Price: $6.99/mo. or $69.99/yr.
Free trial: N/A
Live sports: NHL, MLS, Bundesliga, La Liga, UFC, and more
On-demand library: 100+ original titles each month
Live sporting events are moving to streaming services each year at an increasing rate. Of all the services out there, ESPN+ is the best one for sports. Its low price and wide sports coverage make it one of the premier streaming destinations for live sports.
Of course, any streaming service is only as good as its content. Keep reading as we break down what comes with ESPN+ and how it relates to the traditional ESPN networks.
ESPN+ is an on-demand sports streaming service that also features live events. Like the name suggests, ESPN+ expands on the type of content the traditional ESPN networks deliver. You’ll get on-demand ESPN series like 30 for 30 and E:60 while also having access to ESPN+ exclusive live games and originals like UFC events and out-of-market NHL and MLS games.
While you can access some normal ESPN programming, ESPN+ is like its own channel. Therefore, you’ll need a separate TV subscription that includes the traditional ESPN networks in order to watch all your ESPN content.
ESPN+ is good if you already have ESPN through a cable, satellite, or live TV streaming service. On its own, though, ESPN+ might not satisfy all sports fans. The emphasis of ESPN+ is on the “+” part: It’s a feature-packed addition to, but not a streaming replacement for, ESPN.
That said, ESPN+ does give fans of soccer, baseball, hockey, UFC MMA, boxing, golf, and college sports—and, to a lesser extent, football and basketball—a whole lot of live sports action for under seven bucks a month. There’s also access to ESPN’s deep bench of award-winning original shows and films.
Just don’t expect to see, brace yourself, SportsCenter or other popular ESPN shows without a cable login. ESPN+ is best for sports fans who already get ESPN through a cable, satellite, or live TV streaming service. After all, teamwork makes the stream work.
Unfortunately, ESPN+ doesn’t offer a free trial, but that’s pretty consistent with a lot of the best streaming services nowadays.
However, the streaming service does offer ways for subscribers to save money. By signing up for a full year of ESPN+ at $69.99, you can save $13.89 annually over the month-to-month rate.
You can also bundle ESPN+ with Hulu and Disney+. This streaming service team up starts at $13.99 per month, for a monthly savings of $7.98 compared to getting the services separately.
If you prefer Hulu + Live TV over the basic Hulu plan, both its ad-supported ($69.99 a month) and ad-free plans ($75.99 a month) already include ESPN+ (regularly $6.99 a month) and Disney+ (regularly $7.99 a month) bundled at no extra charge. That means you’ll get ESPN+, Disney+, and Hulu original content in addition to over 70 live channels—including ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNEWS.
| Plan | Price | Streams | Video | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESPN+ (monthly plan) | $6.99/mo. | 3 | 1080p | View Plans |
| ESPN+ (yearly plan) | $69.99/yr. | 3 | 1080p | View Plans |
| ESPN+, Disney+, and Hulu bundle | $13.99/mo. | 3 | 1080p | View Plans |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
ESPN+ is great on its own, but it’s even better when it’s supplementing a TV service. That’s why we recommend a live TV streaming service to go with your ESPN+ subscription.
Later on, we’ll discuss combining ESPN+ with other services, like Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, or Vidgo—all of which carry regular ESPN.
| Service | Price | Editorial rating | Streams | Video | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESPN+ | $6.99/mo. | 4.2/5 | 3 | 1080p | View Plans |
| Netflix | $9.99–$19.99/mo. | 4.3/5 | 1–4 | 1080p, 4K | View Plans |
| Hulu | $6.99–$12.99/mo. | 4.2/5 | 2 | 1080p, 4K | View Plans |
| Amazon Prime Video | $8.99–$12.99/mo. | 4.2/5 | 3 | 1080p, 4K | View plans |
| Disney+ | $7.99/mo. | 4.6/5 | 4 | 1080p, 4K | View Plans |
| HBO Max | $9.99–$14.99/mo. | 4.5/5 | 3 | 1080p, 4K | View Plans |
| Peacock | Free–$9.99/mo. | 4.3/5 | 3 | 1080p, 4K | View Plans |
| Paramount+ | $4.99–$9.99/mo. | 4.0/5 | 3 | 1080p | View Plans |
| Apple TV+ | $4.99/mo. | 3.9/5 | 6 | 1080p, 4K | View Plans |
| Discovery+ | $4.99–$6.99/mo. | 4.0/5 | 4 | 1080p, 4K | View Plans |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
ESPN+ is different from other on-demand streaming services in that it’s strictly sports, and it also features live events. The others dabble in sports (like Amazon Prime Video’s exclusive Thursday Night Football deal with the NFL), but ESPN+ is all about that ballin’ life.
As mentioned previously, ESPN+ works best in tandem with access to ESPN through a cable (like Xfinity or Spectrum), satellite (like DIRECTV or DISH), or live TV streaming provider (like YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV).
For sports geeks who want to dig in further than just live events, ESPN+’s rich on-demand archives would make a solid case for being the “Netflix for sports”—if rival streamer fuboTV hadn’t already claimed the term.
The entirety of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series can be found here, in addition to the E:60 sports-mag show and ESPN films like the Oscar-winning O.J.: Made in America.
But you can’t watch ESPN staples like SportsCenter, Around the Horn, or Pardon the Interruption without a cable, satellite, or live TV streaming provider login. The same goes for Monday Night Football and NBA Friday.
ESPN+ doesn’t feature just ESPN leftovers—like every other upstart platform, ESPN+ also produces original streaming content. Keep scrolling to see what you can watch on ESPN+.
An ESPN+ subscription gives you access to thousands of live college games, as well as live boxing, MMA, golf, tennis, cricket, lacrosse, rugby, and more.
You can also access MLB regular-season games through ESPN+. Soccer and hockey fans, however, are the big winners here, with live access to the entire out-of-market MLS and NHL seasons—cue the vuvuzelas and glow sticks!
Speaking of soccer, ESPN+ is also the home of Spain’s La Liga and the German Bundesliga. It’s no wonder we’ve ranked ESPN+ as one of the top services for soccer fans.
But, you can’t win ‘em all. As we said, only a limited number of NFL games and not a single NBA game can be viewed on ESPN+. For more NFL and any NBA action, you’ll need a traditional ESPN login. It’s not like football and basketball are that popular, right?
Oh, and regional blackouts on certain local MLB, MLS, and NHL games apply to ESPN+ just as they do to ESPN proper. Steee-rike!
When it comes to ESPN+ add-ons, you can combine your streaming subscription with MLB.TV to get every live out-of-market MLB regular season game. Because MLB is currently in the offseason, the add-on is offered at a discounted price through the MLB preseason.
ESPN+ also offers UFC pay-per-view (PPV) events. To watch main card UFC fights, you’ll need to pay $74.99 per event through your ESPN+ membership.
If ESPN+ doesn’t give you everything you want, try pairing it with another streaming service to fill in the blanks—you’ll probably still save money over a cable or satellite subscription.
It’s also important to note that Hulu + Live TV already includes ESPN+ at no additional charge.
| Streaming service | Price | What you get | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hulu + Live TV | $69.99–$75.99/mo. | 70+ live TV channels, including ESPN, and access to ESPN+, Disney+, and Hulu original content. | View Hulu + Live TV plans |
| YouTube TV | $64.99/mo. | Over 100 live TV channels, including ESPN, plus an unlimited Cloud DVR. | View YouTube TV Plans |
| fuboTV | $69.99–$79.99/mo. | 100+ live TV channels with an emphasis on sports, including ESPN. | View fuboTV Plans |
| Sling TV | $35.00–$50.00/mo. | 30+ live TV channels, including ESPN, with premium and add-on options. | View Sling TV Plans |
| Vidgo | $59.95–$79.95/mo. | 100+ live TV channels, including ESPN, plus Social TV chat features. | View Vidgo Plans |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
| Plan | Streams |
|---|---|
| ESPN+ | 3 |
ESPN+ allows up to three simultaneous streams. That’s on par with most streaming services, but still good news if your household is full of sports fans.
Just make sure your internet connection can keep up. As with any other streaming service, the amount of buffering and pixelation you’ll experience with ESPN+ depends mostly on your internet connection.
A note on internet: For live TV streaming, anything less than 25 Mbps of internet speed will probably result in missed plays and screaming at your screen—more screaming than usual, that is. If your connection is dragging, it might be time to trade up to a new internet provider.
| Device | ESPN+ |
|---|---|
| Amazon Fire Cube, Stick, TV | ✓ |
| Android phones, tablets, TVs | ✓ |
| Apple TV (4th gen.) | ✓ |
| Apple TV 4K | ✓ |
| Chromecast, Chromecast with Google TV | ✓ |
| Echo Show | ✓ |
| Facebook Portal TV | ✓ |
| iPhone, iPad | ✓ |
| LG TVs (select models) | ✗ |
| Nintendo Switch | ✗ |
| NVIDIA SHIELD Pro TV | ✗ |
| Oculus Go | ✓ |
| PC, Mac web browsers | ✓ |
| PlayStation 4, 5 | ✓ |
| Roku Ultra, Express, Premiere, Stick, TV | ✓ |
| Samsung TVs (select models) | ✓ |
| TiVo Stream | ✗ |
| Wii | ✗ |
| Xbox One, Series X, Series S | ✓ |
| Xfinity Flex, X1 | ✓ |
Data effective as of post date.
Currently, there’s no dedicated ESPN+ app. The service resides within the ESPN app and at ESPN.com. Just look for the gold “E+” tab.
You can purchase an ESPN+ subscription through either the app or the website. After that, you’ll be prompted to create a new account or log in with an already established ESPN account.
ESPN+ streams in 1080p HD at 60 frames per second, which is the tech way of saying the HD looks as sharp as Netflix, Hulu, and most upper-tier streaming services. For example, if your local sports bar switched from satellite ESPN to streaming ESPN+ between hot wing orders, you probably wouldn’t notice the picture difference.
Audio-wise, ESPN+ streams in standard 2.0 stereo. Dolby Digital 5.1 stereo, like 4K Ultra HD video, isn’t yet available from the service—not even those mountains of Disney money can make that big of an update happen overnight.
Ultimately, if you’re a sports fan looking to supercharge your ESPN experience, ESPN+ is a content-stuffed teammate for your existing ESPN-carrying cable, satellite, or live TV streaming service. ESPN+ gives you plenty to watch as a standalone streamer, but it really shines when paired up with ESPN proper.
Soccer, MMA, and college sports fans would especially be wise to check out ESPN+ before Disney realizes how much action it’s giving away for $6.99 a month.
Our experts employed over 40 hours of hands-on testing and crunched the numbers, rating ESPN+ on value, reliability, features, and customer satisfaction. Then we matched up streaming services head to head to give a clearer picture of their strengths and weaknesses. For more information on our methodology, check out our How We Rank page.
ESPN+ is available for $6.99 per month or $69.99 a year, depending on which plan you pick. The sign-up process is simple, and it won’t take you long to start watching.
How to watch ESPN+:
ESPN+ carries live soccer, baseball, hockey, boxing, MMA, golf, tennis, cricket, lacrosse, rugby, and more events. Some NFL, NBA, and other pro sports games stream live via ESPN, but you’ll need a login from your cable, satellite, or live TV streaming provider to access most of them.
ESPN+ also features live UFC pay-per-view events, which cost an extra $74.99 per event.
ESPN+ features thousands of live sporting events from domestic and international competitions each year. This includes games from top sports leagues like La Liga, MLB, MLS, NHL, the German Bundesliga, and the PGA Tour.
With an ESPN+ subscription, you also get exclusive access to on-demand video content—like the 30 for 30 film series and O.J.: Made in America—and ESPN+ premium articles. These are sports news and analysis-based articles from some of ESPN’s top writers.
If you have a login from your cable, satellite, or live TV streaming provider, you can access these channels alongside your ESPN+ content:
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ESPN+ includes limited live NFL games, which are simulcasts of ESPN’s presentation of Monday Night Football. The streaming service also has exclusive live college football games from many different conferences, including the Big 12 Conference, the Ivy League, and the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
ESPN shows like Monday Night Football and SportsCenter aren’t regularly available through an ESPN+ standalone subscription. However, during the final stretch of the 2021 NFL season, Monday Night Football games streamed on ESPN+ while also airing on ABC and ESPN.
To watch every Monday Night Football game and other exclusive-to-ESPN events and shows on ESPN+, you’ll need login credentials from a cable, satellite, or live TV streaming provider that carries ESPN.
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