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Are you ready to Cut Cable but scared you’ll miss out on live sports (aka College Football in our house)?? Don’t worry we haven’t had cable in over 15 years and rarely miss a football game for all our favorite teams. If College Football is your favorite you are in luck it’s even easier to find ways to stream college sports than it is to stream the professional games.
Here are some ways to stream football games so you can watch all the games you want without spending top dollar to do it.
Do keep in mind that whatever service you pick, you’re going to need an internet connection of at least 3 Mbps for 720p or 5-6 Mbps for HD 1080 p.
Streaming Devices
With any of these options, you’ll need a device to watch content on. Going super basic you could stream from your smart phone or laptop. If you want to watch it on your TV, here are some options:
Chromecast
Roku
Fire Stick (works with Alexa)
Amazon Fire TV Cube
Play Station 4
Smart TV
They are each a little different, our personal favorite after trying almost all of them is definitely the Roku.
Tip: Before you buy a device, look at the services below. A few of them offer a FREE streaming device when you pay for 3 months of their service!!
Streaming Providers
Before picking a streaming provider, look up your favorite sports teams and see what channels most of their games will be televised on. This will be vary different for Alabama fans vs Appalachian State. Obviously the bigger/better your team the more the larger networks will cover. If you need some of the smaller networks that means adding on additional packages with some providers.
Note: ALL of these providers are paid monthly. There are no sign up fees, or cancelation fees, or extra taxes. We only pay for service during college football season and then cancel after the bowl games until the next August.
Hulu with Live TV
Price: $44.99 per month
Hulu with Live TV is the best of both worlds in terms of content. You can watch things as they air but you will also have access full seasons of shows that have already aired as well as movies. You can record live TV starting with 50 hours of storage.
Sports Channels Included: CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN College, ESPN News, ESPN U, and ACC and SEC Network, Fox Sports, FS1, FS2
YouTube TV
Cost: $49.99+ per month
You Tube TV allows you to stream live TV from 70+ networks plus local sports and news. You can have up to 6 accounts per household and can stream on 3 devices at a time. There is also a Cloud DVR with no storage limits.
Sports Channels Included: CBS Sports Network, NBC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN College, ESPN News, ESPN U, MLB Network, and ACC and SEC Network, Fox Sports, FS1, FS2
Note: They do not work on Amazon Fire TV.
Sling TV
Cost: $50+ per month (Sling Orange+Blue + $10 Sports Package)
Sling TV allows you to stream live TV. You will get different channels based on which package you get. To get all the sports channels the Youtube and Hulu offer you’ll need to get the additional $10 sports package.
Sports Channels Included: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, SEC and ACC Network, NHL & NBA, NFL Network, NBS Sports, FS1, FS2,
Direct TV Now
Price: $50+ per month for PLUS
You can get 45+ channels with Direct TV Now. There is no satellite or annual contract required. It includes DVR cloud access. In select markets, you can add on an NFL Sunday Ticket subscription if you have at least the $70 Direct TV Now package.
Sports Channels Included: ESPN, ESPN2, FS!
Included in the $70 Package: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN U, SEC Network, CBS Sports, FS1, FS2
PlayStation Vue
Price: $54.99+ per month for Core Plan
Live stream more than 45 channels with the basic package + add on the sports package to get all the channels you’ll need.
Sports Channels Included: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN U, ESPN College Extra, FS1, FS2, MLB, NBA TV, CBS Sports, NFL Network, ACC & SEC Network
Note: You don’t need a playstation, this provider works on all major devices and phones.
My Pick
| Hulu w/ Live | YouTube TV | DirecTV NOW | PlayStation Vue | Sling TV | |
| Price (monthly) | $45 | $50 | $50 | $55 | $50 |
| Channels | 60+ | 70+ | 45+ | 70+ | 70 |
| DVR | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $5 extra |
| On-Demand | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Simultaneous Streams | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 to 5 | 4 |
In my opinion Hulu or Youtube TV wins. You get more sports channels than other providers at the lowest prices.
They all offer free 7 day trials… if you want to get creative that would at least give you 5 weeks of free streaming!
