How to Watch ESPN & ABC Without YouTube TV for Free

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If you noticed ESPN, ABC, and 18 other Disney-owned channels missing from your YouTube TV selection, that’s because Disney and YouTube’s parent company, Google, came up empty-handed amidst carriage fee contract negotiations. The two failed to reach a new agreement, with the old one expiring on October 30, 2025. However, there’s no need to stress when there are multiple alternative streaming service options that let you watch ESPN, ABC, and other Disney-owned channels such as FX and National Geographic.

How to Watch ESPN & ABC Without YouTube TV at a Glance

The absence of such channels might’ve shaken up viewers, since big sports events like Monday Night Football, college football, and beginning-of-season NBA games air on ESPN. Viewers also can’t watch Dancing with the Stars, Abbott Elementary, The Golden Bachelor, and more TV shows, as well as Election Day coverage. While an announcement on when the blackout will end has yet to come, YouTube is reportedly offering some subscribers a $10 monthly credit for six months. $60 in savings is something, but that doesn’t solve the problem of 20 Disney-owned channels missing. Instead, consider signing up for a different streaming service. We gathered four stellar options, below, with most offering free trials, deals, or both.

How to Watch ESPN & ABC Without YouTube TV

If you still can’t access ESPN and ABC with YouTube TV, there are several alternative streaming services that have both. DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Sling TV, and Hulu + Live TV are our top recommendations. All of them except for Sling TV offer free trials, and all of them except Hulu + Live TV currently offer deals.

Best Overall & EDITOR’S PICK

DirecTV Stream

– Free trial: 5 days
– Includes local networks and 90+ channels

DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial and four plans—Entertainment, Choice, Ultimate, and Premier—all of which include ESPN and ABC. Entertainment comes with over 90 channels and costs $89.99 per month (currently $49.99 for your first month); Choice, which comes with over 125 channels and costs $94.99 per month (currently $59.99 for your first month); Ultimate, which comes with over 160 channels and costs $124.99 per month (currently $89.99 for your first month); and Premier, which comes with over 185 channels and costs $169.99 per month (currently $124.99 per month).

DirecTV’s streaming service is our editor’s pick for watching ESPN and ABC for free, since it offers a five-day free trial and comes with a vast selection of channels and local networks. StyleCaster‘s entertainment writer Jenzia Burgos tried the free trial for herself and found that it hits the sweet spot between convenience and content variety.

Best BUDGET Pick

Sling TV

– Daily, weekend, and weekly passes
– 30+ channels

Sling TV serves up plenty of plan options if you want to stream ESPN or ABC (or both!) for cheap. To get access to both channels, pick Orange + Blue, the streaming service’s best base plan, for a discounted $33 for your first month (normally $65.99 per month). If you only want ESPN, try Orange for over 30 channels at the price of $45.99 per month or Blue for over 40 channels at the price of $50.99 per month. And for those who only want ABC, opt for Sling TV’s Select plan, which is its most affordable option, coming in at $29.99 per month with over 10 channels. Just note that ABC is only available for select markets with this plan. Why not get both channels with Orange + Blue, especially when its current deal is so steep. $33 for your first month is the lowest price on this list.

Best Bundle Pick

Hulu + Live TV

– Free trial: 3 days
– Large library of shows, movies, and Hulu Originals

You can also access ESPN and ABC through Hulu + Live TV, which offers a three-day free trial and four plans that include Hulu, Disney Plus, and ESPN, making it amazing for bundling multiple streaming platforms. Live TV Only is the cheapest option, costing $88.99 per month and gives subscribers access to live content only, rather than the complete Hulu streaming library or access to Disney Plus. The next cheapest plan is Hulu + Live TV, Disney+, and ESPN Select, which will ring you up for $89.99 per month and includes Live TV, Hulu (With Ads), Disney Plus (With Ads), and ESPN (With Ads). After that is Hulu Premium + Live TV, Disney+ Premium, and ESPN Select, which gives subscribers Live TV, Hulu (No Ads), Disney Plus (No Ads), and ESPN Select (With Ads) for $99.99 per month. Hulu + Live TV, Disney+ Premium, and ESPN Select is the final option, but is a bit tricky since this plan is no longer available for purchase or a plan switch. Only existing users will be able to keep this plan, as long as they don’t cancel or change it. If they decide to keep it, they get Live TV, Hulu (With Ads), Disney Plus (No Ads), and ESPN Select (With Ads).

Best for Sports

Get Fubo for Free

– Free trial: 5 days
– Includes local networks and 200+ channels

Fubo is another affordable way to watch ESPN and ABC and has some of the lowest prices we’ve seen. Its live TV plans include Pro, Elite with Sports Plus, and Deluxe. You can catch ESPN and ABC on all three plans. Pro has 243 channels and usually costs $84.99 per month but is discounted to $54.99 right now, Elite with Sports Plus has 319 channels and usually costs $104.99 per month but is discounted to $74.99 right now, and Deluxe has 334 channels and usually costs $114.99 per month but is discounted to $84.99 right now. If you want $30 off your first month for any of these live TV plans with ESPN and ABC, or simply want a plan that caters to sports content, Fubo is your best bet.

When will Disney be back on YouTube TV?

The answer is still unclear, but this wouldn’t be Disney’s first rift with a popular streaming service. In 2024, DirecTV and Disney had a dispute that lasted for a total of 13 days.

Disney and YouTube TV Update

On November 3, 2025, YouTube’s official blog released a response to Disney’s request to restore ABC for 24 hours. The response says, “We agree that the right priority here is to give customers what they want. As you know from the many content disputes you’ve been part of, customers don’t want companies fighting and content blackouts. But unfortunately, your proposal would permit us to return Disney’s ABC stations only for a day and will cause customer confusion among those who may briefly see ABC on YouTube TV only to lose it again shortly after.”

This statement would suggest that YouTube doesn’t want to restore access to Disney’s ABC stations for a short period of time. Instead, YouTube would like to give its customers access to ABC and ESPN networks while the two parties continue to negotiate. YouTube added, “If you agree with our proposal and give us approval, we can get our operational teams together and get these channels live in hours. Let us know how you’d like to proceed.” This 24-hour break is likely referring to Election Day coverage, as the same press release explicitly mentions how this blackout affects election news on YouTube TV.

Will YouTube TV bring ABC back for Election Day?

The press release quoted above concludes that YouTube does not have any plans to bring ABC back for Election Day. If you’d like to watch ABC to stay updated on election news, consider subscribing to DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Sling TV, or Hulu + Live TV.

Channels YouTube TV Users Lost

• ABC: local affiliates, primetime shows, and live sports
• ESPN suite: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes
• Conference Networks: ACC Network, SEC Network
• General Entertainment Networks: FX, Freeform, National Geographic
• Kids’ & Family Netowrks: Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior

Popular Sports & TV Shows YouTube TV Users Lost