Watching sports shouldn’t require a flowchart. But here we are.
Welcome to 2026, where catching your favorite team play means juggling half a dozen subscriptions, remembering which app has Thursday games versus Sunday games, and explaining to your non-sports-fan partner why you need yet another streaming service.
The NFL alone spreads games across five different platforms this season. The NBA? Three services for national broadcasts, plus you’ll need a regional sports network if you actually care about your local team. It’s exhausting.
But there’s good news. You don’t need long-term contracts with any of these services. Sign up when your season starts. Cancel when it ends. Or mid-season if your team tanks hard enough that you can’t watch anymore.
Plus, some services finally started offering skinny bundles just for sports. Cheaper packages with fewer channels but all the games you need. Sling even lets you buy single-game passes now for five bucks.
Let’s break down which services actually work for the sports you care about.
YouTube TV Brings Almost Everything
YouTube TV costs $83 monthly, though new subscribers catch a discount for the first few months. The platform delivers four regional sports networks plus FS1, FS2, ESPN and every major broadcast network.
The standard package includes nearly every league channel. Only the NHL Network gets left out. There’s a Sports Plus add-on, but it barely adds value beyond Tennis Channel and NFL Red Zone. Most subscribers skip it.
YouTube TV also owns exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket. But here’s the catch: Sunday Ticket doesn’t include your local games. You only get Sunday afternoon matchups that aren’t broadcasting on CBS or Fox in your area.
So for complete Sunday football coverage, you need Sunday Ticket plus YouTube TV. Or grab Sunday Ticket and stick an antenna on your TV for local broadcasts.
The interface works great. The cloud DVR handles recordings smoothly. The search function actually finds what you’re looking for. It’s the closest thing to a one-stop sports solution that exists right now.
Peacock Wins Super Bowl 60 and the Winter Olympics
Peacock costs just $11 monthly for the Premium tier. That gets you the Super Bowl and full Winter Olympics coverage this month. Also included: English Premier League soccer, select WWE events, IndyCar races and some PGA tournaments.
NBC’s streaming platform also carries rugby, figure skating, cycling and track and field. Sunday Night Football during the NFL season is solid. After the Super Bowl ends, NBA on NBC brings live basketball to the mix.
For most of the year though, Peacock works best for soccer and wrestling fans. The sports catalog isn’t deep enough to justify keeping it year-round unless you’re really into Premier League.
The $17 Premium Plus plan removes ads. Whether that’s worth six extra bucks depends on how much commercials annoy you during games.
Hulu Plus Live TV Bundles ESPN Unlimited
Hulu Plus Live TV sits in an interesting middle ground. The service lacks most league-owned channels. But it automatically includes an ESPN Unlimited subscription in the $83 monthly fee.
You get five regional sports networks along with major broadcast channels, ESPN, FS1 and FS2. The NFL Network is there too. But even the Sports add-on doesn’t include MLB, NHL, NBA or Tennis channels. NFL Red Zone is the only real value in that upgrade.
The Disney bundle sweetens the deal. You get full ESPN Unlimited access plus Disney Plus. For sports fans sharing a house with Disney lovers, this could be the compromise that works.
The first three months are discounted right now. After that, it’s the same $83 as YouTube TV. Whether it’s worth it depends on how much you value that Disney bundle.
ESPN Unlimited Covers Most Major Sports
ESPN’s direct streaming service comes in two versions. ESPN Unlimited costs $30 monthly (or $300 yearly) and streams every ESPN linear network: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network and ACC Network.
You also access ESPN on ABC, ESPN Plus, ESPN3, SECN Plus and ACCNX. That’s roughly 47,000 live events yearly according to ESPN’s count.
The platform carries NFL, WWE, NBA, NHL, MLB, WNBA, UFC, UFL, SEC, ACC, Big 12, College Football Playoff, NCAA championships, LaLiga, Bundesliga, NWSL, FA Cup, plus tennis majors and golf’s biggest tournaments.
For NFL fans, ESPN Unlimited delivers every Monday Night Football game and the ManningCast, plus one Wild Card playoff game. NBA fans get 80 regular-season games including Wednesday doubleheaders and later-season Friday, Saturday and Sunday matchups.
There’s also ESPN Select for $13 monthly. It’s basically rebranded ESPN Plus. You get thousands of live games from small college conferences that don’t air anywhere else. But no NFL or NBA.
If you care about college sports, international soccer, hockey or golf, ESPN Unlimited probably belongs in your rotation. Just not during NFL season when you’ll need other services anyway.
DirecTV Offers the Most Regional Sports Networks
DirecTV now sells streaming-only packages, including the new MySports bundle at $70 monthly. It’s the priciest option among major live TV streamers. But it also carries the most regional sports networks by far.
The $85 Entertainment package includes major networks plus ESPN and FS1. You need the Choice plan to get any available RSN and league channels like Big Ten Network and NBA TV.
For fewer channels at lower cost, the MySports Genre Pack delivers 20-plus channels including NBC, FS1 and NBA TV. It also throws in ESPN Unlimited at no extra charge.
DirecTV works for hardcore local team fans. If you absolutely need to watch every single game your NBA, NHL or MLB team plays, this is probably your only streaming option.
Everyone else should look elsewhere. The monthly costs add up fast, and most people don’t need this many sports channels.
Fubo Brings ESPN and Tons of RSNs
Fubo starts at $85 monthly and offers over 35 regional sports networks. But watch out for the RSN fee that adds up to $15 extra per month. Sneaky pricing there.
The service includes ESPN. It dropped TBS and TNT, though that matters less now that the NBA left Turner. You get most local networks like ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, plus FS1, FS2, BeIn Sports, Big Ten and Golf Channel.
For the NHL, NBA, MLB, SEC, PAC 12 and Tennis channels, you need the Fubo Extra Package for $8 monthly. Or upgrade to the $105 Elite tier that includes Sports Plus.
Fubo built its reputation on soccer coverage. If you follow multiple leagues internationally, this service delivers. For everyone else, it’s expensive for what you actually get.
Sling TV Works for Casual Fans on a Budget
Sling doesn’t offer much for serious sports fans. But if you only watch occasionally, it’s the cheapest option that isn’t terrible.
Sling Blue currently lacks any regional sports networks. You can watch some national broadcasts though. The Orange plan includes ESPN. The Blue plan has FS1 and NFL Network. Neither gives you ABC.
The Sports Extra add-on costs $11 monthly for either plan, or $15 for the combined Orange and Blue package. You get NBA, NHL and MLB channels plus PAC 12, BeIn Sports and Tennis Channel.
Individual plans start at $46 monthly. The combined Orange and Blue plan runs $61 monthly in most regions.
Here’s Sling’s best feature: one-day passes for five bucks. Need to watch one specific game on one specific night? Buy a day pass. There are also weekend and week passes for tournaments.
Paramount Plus Delivers CBS Sports and NFL Games
Paramount Plus starts at $8 monthly. You get NFL games during the season, some UEFA Champions League soccer, college basketball and most NWSL women’s soccer matches.
Upgrade to Paramount Plus with Showtime for $13 monthly. That adds live local CBS feeds. You can watch NFL games in your market without spending much.
Or just get an over-the-air antenna and grab all local channels free. That might be the smarter move here.
For the Super Bowl this Sunday, Paramount Plus isn’t necessary. NBC carries it, and Peacock streams it. But during the regular season, this could be your cheapest path to CBS sports programming.
The Real Problem Nobody Fixes
Cloud providers designed streaming to maximize their revenue, not your convenience. Surprising? Not really.
But here’s what frustrates me. These companies market “watch only what you want” while making it nearly impossible to actually do that. You need three or four services minimum to follow most major sports.
The streaming delay makes it worse. You’re watching 40 seconds behind cable. Your phone buzzes with score updates before the play happens on your screen. Sports betting becomes nearly impossible.
Plus the costs add up fast. You think you’re saving money by cutting cable. Then you subscribe to YouTube TV, ESPN Unlimited and Peacock. Suddenly you’re spending $130 monthly. That’s more than cable used to cost.
The only real strategy is constant vigilance. Subscribe when your season starts. Cancel when it ends. Track your spending monthly. Question every new service before adding it.
Your streaming bills will keep rising unless you actively fight back. The choice is yours.
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