Best Streaming Services for NCAA College Football Games

College football fans looking to optimize their viewing setup for the 2025 season have many options, but which popular streaming options are best for which fans? Most streaming services offer a free trial for first time subscribers, but which service should you try first? It probably depends on what team(s) you follow and how you like to watch your college football.

First, let’s look at each of the four Power Conferences and the channels you need to watch live games of their programs:

ACC

ESPN renewed its media deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference earlier this year, and is the ACC’s main television partner for football. Half of all conference games will be televised on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN U, while the other half will be televised on the ACC Network, which is operated by ESPN. The ACC also has a longstanding deal with Raycom Sports, which is now sublicensed to the CW Network, to showcase another dozen ACC games per season.

The ACC's Conference Championship game will be televised by ABC in December. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Big 12

The Big 12 Conference has deals with both ESPN and Fox to televise conference football games in 2025. The majority of games, including the Conference’s Championship Game on Dec. 6, will be televised on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN U, as well as a handful of games that will air on TNT and TBS as part of that Network’s deal when it lost the NBA to ESPN. The rest of the Conference’s televised games, more than two dozen in total, will air on Fox and FS1.

Big Ten

The Big Ten Network is key for fans of Big Ten Conference programs, and will televise up to 50 games on their station this season, along with featuring shows and analysis throughout the week focused on the Conference, its schools and players. Fox will host over 30 Big Ten games in 2025 between their network Fox station and FS1, while CBS and NBC (including up to eight games televised on Peacock) are expected to host 14-15 games each this season.

SEC

ABC and ESPN have exclusive rights to televise all Southeastern Conference football games. At least one game per weekend will be televised on ABC, while other games will feature on ESPN’s lineup of channels, to include some games on its app-only ESPN+ site.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, continues its longtime partnership with NBC to televise all of the Fighting Irish’s home football games. This will include games streamed on Peacock in 2025.

The Pac-12 is set to add Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State for the 2026 college football season. This season, however, the Conference consists of just Oregon State and Washington State.

The CW is the Pac-12’s primary television partner for the 2025 season, with as many as nine Oregon State and Washington State games being shown on that network this fall. ESPN has rights to televise two Oregon State home games, while CBS is expected to show a couple games from the two schools this season as well before an expanded partnership with CW and CBS takes effect in 2026 with the Conference’s expansion.

Evaluating the Top Streaming Services

With the main stations for Power Four Conferences established, let’s analyze the five streaming services that most college football fans will be considering when making their choice for the 2025 season. These five have the most comprehensive offering for college football fans, though at different price points. Here we break each one down, identify who each product may fit best and who may want to look elsewhere.

ESPN will air most of the College Football Playoff games, including the National Championship from Hard Rock Stadium in January. | Eric J. Wallace /ejwallace@gannett.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

DirecTV’s Choice package is just $5 more than its base package, but includes over 30 additional channels including the ACC Network, the Big Ten Network and ESPNU, which are not included in the base package. The normal cost for the Choice package is $89.99/month. There is also a deal to get Peacock with a Choice package subscription.

What is missing in the Choice package is the CBS Sports Network (not to be confused with the network CBS station), which has contracts to televise a lot of non-Power 4 Conference games, including those from Conference USA, the Mountain West and the Mid-American Conference. Peacock is free for the first month for new subscribers, but can then be added at a rate of $7.99/month.

Best for: Power 4 Conference team fans

Not ideal for: Fans of non-Power 4 schools and general CFB junkies due to not having the CBS Sports Network.

FUBO’s regular subscription price is $84.99 for their base Pro tier, which now includes ESPN Unlimited at no extra cost. The ESPN Unlimited plan includes access to all ESPN channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ACC Network, SEC Network and SEC+, ESPN+, ESPN on ABC and ESPN3. The ESPN Unlimited plan is viewed through the ESPN app, not through FUBO’s app.

Additionally, FUBO has the Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network and all local ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox channels. For live games, it would be difficult to find a more comprehensive plan that shows as many games as FUBO. The one drawback is that there is no way to pair Peacock with your FUBO subscription, which affects Notre Dame fans and those Big Ten games slated for Peacock. Also, access to CW is location-specific, which could impact those odd ACC games shown on CW.

Best for: Those who value the ESPN Unlimited access.

Not ideal for: Games being streamed on Peacock, or fans who want all content in one app.

Hulu is a popular app because it is often bundled with Disney+ and ESPN, which can be purchased with ads or without ads. However, to get access to live games you will need to upgrade to their Hulu+ Live TV package, which does include access to Disney+ and ESPN. Currently this package has a full price of $82.99 per month.

While Hulu only has 95 total channels, (compared to over 230 on Fubo’s main plan), it does feature all the channels college football fans need to watch live games. Besides the regular network channels, Hulu also has the ACC Network, Big Ten Network, SEC Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CBS Sports Network and FS1. This subscription tier also gives you access to the new ESPN Unlimited content on the ESPN app.

Best for: Fans who want access to as many live games as possible.

Not ideal for: Those who have diverse streaming needs that include shows other than just sports.

Sling has the lowest-priced plans of the services we are evaluating, but it also has the most limited selection of channels, including limited local network access in many areas. Their Orange & Blue combined plan comes in at $60.99 per month, but just the Orange plan alone is $45.99 per month. FS1 is the only college football game-televising channel that you get by adding the Blue tier, so from a strictly college football standpoint, it is likely not worth an extra $15 just for FS1.

With the Orange tier on Sling you get ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN3, but that is about it when talking channels showing live college football games. What Sling does have going for it, however, is a lot of flexibility in their subscription offering. You can get a day pass to the Orange channel for just $4.99, or a full weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) for $9.99. If the games you want to watch are all on the main ESPN channels (worth checking which local channels are available with Sling in your area), this may be a budget-friendly option to consider.

Best for: Those who are cost-conscious and looking for the greatest flexibility in their plans.

Not ideal for: Most college football fans who want access to more than just ESPN.

YouTubeTV has a regular subscription price of $82.99 per month. YouTubeTV has much better access to the local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC channels than Sling, though it is still worth looking to make sure your area is well-covered and may not have as comprehensive of local stations coverage as other streaming options.

From there, though, the main lineup of college football game-televising channels are at your fingertips: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, the ACC Network, Big Ten Network, SEC Network, CBS Sports Network, FS1 and FS2… the works.

Best for: Those looking for the most comprehensive channel lineup for live college football games.

Not ideal for: Potentially those who cannot get full access to local channels.

This is strictly from a live game streaming standpoint, and most will be using their streaming service to consume additional content beyond live college football games. It is worth considering what other channels are important to you and those in your household and seeing whether the services you are considering for your college football-watching needs also have those other channels you want to watch.