The 5 Best Free Sports Streaming Sites of 2024

Catch the game, match, or bout wherever you are but be wary of pop-up ads

By
Jeremy Laukkonen
Jeremy Laukkonen
Jeremy Laukkonen
Writer
  • Shoreline Community College
Jeremy Laukkonen is automotive and tech writer for numerous major trade publications. When not researching and testing computers, game consoles or smartphones, he stays up-to-date on the myriad complex systems that power battery electric vehicles .
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on May 2, 2024
Reviewed by
Jessica Kormos
Jessica Kormos
Reviewed by Jessica Kormos
  • Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

Most cable and satellite television providers offer access to live sports streaming. Cord-cutting services like FuboTV and Sling TV also feature many live sports, including college football. Still, websites that stream live sports for free and don't violate copyright law are a little harder to come by. We've scoured the internet to rustle up sites that are fairly decent. Some include intrusive pop-ups but if you can live with that, these might work for you.

01
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ESPN

ESPN offers some free sports live streams, but many games are locked behind a paywall.
  • The site: Watch ESPN
  • The sports you can watch: Football, basketball, baseball, college sports, hockey, golf, tennis, MMA, NASCAR, esports, UFC Fight Nights, and more.
  • Notes: Few streams on Watch ESPN are completely free. Most require a valid login from a qualifying cable or satellite subscription or a subscription to ESPN+.

ESPN is one of the biggest names in cable sports, and the official Watch ESPN website features many live-streaming videos. On ESPN's official site, you'll find many major sports, including football, basketball, baseball, and college.

What you won't find on Watch ESPN, however, is every game of every sport. ESPN streams only the games to which it has broadcast rights. Some premium games on Watch ESPN require your TV provider login credentials, while others require an ESPN+ subscription starting at $10.99 per month.

Watch ESPN also has a variety of content you can watch without logging in or paying for an additional subscription, including news, interviews, and replays.

02
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Facebook Video

MLB live videos on Facebook Video
  • The site: Facebook Video
  • Available sports: Soccer, cricket, women's basketball, surfing, and a range of unofficial streams covering virtually every sport.
  • Notes: Facebook Video has a limited number of official sports streams, but Facebook users use the service to stream live sports.

Facebook Video (formerly Facebook Watch) is Facebook's attempt to muscle in on the video streaming market. The social media giant has obtained the rights to stream various sports. In addition to official Facebook Video sports streams, Facebook users can use the service to live stream sports worldwide.

Here's how you can find a huge variety of live sports streams on Facebook Video:

  1. Navigate to Facebook Video and log in to your Facebook account.
Facebook Watch page with URL highlighted

2. Select Search videos, type sports, and press Return or Enter on the keyboard.

Click Search videos, type sports, and press Return or Enter on your keyboard.

3. Toggle on Live. You'll see any current sports live streams.

Toggle on Live to find live sports streams

These streams are provided by Facebook users, so you may find low-quality and misleading streams. Search for a team name if you're looking for a specific game.

MLB sometimes streams select games via its MLB Facebook page, so check back frequently to see what's available. You can also catch select MLB live streams via the MLB YouTube page.

03
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Stream2Watch

Watch live sports on Stream2Watch
  • The site: Stream2Watch
  • The sports you can watch: Football, baseball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, baseball, rugby, and others.
  • Notes: This site features intrusive pop-ups.

Stream2Watch is a live sports streaming site that gathers streams from other sites. It features baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and other sports streams. It's a reasonably comprehensive site, and there's a good chance you'll find a good game or match.

Like many sites that embed streams from external sources, you may run into intrusive and misleading pop-up ads on Stream2Watch. Running a good ad blocker helps keep you safe.

Even with an ad blocker, you may still see ads overlaid on some videos. The best solution is to close each ad and immediately select Back on the browser if you're sent to another page.

04
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SportSurge

SportSurge NBA streams
  • The site: SportSurge
  • The sports you can watch: Soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey, Formula 1, MMA, football, boxing, CFB, and WWE.
  • Notes: Links don't show up until it's about an hour before the game starts.

This is one of the easier sites to use for free sports streaming because you're not bombarded with ads everywhere you look. It's also easy to use; select a sport, find the teams you're interested in watching, and then monitor the start time to know when the stream will be available.

The home page lists all the games streaming soon, so it's easy to see what's coming up.

05
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BuffStreams

The Buff Streams website
  • The site: BuffStreams
  • The sports you can watch: Football, basketball, hockey, baseball, soccer, tennis, boxing, UFC/MMA, and others.
  • Notes: This site includes several ads.

This sports streaming site is very similar to the others on this list. Along the top of the website are links to the various games you can stream, including NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, CFB, NCAAM, and more. You'll see exactly when the game is streaming and you're given a link that points straight to the video.

However, be aware of the website ads. An ad blocker is enough to stop them.

FAQ
  • How do I stream Fox Sports?

    You can watch Fox Sports from a streaming device by downloading its app. It's available for Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, FireTV, Android TV, iOS, iPadOS, and Android. You may need to sign in with a TV provider to see everything, however.

  • How do I stream CBS Sports?

    You can stream CBS Sports from the CBS Sports website, which may require a login from a cable provider. Alternatively, you can stream live from the Paramount+ app, which requires a subscription.

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