The major networks you’ll need to follow for the best college football coverage are ESPN, ESPN2, and Fox Sports 1, as well as local channels like ABC, CBS, and NBC, and college conference networks like SEC, Big Ten, AAC, ACC, and more elusively, Pac-12. The good news is they’re all available across different streaming platforms, so you don’t need cable to watch them live. The not-so-good news is because they’re so scattered, they can get tricky to follow. We’ll try to simplify things in this guide, but generally, the coverage gets better the more expensive a streaming service gets—such is life. Cheaper on-demand services tend to offer limited but exclusive coverages, so Peacock has Big Ten Football for instance, while ESPN+ has more than 25 conference networks, including the Ivy League, though no ESPN channel (yes, there’s a difference). Live TV services have even more football channels, like Sling Orange+Blue, which has ESPN, ESPN2, and FS1. If you add the Sports Extra, you can also watch Pac-12, SEC, ACC, and Big Ten on it. Another notable live TV streaming service is Hulu with Live TV, which apart from carrying major conference networks, also has local channels (including CBS Sports), and all the ESPN essentials, including the live channels and ESPN+. It does not, however, have Pac-12 and Longhorn. You’ll get Pac-12 in the pricier Fubo, which has a more diverse selection of sports channels including NHL Network, if you wanna move up to the bigger leagues. We also included DirecTV here because it’s great at covering local channels, plus its Choice package (though again not the cheapest) has a nice selection of conference networks including ACC, Big Ten, and SEC. Below are all the best streaming services for streaming college football here in the US.
The Best Streaming Services for College Football
It might take a while to roll out in your area, but YouTube TV is offering a skinny bundle curated just for sports fans. The YouTube TV Sports Plan gives fans access to all the major sports networks at $18 less than the original YouTube TV base plan. That means fans can watch FS1, NBC Sports Network, and all of the ESPN networks on their intuitive platform at a cheaper price.
This plan can also be combined with the NFL Sunday Ticket, which YouTube TV still holds exclusive rights to. This fall, they'll also be adding access to ESPN Unlimited.
Price: $64.99/month
Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Google TV Streamer, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung TV, Sharp, Vizio, Xbox
What if you can enjoy YouTube TV, but only pay for the channels you actually watch? YouTube TV's Sports + News Plan is one of the many cheaper skinny bundles the streamer released this year, and as you can probably tell from the name, the line-up includes channels from ESPN and Fox Sports, as well as major news networks like CNN, ABC, and NBC. That makes this plan a great choice for sports fans who still want to stay up-to-date with what's going on around the world.
With YouTube TV's multiview feature, subscribers could even keep up with matches and breaking news at the same time. Only interested in sports? You can check out our notes on the YouTube TV Sports Plan here.
Price: $71.99/month
Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Google TV Streamer, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung TV, Sharp, Vizio, Xbox
While one of the skinnier bundles now offered by YouTube TV, this plan is rather unexpected. After all, isn't the point of making smaller, more affordable streaming plans? The combination of all three surely would cost a lot. Sports + News + Entertainment = Expensive? Surprisingly not. Despite combining all the three, somehow the cost is five whole dollars short of the original YouTube TV monthly base plan. It's almost like getting a discount. If your plan will only be used by adults– there's not much child-friendly channels in the line-up– swapping to this plan saves you a little for a rainy day.
Not interested in entertainment? Check out YouTube TV Sports + News Plan.
Price: $77.99/month
Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Google TV Streamer, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung TV, Sharp, Vizio, Xbox
If you enjoy using the DVR option, Youtube TV is arguably the best option in the market for you: it gives you unlimited DVR storage on the Cloud (accessible from any of your devices), and it saves each of your recordings for 9 months. Also, you can share Youtube TV with up to six accounts, so if you have a big family, this is a much better option than getting a bunch of cheaper Live TV subscriptions. Youtube TV allows up to three accounts of the six to watch at the same time.
Price: $82.99/month
Free Trial: 7 days
Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Google TV Streamer, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung TV, Sharp, Vizio, Xbox
The streaming services on this page were chosen by our editors. If you choose to subscribe to a streaming service we recommend as a result of our research, analysis, and curation, our work is sometimes (but not always) supported by an affiliate commission from the streaming service when you make a purchase.