:43 pm