How to Watch ESPN Without Cable

Sling Orange's $4.99/day price tag makes it de facto the cheapest option to get an ESPN live stream for just a a game or two. This so-called "skinny bundle" includes all three ESPN channels, and throws in TNT, TBS, A&E and more. The weekend pass costs $9.99, and the week pass costs $14.99. The monthly subscription is at $45.99, which is good value, but is technically the second cheapest way to stream the Disney-owned sports broadcaster, as ESPN unlimited currently costs $29.99/month. Whether you're looking to watch a single game or looking for a more complete alternative to cable, Sling's Orange package is one of the market's highlights.

Fubo stands out for their generous 7 day free trial. If you thought Sling was affordable at $4.99/day, how about a week completely free. Once branded as a sports-focused streaming service, it also comes with RSNs, CBS Sports, both Fox Sports channels FS1 and FS2, as well as ESPN2 and ESPN3. The only area it falls short of being the perfect cord-cutting solution for sports fans is that it doesn't include TNT. It's worth noting Fubo has recently been acquired by ESPN's owner Disney, and it's set to be merged with Hulu + Live TV at some point in the future.

Hulu and ESPN are both owned by Disney, so it makes sense that: a- Hulu's Live TV service includes ESPN, and b- ESPN Unlimited and Disney+ are included in Hulu with Live TV's main plan that costs $82.99/month.You'll be getting ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN College Extra, ESPNews, and ESPNU all in one place, together with local channels, ABC, CBS, and Hulu's on-demand library. The price might be steep but you do get a lot for it, and they often run 3-month discounts for new subscribers.

Youtube TV has quickly grown into one of the best choices for Live TV, offering both local and national channels like ESPN, CNN, Comedy Central, and others. Youtube TV's marketing claims that by getting the platform, you could save up to $500 a year on cable. One major draw of the platform is unlimited cloud DVR storage that's included in the $82.99 plan. It's also one of the most widely available Live TV streaming services, as you can get it on virtually every device from Fire TV to XBOX to Smart TV brands like LG.

DIRECTV (previously DIRECTV Stream) is known for their industry-leading picture quality, but they have recently been covering their bases against the competition. For starters, they offer a five day trial which includes ESPN, so you can watch the game or event you're looking for, and if you choose, cancel and not pay anything. Second, they recently introduced "genre packages", which are cheaper skinny bundles. ESPN is included in the MySports package for $69.99, which also comes with a free trial.

There are, however, plently reasons to keep this complete cord-cutting package: local channels, RSNs, unlimited DVR, and the ability to watch on an impressive 20 devices at once in your home (3 devices outside).

Spectrum TV Choice is an internet television service that is available only by call-in and only to Charter Spectrum internet customers. The channels available to you will depend on your location, but usually you can choose 10 more channels to add to your plan. Please be careful that after 30 days, you might not be able to change the list of 10 channels you choose. You can read more in our dedicated explainer here: Spectrum TV Choice Explained: Plans, Pricing, Channels.

You might have noticed that ESPN's new standalone app comes included in many of the services above, like Hulu + Live TV, Disney+, and DIRECTV. You can even get it as part of a bundle with Disney+ and Hulu + Live TV. That's because for most people, getting just ESPN for $29.99/month might not be worth it, especially with so many more complete packages out there.