You don’t need a full-priced pay TV package to get local channels and sports anymore.
While YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV cost upwards of $83 per month, new skinny bundles from DirecTV, Fubo, Sling TV, and even Comcast offer live sports for less. New standalone options from ESPN and Fox present even more ways to save money.
But depending on what you want to watch, some of these bundles will work better than others. The situation reminds me a bit of cord-cutting’s early years, in which every live TV streaming service came with some notable omissions. Below, I’ll help you sort through them all to find the best sports bundle for your needs.
Table of Contents
Streaming sports packages compared
Here’s a chart with all of the sports bundles available as of September 2025:
Jared Newman / Foundry
You can also view a Google Sheets version of this chart.
I took some liberties with which services to include in the chart, most notably omitting full-size pay TV packages such as YouTube TV ($83 per month), Hulu + Live TV (also $83 per month), Fubo’s standard packages (starting at $98 per month after regional sports fees), and DirecTV’s Signature packages (starting at $85 per month). Those packages include a broader mix of entertainment channels, so one of them would be a better choice if you’re trying to fully replicate a cable bundle.
For the services I did include, it’s helpful to think of them in terms of what each one is missing. For instance:
- DirecTV MyNews: Offers local channels, but no other sports channels.
- DirecTV MySports: No Tennis channel.
- Fubo Sports: No NBC or other Comcast-owned channels, and nothing from Warner Bros. Discovery (such as TNT and TBS).
- Xfinity Sports & News: No league-specific channels.
- Sling TV Select: Only works for sports if the local channels it carries are available in your particular market.
- ESPN Unlimited bundles: Missing at least two of the big four local channels and many less-popular sports channels.
Note that with DirecTV’s skinny bundles and Sling Select, local channels aren’t available in every market, and Fubo is only selling its Sports bundle in select markets for now. In all cases, you’ll need to check their websites for availability in your area.
As for Xfinity’s Sports & News bundle, it’s only available in Comcast’s cable markets, although it doesn’t require a cable box. You can also access it via the Xfinity Stream app on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung TVs, and LG TVs.
If you’re wondering why most of these sports-focused bundles also include cable news, that’s a whole other story. Fox has reportedly been unwilling to uncouple Fox News from its broadcast and sports channels, so there’s likely some reluctance by other programmers to unbundle as well.
Which is the best sports bundle?
The great thing about these new packages is that there is no one-size-fits-all answer as to which one is best.
If you’re only trying to watch your local NFL team and can’t pick up the broadcast with one of our favorite antennas, for instance, DirecTV MyNews will be your cheapest option. Conversely, antenna users might use ESPN Unlimited’s bundles to supplement what they can get for free over-the-air. Fubo Sports’ lack of NBC could also be fine if you can do without Sunday Night Football, while DirecTV MySports comes closest to meeting all your sports needs (albeit at a higher price).
What each of these services provide is a modicum of choice and flexibility in an industry that’s long been bereft of it. As such, they’ve recalibrated how much you’ll need to spend to watch both your local broadcast channels and live sports.
Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice.