TV Answer Man, I’m a cord cutter who mostly watches Netflix and Hulu. But I am a Georgia grad who desperately wants to watch tonight’s championship game against TCU. Any ideas on how to watch the game without spending much money or any money at all? — Joe, Helen, Georgia.
Joe, ESPN tonight will broadcast the TCU-Georgia college football championship at 7:30 p.m. ET from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. To watch the game, you will need ESPN via some service, be it cable, satellite or streaming.
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Cable and satellite are not really options for you here because they do not offer free trials. And if you subscribe, the cost per month would be more than what most live streamers charge.
So let’s look at streaming.
Five major live streaming services carry ESPN in their basic plans. They are Sling TV, DIRECTV Stream, Hulu Live, FuboTV and YouTube TV.
Sling TV’s Orange plan, which costs $40 a month, provides more than 30 channels including ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN 3, CNN, Comedy Central, TBS, TNT and AMC, among others. If you’re subscribing to a live streamer to watch tonight’s game, this is your cheapest option. The next cheapest option would be YouTube TV which starts at $64.99 a month. (First three months are $10 off each month.)
But note that Sling TV does not offer a free trial. If you sign up for Sling, you will need to pay at least $40.
In contrast, FuboTV has a seven-day free trial while YouTube TV currently has a 14-day free trial. You could sign up for one of those and watch the games for free. Just don’t forget to cancel prior to the end of the trial.
Have a question about saving money on TV? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
