The 5 best sports streaming services in 2024

Since Netflix’s astronomic rise to success in the 2010s, streaming has quickly become one of the largest entertainment industries in the world. While the early days of streaming were dominated largely by movies and TV, sports have slowly become a presence in the streaming market.

However, there isn’t a single streaming service that stands as the pure hub for sports content. Instead, many different streaming apps offer fantastic sports content and a few actually dedicated sports services.

1 For big-time hockey and MMA fans: ESPN+

Includes sports-related content

ESPN+

ESPN+

Simultaneous streams

5

# of profiles

5

Live TV

Yes

Price

Starts at $10.99/month

Free trial

No

Ad plans

No

While there aren’t many streaming services that are completely dedicated to sports content, ESPN+ may be the only major player in town. There are rumors of a team-up service between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount down the road for sports content, but for the time being, the market belongs to ESPN+.

However, there aren’t many sports that actually air live or on-demand on ESPN+. But, one major upside of ESPN+ is its selection for hockey fans and fans of European and South American soccer. In particular, ESPN+ is where you can watch every out-of-market NHL game throughout the season. Outside the out-of-market games, there is a large chunk of NHL games available to watch on ESPN+. ESPN+ is also home to an impressive selection of UFC content, including pay-per-views and an impressive archive.

Beyond NHL, MMA, and international, ESPN+ also contains a wealth of media about sports. Be it documentaries about particular athletes, or legendary athletes recounting some of the career highlights from their perspective, there’s a lot to watch on ESPN+ that isn’t just games and matches.

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2 For fans of Premier League soccer, Olympic sports, and pro wrestling: Peacock

Sports Entertainment on Peacock

Peacock

Peacock had a strange launch as the service with The Office on it but has actually come a long way since. For sports fans in particular, there are a handful of significant factors that could potentially make Peacock the Premier sporting destination.

First and foremost is, of course, Premier League soccer. For American viewers, this is by far the easiest way to keep up with soccer from across the pond. Every match airs live and is available on demand immediately after it ends on Peacock. Additionally, some American Football is available to view on Peacock. This past January, a Wildcard Playoffs match between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins streamed exclusively on Peacock. This exclusivity brought 2.8 million new subscribers to the service.

Outside of football, be it American or British, Peacock also includes several other impressive sports offerings. A subscription to Peacock also includes access to golf, SuperMotocross, rugby, and numerous Olympic sports. And of course, the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games will be available to view on Peacock.

Another large appeal of Peacock is currently being the only major streaming service with a significant professional wrestling offering. Currently, WWE’s content is all available on Peacock. While their weekly shows take some weeks to appear on the service, all of their major events stream on Peacock in the US.

Aside from just current WWE shows and events, the service also boasts an impressive back catalog of professional wrestling including content from beyond just WWE. For sports fans who want a side of “sports entertainment,” Peacock is by far the best option available.

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3 For keeping up with live sports of all kinds: YouTube TV

The features that keep you subscribed

YouTube TV

For those unfamiliar, YouTube TV is Google’s cable alternative. The platform functions just like any traditional cable plan would, but completely over your internet connection. For sports in particular, YouTube TV might just be the best way to stay on top of anything and everything.

YouTube TV offers access to almost every traditional cable channel you can think of, and that includes local CBS, Fox, ABC, and NBC affiliate stations. If there happens to be a sport missing YouTube TV’s channel lineup, you might just find it in the Sports Plus package, which includes extra sports-based channels for only an additional $11 monthly.

While YouTube TV is a very expensive subscription to maintain, clocking in at $73 monthly, there are plenty of features that can make it worthwhile, especially for sports fans. One of the blights of cable in the past was limited DVR space. If you wanted to tape a sports game while you weren’t home, there was always the possibility that you could run out of space and not be able to record the entire game. Or, if you were particularly busy, you might not ever get around to watching a game before you need to delete it to make room for something else.

YouTube TV bypasses that issue completely by allowing you to record as much as you want, with the only limitation being a nine-month time limit on recorded media. Greater still are features such as hiding spoilers for game scores, or adding an entire league to your library to keep up with every game happening in a season. If you think it might be worth your time, but only for a season at a time, YouTube TV also allows you to pause a subscription for multiple months at a time.

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4 For a cable alternative in a bundle: Hulu + Live TV

The bundled value of Hulu + Live TV

Tech-daily / Unsplash
 

Hulu With Live TV occupies the same alternative cable space that YouTube TV does. However, there are some key differences between the two services. Largely, the two services offer the same things: access to a plethora of live sporting events, unlimited DVR space, etc. While Hulu + Live TV does cost more and has fewer channels, that isn’t as negative as it may sound on the surface.

Hulu + Live TV isn’t just a slightly more expensive YouTube TV. As the “+” in the service’s name implies, the live TV portion of Hulu + Live TV comes bundled with Hulu. While that on its own isn’t a massive upgrade on the end of sports, there is one more trick up Hulu + Live TV’s sleeve.

The service also comes bundled with ESPN+. In addition to all the live content that can be found on Hulu + Live TV, subscribers can also access anything and everything that ESPN+ has to offer. This can be an especially great offer for hockey fans wanting to watch out-of-market games alongside everything that is broadcast on cable.

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Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and NFL games

Paramount+ / Pocket-lint

Paramount+’s offerings for sports come down to a lot of soccer from all over the world. While this includes the NWSL domestically, it also includes soccer from Europe and from South America.

For those seeking sports offerings outside of soccer, Paramount+ still has something to offer. On the service itself, there is great coverage of MMA, golf, basketball, and boxing available on the service. With the more premium ‘with SHOWTIME’ tier of Paramount+, users also gain access to live feeds of their local CBS affiliate. What comes along with this is access to any sporting event airing live on CBS. This past February, that included the Super Bowl.

The ‘with SHOWTIME’ tier of the service also buys full access to the sports offered across the service, some of which may be gated as SHOWTIME content if you don’t have the necessary subscription. For a service on the more affordable end that can offer live feed access to sports on CBS, Paramount+ is one of the best offerings available.

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