Missing Out On The CW? Here’s How To Stream Live Sports and Next-Day Shows

The CW makes deals with two big streaming players

For years, The CW has hosted its latest episodes for free with ads right on its website. This was super helpful when I was an Arrowverse-obsessed college student with no TV. But now there’s another way to catch your favorite CW shows and sporting events: On The Roku Channel and ESPN Unlimited, respectively.

This news comes to us from Nexstar, The CW’s parent company since 2022, who started shaking up The CW’s programming slate during the 2023 writers’ strike by replacing its scripted dramas with unscripted series and sports. Nexstar announced both of its new streaming deals earlier this morning, and there’s a lot to unpack.

Interested in the details? Keep reading to learn more.

CW Sports streaming on ESPN

According to the new Nexstar press release, the ESPN Unlimited subscription service will be the new exclusive home for “all CW Sports Live events.” That means that you won’t be able to stream live sports on The CW’s website or app.

CW Sports will still air live on The CW’s free over-the-air (OTA) broadcast channel, which you can access without a subscription of any kind as long as you have an OTA antenna. As our Senior Sports Editor Taylor Kujawa put it, “antenna TV is your best defense against rising fees.”

But if you’re looking for a streaming service to watch CW Sports on, you’ll have to turn to ESPN Unlimited through the ESPN app.

ESPN Unlimited is a relatively new streaming tier; it’s the premium version of ESPN Select, the rebranded version of ESPN+. As of writing, an ESPN Unlimited subscription costs $29.99/mo. and provides access to live NBA, NFL, college sports, and all ESPN-owned channels.

With this new deal, you can add The CW’s live sports lineup to that list. Here’s the full roster of CW Sports coming to ESPN Unlimited:

* Also available next-day through The Roku Channel

This change in coverage will go into effect sometime in Summer 2026.

CW shows streaming on The Roku Channel

Meanwhile, The CW’s other shows are coming to free streaming service The Roku Channel. Like The CW website and app, anyone can use The Roku Channel for free as long as they’re cool with watching ads.

And if you already use The CW’s website or app for non-sports shows, you don’t have to worry. Unlike sports fans, you’ll still get access to all of the same content you could before. This new deal isn’t moving CW’s entertainment content from one place to another, just making them more accessible to people who already use The Roku Channel (and thus increasing the brand’s ad revenue).

Here’s the list of every ongoing CW show scheduled for next-day releases on The Roku Channel:

You’ll also be able to watch “over 800 hours” of The CW’s existing content library, including episodes from:

These titles will all be available through The Roku Channel’s CW-branded content hub beginning Fall 2026.

Who we are

At CableTV.com, we’re not just entertainment experts—we’re also fans just like you. So while our first priority is reporting the best and most accurate information about TV providers and streaming services, we also love talking about our favorite shows and movies. So you can count on us to share our honest opinions and unbridled enthusiasm. For more on our process, check out our Editorial Policy.