UPDATED January 4, 2022
Streaming ESPNU live is essential for watching college basketball and football games.
It’s a network made for a number of NCAA sports, and you don’t have to drop a lot of cash to see your favorite college teams in action.
The cheapest option for getting ESPNU without cable is through Sling TV with the Sports Extra bundle. A subscription costs $46 per month. Sling TV is currently offering a 3-day free trial to new customers.
I’ll outline all your other choices, and ways you can activate the ESPN app so you can stream ESPNU live to watch games.
I cut the cord years ago, and I’ve subscribed to every live TV streaming service at one time or another. Picking the right live TV service to watch ESPNU will likely depend on what other networks you want. If you’re a fan of NCAA sports, you may also want Big Ten Network, SEC Network and ESPN2.
Table of Contents
Is ESPNU free?
ESPNU is not offered for free. You can sign up for a free trial of a live TV streaming service such as Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV STREAM or YouTube TV that carries ESPNU in its channel lineup.
A few live TV streaming services also allow you to activate live streams on ESPN.com, or the ESPN app on Roku and other streaming devices.
Watch ESPNU Live Stream on Hulu with Live TV
Hulu with Live TV has ESPNU and its sister channels, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNews. There’s Big Ten Network, FS1, FS2 and SEC Network as part of a 75+ channel lineup.
You can even look over what local NBC, CBS and FOX networks are in your area by entering your zip code. So if you’re out to replace your subscription to Spectrum or Comcast, Hulu with Live TV is a pretty easy transition.
Hulu’s Live TV package includes 50 hours of Cloud DVR, and unlimited access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu’s on-demand library.
Hulu subscribers can activate about 38 apps on streaming devices. So you can activate the ESPN app without a cable or satellite TV subscription.
You can watch Hulu with Live TV on Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, iPhones, Android smartphones and tablets.
Hulu with Live TV has no contracts or hidden fees. Just cancel online if you don’t like it. Subscribers pay $69.99 per month. You can look over the channel lineup to see which local and regional sports channels are available in your area.
DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM (formerly AT&T TV) has ESPNU in the Choice plan.
A subscription costs $89.99 per month for 90+ channels.
Subscribers get three months of HBO Max, Showtime, Cinemax and EPIX for free before the monthly rates kick in. You can watch live TV on up to 20 screens at once.
ESPN, TNT, NESN, NBA TV and local channels are included in the Choice lineup. You get 20 hours of Cloud DVR and a robust library of on-demand movies and shows.
There are no contracts. You can subscribe month to month and cancel whenever you want.
DIRECTV STREAM works on Roku, Android TV, Fire TV devices, Apple TV and smartphones and tablets.
You can look over the different channel lineups before deciding whether to sign up.
Watch ESPNU live without cable on Sling TV
Sling TV is the cheapest way to live stream ESPNU, and it’s my runner-up pick because of its rock bottom price.
For watching college basketball, the Sling Orange bundle with Sports Extra is going to get you the most channels with NCAA teams and players that matter.
The Sling Orange package has 34 channels including ESPN, ESPN2 and TNT. To get ESPNU, you’ll have to pay another $11 per month for the Sports Extra bundle.
The Sports Extra bundle has SEC Network, SEC Network+, Pac-12, ESPNEWS, NHL Network, beIN SPORTS, Outside Television, NBA TV and Tennis Channel.
(Note: The Sports Extra bundle gets you different channels with Sling Blue.)
Sling TV now gives all subscribers 10 hours of Cloud DVR for recordings. You get 50 hours of Cloud DVR space. For another $5 per month, subscribers can add 200 hours of Cloud DVR. Even with the add-ons, Sling TV remains one of the least expensive options out there to live stream ESPNU.
You can look over the Sling TV channel lineup.
You can start watching with a Roku, Fire TV, Smart TVs, Google Chromecast and smartphones. When you sign up for Sling TV, there are no contracts, or extra fees like cable TV.
If you prepay for a brief subscription, you can get a free streaming device.
ESPNU live stream on fuboTV
fuboTV now carries ESPNU in a couple of different add-on channel bundles.
But first you need to pick among one of two main channel packages. The least priciest of the two is the fubo standard plan, which gets you about 119+ channels covering sports, news, locals and entertainment.
ESPN and ESPN2 are included in the family plan. But the cheapest way to add ESPNU is through the fubo Extra add-on. The Extra bundle costs $5.99 per month and adds 40 channels to your subscription.
A subscription to fuboTV costs $64.99 per month.
You can also add ESPNU through the sports add-on is another $10.99 per month. You can look over the channel lineup to see what regional sports networks are available.
fuboTV works on all major streaming devices: Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick and Cube. It has mobile apps for Android smartphones and iPhone.
fuboTV has a free 7-day trial for new customers.
Vidgo: Watch EPSNU without cable
Vidgo carries ESPNU as part of its core channel bundle.
This live TV service has apps for major streaming devices such as Roku and Amazon Fire TV. But it also has a ‘watch party’ feature on its mobile app.
Vidgo has 85+ channels, including ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ABC, FOX and FS1.
You can watch live TV on a Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV devices such as Google Chromecast. Subscribers can watch on up to three screens at once. A Vidgo subscription costs $55 per month. You can look over the channel lineup before deciding whether to sign up.
ESPNU live stream on YouTube TV
YouTube TV is a popular live streaming service that has 85+ channels, including ESPNU for $64.99 per month. You’ll get ESPN, ESPN2 and other networks that carry NCAA division games like SEC Network, FS1 and FS2.
YouTube TV works with Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices. It is not supported by Fire TV or Fire Stick because of its ongoing dispute with Amazon. If you own a Fire TV device, you need to look elsewhere to live stream ESPNU.
YouTube TV has focused on having local channels including CBS, FOX and NBC in just about every market in the U.S. You can try out YouTube TV free for a week.
Is ESPNU on ESPN+?
ESPN+ does not carry any programming from ESPNU or its sibling channels on cable TV.
ESPN+ streams live college basketball games from more than 15 conferences, including Big 12 and Atlantic 10.
It’s a supplemental service by ESPN Networks that carries live college football, Men’s NCAA basketball, boxing, UFC and soccer.
A subscription costs $6.99 per month — about the same as a movie rental — and adds live sports and a deep library of on-demand shows including 30 for 30, and ESPN+ Originals such as Peyton’s Place.
Before you sign up for ESPN+, you can look over all the NCAA basketball conferences with games on its platform for the 2020-21 season.
You can watch ESPN+ through the ESPN app.
What’s the best way to live stream ESPNU without cable?
I just threw a bunch of options at you, so let’s recap and narrow down your choices a bit.
Sling TV is the cheapest option because you can put together a solid package of channels including ESPNU, ESPN, Big Ten Network and some entertainment networks like AMC for about $46 per month. Remember you’ll need to add the Sports Extra bundle to get ESPNU.
New customers can sign up for a 3-day free trial without any obligations. If you prepay for a brief subscription, you can get a free streaming device.
For more news on streaming, how-to guides and reviews, head over to the main page of The Cord Cutting Report or follow the CCR on Google News.
Founder and Editor of The Cord Cutting Report. Before launching the site in 2016, he worked for more than two decades as a staff writer or correspondent for a number of daily newspapers, including The Boston Globe. His enthusiasm for tech began with the Atari 2600. Follow @james_kimble
Leave a Reply