The Best Roku Channels for Watching Sports

It's long been true that the toughest thing about leaving cable is giving up live sports. The cable giants still have a pretty good stranglehold on live sports broadcasts, but that's changing: more and more, we're seeing new sports apps added and old sports apps improved. That's making it easier than ever to get your sports fix without paying for cable, whether you're a fan of soccer, football, baseball, basketball, hockey, or even cricket.

Here are a few of our favorite ways to stream sports on Roku:

	Price	Channels	Free Trial
#1	$4.99	8+	30 days	See Offer
#2	$5.99 – $85.96	68 – 88	7 or 30 days	See Offer
#3	$54.99 – $86.96	100+	7 days	See Offer
#4	$30 – $70	50+	3 days	See Offer

If you're a Roku owner, you can take advantage of some great channels from the major sports apps and set up a sports HQ right in your own living room. There are a boatload of sports channels available through Roku, but not all of them are worth your time. Here are the essentials.

How to watch live sports on Roku without cable

The best way to watch sports is on live TV networks dedicated to them, such as ESPN, FS1, and the regional sports networks that your favorite baseball, basketball, and hockey teams call home. But how can you watch these channels without cable? The answer is the live TV streaming service, or “skinny bundle.” Like cable, these sorts of services will offer you a selection of live TV networks in exchange for a subscription fee. Unlike cable, though, skinny bundles tend to feature slimmed-down channel bundles and trimmer prices to match.

Our list of the best Roku channels for sports will kick off with these live TV streaming services. After that, we'll move on to cover things like sports-specific streaming services and league streaming bundles like MLB.TV. Let's get started!

Hulu + Live TV is the skinny bundle arm of Hulu, the popular streaming service that you may already know for its on-demand service. Hulu + Live TV offers a bunch of great channels, including plenty of networks that make it easy to catch live sports. We're talking about ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2, NBCSN, and some regional sports networks, to name just a few. You can test out Hulu + Live TV for free by using the service's free trial offer.

fuboTV was once entirely focused on soccer, including Spain's LFP (which includes La Liga), France's Ligue 1, Italy's Serie A, Mexico's Liga MX, and Portugal's Primeira Liga. But fuboTV has since re-launched with a broader focus, and it covers a lot of other subjects now — including other sports, like baseball, football, and basketball. fuboTV also remains an excellent choice for soccer fans. The service still has a sports-oriented stance. There's one big catch — the omission of ESPN — but fuboTV is, for the most part, a great option for sports die-hards. You can read our review of fuboTV to learn more, or you can just sign up for the service's free trial and start testing it out for yourself.

Sling TV is a great option for sports fans, because its a la carte model allows you to build a customized package. ESPN and ESPN2 are available in base bundle options, as are FS1 and FS2 (to get Fox and ESPN channels together, you'll have to spring for the largest of the three base packages). From there, you can add add-on bundles called “extras” to get even more sports. Being able to build your own bundle will allow you to focus on the sports channels without running up the bill with a bloated bundle.

AT&T TV Now

The service formerly known as DirecTV Now remains a great option for sports fans, including those who prefer to do their streaming on Roku. AT&T TV Now offers sports channels like ESPN and FS1, and it has a solid Roku app.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV is Google's skinny bundle, and its a great way to watch sports on Roku. YouTube TV's live channel selection includes sports essentials like ESPN and FS1. You can test-drive YouTube TV for free for a week before you pay. Why not check it out?

ESPN+ is ESPN's standalone streaming service. While it does not offer a live stream of ESPN, it does offer live sports, original content live and on-demand, and more. MLS Live, the league streaming service from Major League Soccer, is rolled into ESPN+.

MLB.TV

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: MLB.TV is the gold standard in league streaming packages. This no-frills app pairs with the peerless MLB.TV service. MLB.TV offers you live out-of-market MLB baseball during the regular season. For more details, read our full review of the service.

NBA League Pass

The NBA channel is the app you need to watch NBA League Pass on the Roku. If you don't have a League Pass account, you can still view stats, standings, and other information through the app. But the real appeal, of course, is League Pass: like MLB.TV, it's your ticket to home and away broadcasts of out-of-market regular-season games. For those of you with commitment issues, the NBA offers single-game passes.

NHL.TV

The NHL's eponymous channel can be connected to NHL.TV (the service formerly known as NHL GameCenter LIVE), which is a reliable and convenient service. You can also use your NHL.TV account to view classic games on Roku, which is great. Check out our full review of NHL.TV to learn more.