ESPN+

Cord-cutters turn to video streaming services for many reasons, including sports. If you want to watch the occasional MLB or NHL game, daily soccer matchups, lots of college action, or UFC events, then ESPN+ is for you. ESPN's streaming service offers a respectable lineup of live and on-demand sports and access to its top-notch 30 for 30 and E:60 productions. However, the service lacks flagship ESPN shows like SportsCenter or live NBA broadcasts. Despite its steadily increasing price over the years, ESPN+'s relatively low cost (either as a standalone service or part of a bundle) might encourage you to add it to your streaming lineup. Still, Hulu + Live TV remains our Editors' Choice winner for sports streaming thanks to its varied live programming.

(Credit: ESPN/PCMag)

What Can You Watch on ESPN+?

The first thing to understand about ESPN+ is that it is not the same as the regular ESPN channel on cable or the channel that live TV services, such as Sling TV or Hulu + Live TV, offer. ESPN+ complements the main channel, but lacks its core programming. You can view the entire schedule of live sports events on ESPN+ via ESPN's site without a subscription.

ESPN+'s offerings are divided into three main content areas: live sports, ESPN+ originals, and ESPN shows. Of the major national sports leagues in the US, ESPN+ offers live out-of-market NHL and MLB games, plus full replays of many of those matchups. You can also watch NBA G League matchups on ESPN+.

Notably, ESPN signed a deal with the NHL that gives ESPN+ streaming rights to 75 out-of-market NHL games through the 2027-2028 season. ESPN+ also streams live NFL games airing on ABC or the ESPN cable network.

However, you must turn to a different sports streaming service to watch more national games, including ESPN's Monday Night Football. Fans should check out our dedicated roundups for the best MLB, NBA, and NFL streaming services.

As for other sports, ESPN+ includes PGA Tour coverage, but not complete tournament broadcasts. Instead, it shows featured holes for the last two days of an event. ESPN+ also streams out-of-market MLS games, matchups from top international soccer leagues (A-League, Belgium Jupiler League, Bundesliga, Division 1 Féminine, Indian Super League, Italian Serie A, and W-League), and other international sports, such as cricket and rugby.

One area, in particular, that ESPN+ excels is in its coverage of men's and women's NCAA sports, including basketball, baseball, field hockey, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling). Another big draw for ESPN+ is its combat sports: PFL, Top Rank, and UFC. You must pay an additional monthly or annual fee to watch UFC PPV events. Dazn is another option for MMA and boxing fans. Dazn streams events from Bellator, Combate Americas, GGG Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions, Matchroom Boxing, and other promotions.

ESPN produces in-house series exclusively for the ESPN+ platform, including Detail, a franchise that features in-depth analysis from top competitors across different sports; ESPN FC, a daily soccer show; In the Crease, which provides daily hockey analysis and highlights; and Peyton's Places, a multipart documentary starring Peyton Manning.

(Credit: ESPN/PCMag)

Although most of ESPN's flagship shows are missing, including Around the Horn, First Take, NFL Live, Outside the Lines, Pardon the Interruption, and SportsCenter, the service offers the entire archive of ESPN's 30 for 30, E:60, Greeny, SC Featured, and SportsNation.

Based on its offerings, ESPN+ is more comparable to a single-network service like Paramount+ than live TV streaming services such as Fubo or YouTube TV. Similar to ESPN+, Paramount+ grants access to live CBS coverage (both sports and news broadcasts), original series (such as Star Trek Discovery and The Good Fight), and on-demand shows from ViacomCBS's vast archives (including The Twilight Zone and all the original Star Trek series). NBC's Peacock is also emerging as a potential competitor to ESPN+. The paid tiers of Peacock include Premier League, IndyCar, and WWE coverage. Peacock even streams NFL playoff games.

How Much Does ESPN+ Cost?

ESPN+ costs $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year. You can also get ESPN+ in a bundle with ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu for $16.99 per month. If you don't want to watch ads on Disney+ or Hulu, the commercial-free ESPN+ bundle costs $26.99 per month. Like Disney+ and Netflix, ESPN+ no longer offers a free trial. UFC pay-per-view events cost $80 per event.

Fubo costs $79.99 per month. YouTube TV costs $72.99 per month. Hulu + Live TV charges $82.99 per month. Sling TV's Orange and Blue plans cost $40 and $45 per month, respectively, or $60 in a combo. Paramount+'s ad-free tier costs $12.99 per month, and Peacock's Premium tier starts at $7.99 per month.

Aside from watching ESPN+ on the web, you can download apps for mobile platforms (Android and iOS), media streaming devices (Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, and Roku), and gaming devices (PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Series S|X, and Oculus Go).

(Credit: ESPN/PCMag)

ESPN+ on the Web

To sign up for an ESPN+ subscription, you must provide an email address and create a password. To access ESPN+ via the web, visit the ESPN+ tab on the ESPN homepage or go directly to espn.com/watch or plus.espn.com. You can manage your subscription from the web, too.

You navigate the ESPN+ page via a top menu bar with the following sections: Featured, Originals, Browse, Schedules & Replays, and Articles. The Features section highlights some of the leading live and upcoming events airing on the service, along with notable on-demand shows and ESPN+ originals. The Originals section highlights exclusive programs. In the Browse section, you can filter the catalog by sport, league, conference, or show.

Not everything in the Browse section is available on ESPN+. Some shows and live events require you to authenticate with your cable or video streaming service account. A golden badge in the upper left corner of each show's thumbnail identifies items available on ESPN+.

The Schedules and Replays tab works fine. You can view live, upcoming, and past events and filter by sport and ESPN channel. We wish ESPN+ provided a way to add an event to a watchlist, but the service does not support that feature. One perk to an ESPN+ subscription is exclusive articles with in-depth sports analysis. Some movie streaming services, such as Filmatique and Mubi, also offer editorial content as part of their subscriptions.

A show's details page includes the length, year, director, and a brief description. ESPN+ also lists titles you may enjoy, but those recommendations don't appear to be curated in any way. You can't leave a review or rating on any on-demand content.

(Credit: ESPN/PCMag)

ESPN+ on Mobile

ESPN+ exists inside ESPN's mobile app, aptly called ESPN. We had no trouble downloading the app and signing into an account on an Android phone. ESPN+ is the fourth tab over on the bottom navigation bar. The interface is attractive, with a black background, white text, and yellow highlights. The app is quick to navigate and didn't crash during testing. You do have to enable your location before you can watch anything, however.

The ESPN+ section is organized into two tabs: Stream and Articles. The Stream tab functions identically to the web interface's Featured section. Here, you can browse through live sports events and ESPN+'s on-demand shows. The Articles tab is just an interface for reading the exclusive articles you get with your subscription.

In the upper-right corner are a search bar and icons for your downloaded content, the sports schedule, and settings. You can search by team, leagues, and events. The Downloads section organizes all your offline titles and lets you browse all the shows eligible for offline viewing. Not all features or episodes of a series can be downloaded; you will see a download icon if you can. The ability to download titles from ESPN+ is new since our last review and something we appreciate. For reference, a 20-minute episode took less than two minutes to download.

The Settings section lets you set autoplay preferences, restrict downloads to only over a Wi-Fi connection, and choose a download quality (HD or SD). Closed captions options depend on your device's built-in settings. You must head to the ESPN website to make any changes to your subscription.

(Credit: ESPN/PCMag)

ESPN+ Playback Experience

ESPN+'s playback interface on the web works fine. Aside from the standard playback and volume controls, you get 10-second rewind and fast-forward buttons, a go-to-live button, and a toggle for the closed captions. You can customize the captions directly from the playback screen, an accessibility option we like to see. ESPN+ lets you scrub to the beginning of an event, no matter when you tune in. The mobile interface looks identical. One advantage of the mobile app is that, on select sporting events, you can view a scorecard of the event below the minimized playback screen.

ESPN+ supports up to three simultaneous streams per account, which is about average. Previously, it supported five concurrent streams, so this is a downgrade. YouTube TV supports three simultaneous streams, too. Hulu + Live TV and Fubo offer add-ons to expand their support beyond their default of two concurrent streams.

We couldn't confirm the exact streaming resolution and frame rate of ESPN+'s live streams, but playback appeared to reach 1080p and 60fps. Both YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV support 1080p/60fps live streams for select channels on some platforms, as does Paramount+ for some of its local CBS station streams.

DirecTV Stream and Fubo let you start streams from the beginning and replay past events (usually within a three-day limit). ESPN+ enables you to do both of these things, but it's sometimes unclear which replays of live events are available.

ESPN+ lacks DVR capabilities, which is a big deal for a sports streaming service. YouTube TV lets users record unlimited content and keeps those recordings for nine months. Sling TV provides 50 hours' worth of DVR storage for as long as your subscription is active. Hulu + Live TV's default DVR storage is 200 hours and enables the option to skip ads during recordings.

To test ESPN+'s streaming performance, we watched a live NCAA Men's matchup between the Fort Wayne Ants and Long Island Nets over a home Ethernet connection (200Mbps download). The video didn't buffer and the audio sounded good, too. We streamed an episode of Peyton's Places without issues over a mobile device's Wi-Fi connection.

Accessibility and Parental Controls

ESPN+ included closed captions on every live and on-demand program we watched. You can customize the background's, foreground's, and window's color and opacity, as well as the font size and family.

ESPN+ does not include any parental control capabilities, but that's to be expected due to the nature of its content. None of the service's shows even list parental ratings. Most on-demand video streaming services, including Disney+ and Max, let parents restrict individual profiles from viewing content above a specific parental rating. Sling TV is the rare live TV streaming service that offers parental control tools.

Can You Watch ESPN+ With a VPN?

A VPN can help you protect your privacy online and spoof your location. Many video streaming services try to block VPN traffic to enforce regional streaming restrictions. ESPN+, for its part, is not available outside the US, so it would have a reason to prevent you from streaming over a VPN connection.

For testing, we connected a desktop and mobile device to US-based Mullvad VPN servers, and ESPN+ blocked access on both platforms. Even if your VPN and video streaming service work together without issues, they might not always. We recommend choosing a VPN based on other factors, such as its value, privacy stances, and security features.

Verdict: A Sporty Companion Service

If you don't have a cable subscription and want to watch live sports without paying for one of the more expensive live TV services, ESPN+ is a solid bet. It lacks live NBA games, but you can watch some MLB and NHL matchups, lots of soccer, and an impressive amount of college sports. If you want to watch UFC fights, ESPN+ is essential. You don't get ESPN's premier programming, such as SportsCenter, but ESPN+'s original shows and archives of prestige shows (30 for 30 and E:60) might be a suitable alternative. Still, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV are our Editors' Choice winners for live TV streaming because of their excellent channel lineups (including sports) and streaming features. ESPN+ works best as a sports-centric companion service or as part of the Disney+ and Hulu bundle.