By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – @tvanswerman
TV Answer Man, I am new to this country from Peru. I love sports and I want to know the best streaming service for sports in America. What would be your decision? — Juan, San Antonio, Texas.
Juan, there are numerous streaming services that offer live sports in the United States, including Paramount+, Peacock, Hulu, Amazon’s Prime Video, ESPN+, Apple TV+, HBO Max and the multi-channel, live streamers such as Fubo, YouTube TV, DIRECTV Stream, Sling TV and Hulu Live.
In fact, there are so many of them offering different exclusive events, many fans are frustrated because they have to subscribe to multiple services to watch their favorite teams and/or sports.
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But if I were picking a single service, one that we would call the very best for sports, I would first have to break that question into two categories: The multi-channel live streamers and the single channel streamers.
In the multi-channel live category, I would pick DIRECTV Stream which has the most local sports channels and nearly every important national sports network. (The service currently does not carry the NFL Network and the NFL RedZone Channel, but it might before the 2023 NFL season begins. More on that here.)
The downside is that DIRECTV Stream plans that include regional sports networks begin at $99.99 a month. (Current promotion takes $10 off each of the first three months.) But if access to the channel is what matters to you, DIRECTV Stream has just about every RSN except for NBC Sports Philadelphia.
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Now if we are choosing a single-channel streamer, there is only possible choice: ESPN+, which costs $9.99 a month if purchased separately from the Disney bundle. The amount of live sports and documentaries on ESPN+ is staggering. For example, in May, ESPN+ will have more than 2,000 live events including 220 soccer matches, 31 MLB games, 475 hours of PGA tournament action, seven Stanley Cup playoff conference final games, three Formula 1 races, more than 490 college baseball games including conference championships, select NBA playoff games, and two WNBA games, among other presentations.
If you’re a sports fan, you could just park your butt in front of ESPN+ for the rest of the month and never get bored. And at $9.99 a month, that’s quite the value.
Juan, I hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
