How To Watch ESPN Without Cable

Whether you're a cord-cutter trying to access Monday's 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship, or any other sports fanatic hoping to watch live sports online, streaming ESPN is easy! Here's everything you need to know for how to watch ESPN without cable.

Sling TV is one of the most affordable cord-cutting options for accessing ESPN. The service offers three subscriptions with different channel lineups. We recommend the Sling Orange plan which starts at $45.99/month, since it includes ESPN and ESPN2. You can't get an ESPN free trial since there's no free trial period offered by Sling. But if you act fast, you can watch ESPN for one month for as low as $23 because the service is offering new users half off their first month! In terms of live-TV streaming services, this is a cheap ESPN hack to watch sports without cable.

Sling

• ESPN Free Trial: N/A
• Price: $45.99/month $23/month
• Device Availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Cox, Google Nest, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Samsung TV, TiVo, Vizio, Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox, Xfinity
• Channel Lineup: A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, BET, Bloomberg Television, Cartoon Network, Charge!, CNN, Comedy Central, Comet, Disney Channel, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Food Network, Freeform, Fuse, HGTV, History Channel, IFC, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Local Now, MGM+ Drive-In, MotorTrend, Nick Jr., QVC, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Vice

DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial and a few different subscription options for a variety of prices so you can choose whichever fits your budget. The Choice package is the most popular and offers ESPN in addition to over 100 other channels for $114.99/month, but right now you can get $20 off each month for your first three months. That means ESPN costs $94.99/month for three months with this live-TV streaming service. With no annual contract what's not to love about watching ESPN's live sports coverage online with DirecTV Stream?

DirecTV Stream

• ESPN Free Trial: Five days
• Price: $114.99/month $94.99/month
• Device Availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung TV
• Channel Lineup: A&E, ACC Network, AccuWeather, AMC, Animal Planet, AXS TV, BabyFirst, BBC America, BET, Big Ten Network, Bloomberg Television, Boomerang, Bravo, Bounce, Cartoon Network, Cheddar News, Cleo TV, CMT, CNBC, CNBC World, CNN, CNN en Espanol, CNNi, Comedy Central, Comedy TV, Cooking Channel, Cozi TV, C-SPAN, C-SPAN2, Daystar HD, Discovery, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, Earthx TV, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, FanDuel TV, FMC, Food Network, Fox Business, Fox News, FS1, Fox Weather, Freeform, Fuse, FX, FXX, GAC Family, Galavision, Game Show, Get TV, Golf Channel, Great American Family, GRIT, Hallmark, Heroes & Icons, HGTV, HLN, HSN, IFC, ID, Ion, Jewelry Television, Jewish Life TV, Justice Central, Lifetime, Me TV, MLB Network, MotorTrend, MSNBC, MTV, MTV 2, National Geographic, NBA TV, Newsmax, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, OWN, Paramount, PBS Kids, Pop TV, QVC, QVC 2, QVC 3, Reelz, RFD TV, Science, SEC Network, Shop LC, Shorts TV, Sundance TV, SyFy, Tastemade, TBS, TCM, TeenNick, Tennis Channel, The First, The History Channel, The Weather Channel, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, TruTV, TV Land, TV One, TVG, UniMas, Univision, Up TV, USA, VH1, Vice, We TV

Looking for how to watch free ESPN for one whole week? Fubo has you covered. The live-TV streaming service offers new users a seven-day free trial and its Pro plan grants subscribers access to ESPN and ESPN2. You get over 175 other channels — including the NFL Network and the CBS Sports Network — and the plan costs $79.99/month. More good news? You can cancel and change your plan at any time, making Fubo an easy and low-commitment way to watch ESPN without cable. Simply create your Fubo TV login and start an ESPN streaming session!

Fubo TV

• ESPN Free Trial: Seven days
• Price: $79.99/month
• Device Availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Hisense, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Vizio, Xbox
• Channel Lineup: ABC, ABC News Live, ACC Network, AccuWeather, Animal Planet, Bein Sports, Bein Sports 4, Bein sports 5, Bein Sports 6, Bein Sports 7, Bein Sports 8, BET, The Big Dish, Big Ten Network, Bloomberg TV, The Bob Ross Channel, Bounce, Bravo, CBS, CBS Sports Network, Cheddar, Cleo TV, CMT, CNBC, Comedy Central, Comet, Court TV, Cozi TV, Dark Matter TV, The Design Network, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Dove Channel, E!, EarthxTV, ESPN, ESPN2, Estrella TV, Fail Army, Food Network, Fox, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, Fox Soul, Fox Weather, FS1, FX2, Freeform, Fubo Movie Network, Fubo Sports Network, FX, FXM, FXX, FYI, Galavision, GetTV, Glory, Golf Channel, Great American Family, Grit, Gusto TV, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, INFAST, Insight TV, Investigation Discovery, ION, ION Mystery, ION Plus, JTV, Law & Crime, LiveNOW from Fox, Local Now, LX News, Magnolia Network, Marquee Sports Network, MotorTrend, MSNBC, MTV, National Geographic, NBC, NBC News Now, NBC Universo, New 12 New York, Newsmax TV, NEWSNATION, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Origins Sports Network, OWN, Oxygen, Pac 12 Networks, Paramount Network, Perfect Game, The Pet Collective, PFL, Pop TV, Popcornflix, QVC, Real Madrid TV, Scripps News, SEC Network, Smithsonian Channel, Speedvision, Swerve Sports, SYFY, Tastemade, Telemundo, The Weather Channel, TLC, Toon Goggles, Travel Channel, TUDN, TUDNxtra1, TUDNxtra10, TUDNxtra11, TUDNxtra2, TUDNxtra3, TUDNxtra4, TUDNxtra5, TUDNxtra6, TUDNxtra7, TUDNxtra8, TUDNxtra9, TV Land, TVG, Unimas, Universal Kids, Universo, Univision, USA, VH1, Women's Sports Network

The Hulu + Live TV subscription is another option for accessing an ESPN stream, but there are better ways to watch ESPN cheaply without cable. With that being said, you get a lot of content with this bundle subscription, which costs $82.99/month. You gain access to the Hulu streaming library, ESPN and ESPN2 as well as ESPN+ and Disney+. This is a comprehensive package for addressing all you cord-cutter needs.

Hulu + Live TV

• ESPN Free Trial: N/A
• Price: $82.99/month
• Device Availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, iPhone, LG TV, Nintendo Switch, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung TV, Vizio Smart TV, Xbox
• Channel Lineup: A&E, ABC, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, BET, Big Ten Network, Bloomberg Television, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CBS, CBS News, CBS Sports Network, Cheddar News, CMT, CNBC, CNN, CNN International, Comedy Central, Comedy TV, Cozi TV, Crime+Investigation, CW, Dabl, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN College Extra, ESPNews, ESPNU, Food Network, FOX, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, Freeform, FS1, FS2, FX, FXM, FXX, FYI, Golf Channel, Hallmark, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, History, HLN, ID, Justice Central TV, Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, Localish, Military History Chanel, Motor Trend, MSNBC, MTV, NASA, Nat Geo Wild, National Geographic, NBC, NBC News Now, NBCLX, News Nation, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, OWN, Oxygen, Paramount Network, Pop, QVC, SEC Network, Smithsonian Channel, Start TV, SYFY, TBS, Telemundo, The Grio, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, TVLand, Universal Kids, USA, Vevo 80s, Vevo 90s, Vevo Country, Vevo Hip-Hop, Vevo Holiday, Vevo Pop, VH1, Vice, Weather Channel

There are plenty of ways to watch ESPN online for free — you just need to find a platform that offers free trials. Above, we outlined all of the ways to watch ESPN and outlined which live-TV streaming services offer free trial periods. The easiest way to watch ESPN for free? Sign up for a live-TV streaming service with a free trial and cancel your subscription before the free trial ends. Using a trial to watch ESPN for free is your best path to watching live sports online without paying a penny.

No! You cannot watch regular ESPN programming with ESPN Plus without connecting your account to a cable provider. ESPN Plus, however, does offer exclusive programming that you can access without cable. Though there is not currently an ESPN Plus free trial being offered, so you can't try the service before you buy. At any rate, to gain access to live sports on ESPN without cable, you'll need to sign up for one of the live-TV streaming services mentioned above.

Yes! Despite the prior carriage dispute with Disney, DirecTV is currently offering ESPN in all of its plans. DirecTV even offers a free trial, so you can stream ESPN for free.

Like ESPN, ESPN2 is included in several live-TV streaming packages, including DirecTV, Fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV and Sling Orange. You can watch ESPN2 for free by using an aforementioned free trial period.