How to Watch the Premier League Without Cable

The English Premier League is the world's best club soccer league. From August to May, Premier League matchdays feature the best players in the world battling it out on the pitch, fighting for the title and against relegation on club soccer's biggest stage. The action is aired on television here in the United States, but if you don't have cable or satellite, you might be frustrated by your inability to catch the big games. Never fear: we're here to show you how to watch the Premier League without cable. Below, we'll lay out ways that you can watch Premier League matches free in the United States (and yes, we mean legally), as well as ways to watch the Premier League online, including streaming via Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast devices, to name just a few.

What Channel is the Premier League On?

In the United States, NBC has the English-language rights to the Premier League. Since we plan to find a way to watch the Premier League live, we're looking for ways to watch the channels that NBC airs Premier League games on. Most notably, those include NBC (which is NBC's flagship channel, of course) and NBCSN (which is NBC's sports-specific channel). It's also worth noting that NBC pushes some games to other NBC sister channels from time to time, so you may want to look for MSNBC and CNBC in your Premier League streaming solution as well. We'll be sure to cover all the details in our guide below.

How to Watch the Premier League Online and Over the Air Without Cable

Our goal is to watch the Premier League without cable. To that end, we'll need to find a way to watch NBC and NBCSN without cable (and it wouldn't hurt to grab MSNBC and CNBC, too). So how can we do this?

Longtime readers already know what we'll say next. There are two broad categories of ways to watch TV without cable: free over-the-air TV and live TV streaming services (also called “skinny bundles”).

We'll give free over-the-air TV its own subheading on the list below, but our skinny bundle options are numerous. So, rather than repeat ourselves a bunch of times, let's take a moment here to explain what, exactly, a skinny bundle is and how it works.

A skinny bundle is a live TV streaming service, which is exactly what it sounds like. Live TV streaming services give us access to live TV, and they offer a multichannel format that is just like the one used by cable and satellite services. You'll be able to flip around from channel to channel, and the networks that you'll get will be familar – expect to see channels like AMC, HGTV, TBS, and, yes, NBC and NBCSN (the specific channels will vary by service, of course, which is why we're listing the particular skinny bundles you can use to watch the Premier League without cable right below this section). Skinny bundles are pay TV services, so – as with cable and satellite – you'll have to pony up some dough to get that sweet, sweet live TV. The good news is that skinny bundles are significantly cheaper than their pricey cable counterparts.

Since skinny bundles stream online, they have a lot of competition – there are no regional infrastructure-driven monopolies like there are with cable. That's why skinny bundles innovate and lower prices. It's why skinny bundles will let you get a slimmed-down, just-the-hits channel package (hence the term “skinny bundle”), while cable will try to force you to pay for hundreds of channels you don't use. Cord cutting isn't about avoiding pay TV: it's about improving it, and that's why skinny bundle solutions are so exciting for us.

Below, we'll list the skinny bundles that will help you watch Premier League games online. We'll also go over free over-the-air TV, which is the best way to watch the Premier League free – no cable required.

DirecTV Now

DirecTV Now offers a few different bundles, some of which are a whole lot “skinnier” than others. The smallest bundle — which will soon cost $40 per month — is all you'll need in order to get you hands on NBC and NBCSN and enjoy all of the Premier League action you want. Since NBC's affiliates are owned by all different companies, though, your mileage will vary with that channel: local NBC broadcasts are available in select markets only. Check out DirecTV Now's website for more information, or just sign up for the service's free trial offer to see what you have access to. MSNBC and CNBC are included in all of DirecTV Now's bundles, too.

Try DirecTV NOW for free

fuboTV

fuboTV was built with soccer fans in mind – in fact, before rebooting a couple years ago, fuboTV was designed to include soccer-focused channels exclusively. The selection is a bit more democratic now, but the stuff you'll get from “fubo” ($44.99 per month) and “fubo Extra” ($49.99 per month) still trends soccer-friendly. NBC and NBCSN are both included in both packages (note that live NBC feeds are available in select markets only), as are MSNBC and CNBC, so you can choose whichever one you'd like and watch the Premier League – no cable required. Click the link below and sign up for fuboTV's free trial offer.

Try fuboTV for free

Hulu with Live TV

Hulu with Live TV keeps things simple: there's just one bundle to worry about here, and it costs $39.99 per month. That's all very typical, and so is the inclusion of NBC (select markets) and NBCSN (plus MSNBC and CNBC), which makes it a breeze to watch Premier League games online using any of Hulu with Live TV's awesome apps. Hulu with Live TV also includes access to Hulu's robust on-demand library. Check out the service for free by trying it on a trial basis.

Try Hulu with Live TV for free

PlayStation Vue

PlayStation Vue features a few different tiers of service. The cheapest package is the $39.99-per-month “Access,” which includes both NBC (select markets) and NBCSN. As you'd expect, you're free to climb the price ladder — the larger bundles all include NBC and NBCSN, too. MSNBC and CNBC are also both included in all of PlayStation Vue's bundle options. PlayStation Vue has a nice cloud DVR feature and some other perks, not to mention a free trial offer that you can check out risk-free.

Sling TV

Sling TV is designed to allow you to build your own skinny bundle. After starting with a base package or two, you can tack on “Extras” to build the soccer-specific streaming service of your dreams without having to pay for a bunch of obscure non-sports channels you don't want. You'll find NBC (select markets) and NBCSN in the “Sling Blue” base package, which costs $25 per month. More soccer awaits in “Sling Orange” ($25 per month, or pair it with Sling Blue for a total of $40 per month), Sports Extra ($5 per month), and other bundles. Customize your bundle and try it out for free by clicking the link below and taking advantage of Sling TV's free trial offer.

Try Sling TV for free

YouTube TV

YouTube TV is Google's skinny bundle service. It costs $40 per month and features all the channels we're craving for our Premier League coverage: you'll get NBC (select markets), NBCSN, MSNBC, and CNBC. YouTube TV features an unlimited cloud DVR feature and a ton of great content discovery features. To sign up for YouTube TV's free trial offer, click the link below.

Try YouTube TV for free

Free Over-the-Air TV

Free over-the-air TV is a powerful tool for cord cutters. It also happens to be a great way to watch Premier League games free. See, broadcast channels send their content out over the air for free. And since NBC is a broadcast channel, there's a good chance that your local NBC affiliate is pumping out free TV over the air as you read this. Grab an antenna and take advantage! Free over-the-air TV is your ticket for free Premier League games live.

You can even convert OTA TV into streamable content. Just use an OTA DVR like Tablo or the OTA features of a media server app like Plex. With the right setup, you can stream Premier League games free legally.

Keep in mind that free OTA TV is a great way to get every Premier League game that airs on NBC, but that it won't work for games on NBCSN. NBCSN is a network channel, not a broadcast channel, so you'll have to go with a skinny bundle for that. Same goes for MSNBC and CNBC, unfortunately.

Check out free over-the-air TV

Can I watch the Premier League on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, or Chromecast?

If you're a big Premier League fan, then you probably want to watch your games all of the time and on the best screens possible. You want to be able to stream Premier League matches on your big-screen TV using Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, and other platforms. You want to be able to watch on the go on your iOS and Android mobile devices. So can you?

Yes, you sure can.

You can watch Premier League games without cable on Roku using the apps for DirecTV Now, fuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.

Fire TV has apps for DirecTV Now, fuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, and Sling TV.

Apple TV fans, the whole gang supports you: DirecTV Now, fuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.

Chromecast has full support, too – it works with DirecTV Now, fuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.

fuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, and YouTube TV work on Android TV devices.

All of our skinny bundles listed above – DirecTV Now, fuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, and YouTube TV – work on iOS and Android mobile devices.

Even Xbox is in on the game, with apps for Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV. PlayStation owners can use PlayStation Vue.