--- title: 5 Live Streaming Sports Services Every Cord Cutter Must Know About description: The NBA playoffs and other sporting events are broadcast on cable TV channels, but there are options for streaming games online, for free. authors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2016-05-23T20:31:00.000Z' modified: '2024-05-16T11:13:19.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - Sports - sports fans - streaming - TV word_count: 679 canonical: https://money.com/live-streaming-sports-free-cord-cutters/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Randy Foye #6 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives against Ian Clark #21 of the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter in game three of the Western Conference Finals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena on May 22, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.](https://img.money.com/2016/05/160523_em_livesportsstreaming.jpg?crop=0px%2C35px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85) *The Oklahoma City Thunder play the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Western Conference Finals, and yes, you can watch the series online.* History was made this year by the Golden State Warriors. The team ended the regular season with [73 wins](http://www.si.com/nba/2016/04/14/golden-state-warriors-73-wins-record-chicago-bulls-stephen-curry-video), and Warriors' superstar guard Stephen Curry was elected the [league MVP](https://time.com/4324736/stephen-curry-nba-mvp-golden-state-warriors/) by unanimous vote—neither of which had ever happened previously in NBA history. This week, however, the Warriors could make history for quite a different reason: Their opponents in the Western Conference Finals, the [Oklahoma City Thunder, won Game 1](https://time.com/4338401/golden-state-warriors-stephen-curry-oklahoma-city-thunder/) of the series in Oakland and now lead the matchup 2-1. If the Thunder can figure out how to win two more games—all they have to do is win both of their remaining home games—the Warriors would hold the historically dubious achievement of winning the most regular season games ever before failing to win the NBA title or even getting to the finals. If you've been watching this potential history in the making, you're probably a [cable TV customer](https://money.com/cable-tv-without-paying-bill/). The Thunder-Warriors series is being [broadcast on TNT](https://money.com/how-to-watch-nba-playoffs-online/?iid=sr-link2), while the Eastern Conference matchup of the Toronto Raptors vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers is airing exclusively on ESPN. Both, of course, are pay TV channels, which shouldn't surprise anyone given how many big-time sports are partnering with cable rather than free broadcast networks, even if doing so hurts ratings. Even so, there are ways to [stream the NBA playoffs](https://money.com/how-to-watch-nba-playoffs-online/?iid=sr-link2) and many other major sporting events, sometimes for little or no cost. Here are some of the streaming services to keep on your radar if you're a sports fan who refuses to get on board with cable TV fees. ***Read Next: [How to Watch All the TV You Want Without Paying a Cable Bill](https://money.com/cable-tv-without-paying-bill/)*** **TNT Overtime** Curiously, while the TNT channel is only available on TV if you have a monthly pay subscription, the network's related [NBA TNT Overtime app](http://www.nba.com/TNTOvertime) allows anyone to stream select playoff games—including all of the Western Conference Finals. (See below for streaming the Eastern Conference Finals.) The NBA Finals, meanwhile, are airing on ABC, which is free if you have an HD antenna, no cable package required. **Sling TV** The basic [Sling TV package](https://www.sling.com/) lets you stream a choice of roughly 20 channels, including ESPN, ESPN 2, and Turner channels such as TBS and TNT, for a flat $20 a month. In mid-April, [Sling launched a new service](http://blog.sling.com/announcements/sling-tvs-beta-multi-stream-service-brings-fox-broadcast-hit-shows-and-local-sports-with-three-streams-1/) in beta that broadcasts local and national Fox channels, including some Fox Sports channels, which might air NHL, NBA, MLB, and NFL games depending on where you live. That option is also $20 a month, but if you go that way you'll have to pay extra for ESPN. As we've pointed out before, Sling is available for a free seven-day trial if you haven't tested the service in the past. **PlayStation Vue** Free seven-day trials are also available for [PlayStation Vue](https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/#4), the streaming service available through the Sony game console. The base PlayStation Vue package costs $30 a month and comes with roughly 55 channels, including two ESPN and Fox Sports channels, plus TBS and TNT. **Yahoo!** Though it's surprisingly hard to find—it took us no fewer than 10 Google searches to find the May schedule—Yahoo! is streaming [one Major League Baseball game daily](http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/yankees-red-sox-highlights-the-mlb-free-game-of-the-day-in-may-231244512.html) during the 2016 season. In some cases, the game being streamed is supposedly determined by a fan vote, but fans have complained that there apparently is no link to actually vote. **Twitter** For the upcoming NFL season, Twitter is [broadcasting 10 Thursday night games](https://time.com/4281944/twitter-nfl-games-stream-thursday-nights/). Viewing will be free for everyone, and the games will be simultaneously airing on NBC, CBS, or the NFL network. ***Read Next: Guess Who Is to Blame for Fewer Fans Watching Sports on TV*** **Other Options Coming Soon** [Hulu](https://money.com/hulu-cable-tv-subscription-service/) and YouTube both reportedly have streaming subscription packages in the works, and the bundle of channels they'll offer customers will likely have ESPN, Fox Sports channels, or both. While nothing is official, it looks like [ESPN is investing](http://www.recode.net/2016/4/15/11586160/disney-espn-mlb-streaming) in a service that would stream MLB games. And it's probably only a matter of time before Amazon, which bid on the NFL contract ultimately won by Twitter, manages to hop into the sports streaming business. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/live-streaming-sports-free-cord-cutters/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sports", "item": "https://money.com/sports/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "5 Live Streaming Sports Services Every Cord Cutter Must Know About" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/live-streaming-sports-free-cord-cutters/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/live-streaming-sports-free-cord-cutters/", "name": "5 Live Streaming Sports Services Every Cord Cutter Must Know About", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2016-05-23T20:31:00.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/live-streaming-sports-free-cord-cutters/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/live-streaming-sports-free-cord-cutters/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-05-16T11:13:19.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "5 Live Streaming Sports Services Every Cord Cutter Must Know About", "articleSection": "Lifestyle", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/05/160523_em_livesportsstreaming.jpg?crop=0px%2C35px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "160523_EM_LiveSportsStreaming" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brad Tuttle", "url": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/#author", "description": "Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals.\r\n\r\n", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/01/Brad-Tuttle.png?w=226&h=247&crop=1", "alumniOf": "Columbia University School of Journalism, MS", "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle", "https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2016-05-23T20:31:00.000Z", "description": "The NBA playoffs and other sporting events are broadcast on cable TV channels, but there are options for streaming games online, for free.", "abstract": "The NBA playoffs and other sporting events are broadcast on cable TV channels, but there are options for streaming games online, for free.", "@id": "https://money.com/live-streaming-sports-free-cord-cutters/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-05-16T11:13:19.000Z", "wordCount": 679, "keywords": [ "Sports", "sports fans", "streaming", "TV" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lifestyle", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sport", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport" ] } ] } ] } ```