Streaming Guide for 2025 Season

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College is back, kicking off on Aug. 23. This year’s first game will be an overseas showdown in Dublin between Big 12 rivals Kentucky State and Iowa State. We’ll get four more games after that, before things really get moving Aug. 28 through Labor Day with a huge slate of games.

If you’ve cut the cord on cable since last year’s NCAA football season, read on. Ahead are some of the best ways to watch college football games online without cable, including options with free trials.

College football TV broadcasts are spread out across many channels, including national networks like the ESPN channels, TNT, and FS1, local channels (ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS), and conference networks.

If you don’t have cable, your best bet for watching college football online is a comprehensive live TV streaming service like DirecTV, Fubo, Sling, or Hulu + Live TV, and ESPN+. Here’s a breakdown of these options, including how much they cost, free trial information, and channel lineups:

The best streaming service for watching college football in 2025 is DirecTV. The service carries every channel showing NCAA football, and offers some of the best bang-for-your-buck in its MySports package. This plan carries 20+ sports channels, including ESPN, TNT, FS1, local channels, and conference networks. Plus, you get ESPN+ for free. All of this costs $69.99 a month after a five-day free trial.

Another one of the best cable alternatives for college football livestreams is Fubo. You can get up to 400+ channels, including almost every channel showing NCAA games this year (TNT is the only exception). Packages start at $84.99 a month — grab $30 off your first month with Fubo’s current promo.

Sling is also a solid option for college football fans this year, offering most channels showing games. You can sign up for its top-tier Orange + Blue plan (starts at $60.99 a month) with the Sports Extra add-on (an additional $11 a month) for season-long coverage. But one of the best ways to use Sling is to take advantage of its new Flexible Passes for a day, a weekend, or a week of games. These passes start at just $4.99 for a Day Pass.

Hulu + Live TV will also get you access to almost every channel you need to watch college football this season with ESPN, TNT, FS1, local channels, and conference networks in its lineup of 95+ channels. Packages start at $81.99 a month, but for a dollar more ($82.99 a month), you can get Disney+, Hulu on-demand, and — crucially for NCAAF streams — ESPN+ included in your subscription.