Would you love to watch live sports on ESPN, but hate the idea of having to sign up for an expensive cable subscription? We have a solution for you, and all you need is a strong Internet connection and your iPhone.
Update: We now recommend Youtube TV as the best way to watch live sports. It includes sports channels like ESPN, Fox Sports, NBA on TNT, etc. We are sure you will love their service.
Watch ESPN Live Sports without Cable on iPhone
1. Sling TV
If you want to stream Monday Night Football on ESPN for free, Sling TV will be right up your alley.
Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2015, Sling TV is a cable streaming service from Dish that wants to convince cable subscribers that it’s the right time to cut the cord. Just like Amazon Prime or Netflix, Sling TV relies on your existing Internet connection to deliver content to your living room.
Sling TV currently has over 2 million subscribers, who enjoy the industry-leading low prices that start for a fee good for a month for the Sling Orange service. Included in the service are ESPN, AMC, CNN, HGTV, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, History, Disney Channel, ESPN2, ESPN3, TNT, Food Network, TBS, BBC America, Freeform, IFC, A&E, El Rey Network, Viceland, Lifetime, Travel Channel, AXS.TV, Newsy, Cheddar, Bloomberg Television, Local Now, Polaris, Maker, Flama, and Galavision. This package offers a variety of channels for an affordable price.
The second package offered by Sling TV is called Sling Blue. It costs a fee month, and it focuses on local channels. Included in Sling Blue are AMC, CNN, HGTV, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, History, TNT, Food Network, TBS, BBC America, IFC, A&E, El Rey Network, Viceland, Lifetime, Travel Channel, AXS.TV, Newsy, Cheddar, Bloomberg Television, Local Now, Polaris, Maker, Flama, Galavision, FOX, NBC, FOX Sports Regional networks, CSN regional networks, NFL Network, FX, USA, Bravo, FS1, FS2, NBCSN, FXX, SyFy, NickJr, TruTV, BET, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, Univision, and UniMas.
You can also subscribe to both packages at once or expand your Sling TV channel list by purchasing channel add-ons. For a very low fee a month, you can also purchase a cloud DVR service called First Look, which lets you save up to 50 hours of content to your account for later. Don’t want to miss the next Westworld episode? First Look has your back.
Best of all, there are no contracts to worry about, and you can easily cancel your subscription at any time. The only caveat is that Sling TV is available only to those living in the United States.
Download it now: here
2. Watch ESPN Using Your Sling TV Credentials on iPhone
To watch Sling TV, you need a player like Roku, Xbox One, or an Android TV box connected to your TV. You can also watch Sling TV on most mobile devices, including the iPhone. As long as your download speed is at least 1.5 Mbps for high quality, 0.8 Mbps for medium quality, or 0.5 Mbps for low quality, you are good to go.
The audio and picture quality on the iPhone is excellent, and, as long as your Internet connection is up to the task, you won’t ever see the picture freezing or lagging.
If you care mostly about ESPN as far as watching Sling TV on the go is concerned, the WatchESPN iOS app is your best option. With the app, you get instant 24/7 access to live streaming feeds from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, SEC Network+, Longhorn Network, ACC Network Extra, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater, and ESPN Bases Loaded. All you need is your Sling TV username and password.
How to install and use the WatchESPN app to watch ESPN on iPhone:
- Go to App Store and search for WatchESPN (or just click here).
- Install the app on your iPhone.
- Create a Sling account and subscribe to one of their two plans.
- Using your Sling login credentials, log into the WatctESPN app.
- Enjoy ESPN on your iPhone!
If you experience any connection issues, we recommend you use Speedtest by Ookla to find out if your Internet connection is fast enough for mobile video streaming. Ideally, you want your download speed to be at least 2 Mbps.
Get the Sling TV Free Trial
If you’d like to see how Sling TV works and what the picture quality is like, you can sign up for the limited free trial offer. You must provide your email address and credit card to register for the offer, but you won’t be charged anything until the 7-day trial period expires and Sling automatically starts charging for applicable subscription. But if you cancel within seven days, you won’t have to pay anything.
Get ESPN For 7 Days Free
Download it now: here
3. AT&T TV
Formerly known as DirecTV Now, AT&T TV is another excellent choice. If you want to stream Monday Night Football for free on it, it’s a similar situation to PlayStation Vue where it’s simply another channel thrown into your package. A plan with ESPN in it starts at a monthly fee, which puts you higher than Vue.
AT&T TV used to operate with a certain fee per month, but they have since raised their rates. However, they do regularly rotate deals around to where you can get it for a monthly fee for first-timers signing up for the subscription.
This platform is overall one of the more expensive ones out there. However, AT&T TV does have way more content than most other platforms out there. And you can watch it anymore, since they have applications available on most home entertainment and mobile platforms.
With their own DVR options as well, you’ll never miss a show if you’re running late.
Download it now: here
Watch ESPN Live Sports without Cable on iPhone Verdict
As you can see, there are a lot of ways that you can watch ESPN Live Sports without cable on the iPhone. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of ways that you can stream Monday Night Football for free. Most of these packages simply lump it in with all of their other channels, so you could look at it as free, in a way, and if you’re comparing all of the other amazing channels that are bundled in.
Do you have a favorite streaming platform for catching ESPN Live Sports without cable? Let us know in the comments section below!