Streaming services and prices
Prices as of 2026-10-12 · TV picks are announced 6-12 days before games, so TBD games are priced worst case. Prices exclude tax. Rebuilt from the research files on each refresh.
24 services used in the watch guide, with the college football channels each carries. Prices change often; prices were re-checked 2026-10-12 and exclude tax (each service has its own price_date; Fubo was not re-verified and keeps 2026-10-01). Sling day passes were discontinued Oct 2, 2026. Season = 5 monthly billing periods starting Aug 29 (covers through Jan 28, title game Jan 25) or 6 calendar months Aug-Jan.
24 rows
| Service | $/mo | 5-month season | College football channels | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free OTA antenna (ABC/CBS/FOX/NBC/CW) | $0.00 | $0.00 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CW | Free after buying an antenna (antenna price not researched); reception depends on location. | no service fee |
| ESPN Select (formerly ESPN+) | $13.99 | $69.95 | ESPN+, SECN+, ACCNX | $139.99/yr annual option | [MD1] [MD3] |
| ESPN Unlimited | $31.99 | $159.95 | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SECN, ACCN, ESPN+, SECN+, ACCNX, CW | Includes ESPN Select content; CW college games also stream in ESPN app with Unlimited (SVG). $319.99/yr | [MD1] [MD3] [MD43] [MD20] [MD21] |
| Fox One | $19.99 | $99.95 | FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN | 3-day free trial; first-year annual promo ($99, reg. $199.99/yr) ended 9/30/26 and is no longer shown on fox.com/foxone (checked 2026-10-05 and 2026-10-12) | [MD4] [MD20] |
| ESPN Unlimited + Fox One bundle | $39.99 | $199.95 | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SECN, ACCN, ESPN+, SECN+, ACCNX, CW, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN | No free trial (Fox) | [MD2] [MD4] |
| Peacock Premium | $12.99 | $64.95 | NBC, PEACOCK | $129.99/yr; Premium Plus $19.99 | [MD5] [MD20] |
| Paramount+ Premium | $13.99 | $69.95 | CBS | Essential ($8.99) does NOT include live college football on CBS | [MD45] [MD6] [MD7] |
| HBO Max Standard | $18.49 | $92.45 | TNT | Basic with Ads ($10.99) excludes live sports | [MD8] [MD9] [MD22] [MD23] |
| YouTube TV Sports Plan | $64.99 | $324.95 | ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ACCN, SECN, BTN, FS1, FS2, CBSSN, TNT, ESPN+, SECN+, ACCNX | New users $54.99/mo first 12 months; ESPN Unlimited content (incl. ESPN+/SECN+/ACCNX streams) included at no extra cost since Sept 1, 2026 per YouTube blog [MD47] (counted from the 2026-10-12 refresh); 21-day free trial on page | [MD10] [MD11] [MD12] [MD47] |
| YouTube TV Base Plan | $82.99 | $414.95 | ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ACCN, SECN, BTN, FS1, FS2, CBSSN, TNT, ESPN+, SECN+, ACCNX | Channel coverage assumed >= Sports Plan (Sports Plan is a subset of base); ESPN Unlimited content included since Sept 1, 2026 [MD47]; promo $67.99 first 3 months for new users | [MD13] [MD12] [MD47] |
| Hulu + Live TV (with ads) | $99.99 | $499.95 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SECN, ACCN, BTN, FS1, ESPN+, SECN+, ACCNX, CW | Includes Disney+, ESPN Select and ESPN Unlimited access; TNT/FS2/CBSSN not confirmed in fetched page; no free trial; promo $49.99 first month until 10/26/26 | [MD14] |
| Sling Orange | $45.99 | $229.95 | ESPN, ESPN2, TNT | No local channels. Sling 1/3/7-day Passes discontinued Oct 2, 2026 | [MD15] [MD16] |
| Sling Orange + Sports Extra | $56.99 | $284.95 | ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SECN, ACCN, SECN+, ACCNX | [MD15] [MD16] | |
| Sling Blue + Sports Extra | $56.99 | $284.95 | FS1, FS2, BTN | FOX/NBC only in select markets (not counted) | [MD15] [MD16] |
| Sling Orange & Blue + Sports Extra | $75.99 | $379.95 | ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SECN, ACCN, SECN+, ACCNX, FS1, FS2, BTN | [MD15] [MD16] | |
| DirecTV MySports | $64.99 | $324.95 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SECN, ACCN, BTN, FS1, FS2, CBSSN, TNT, ESPN+, SECN+, ACCNX, CW | Changed 2026-10-05 from $69.99 to $64.99: Variety (Aug 14, 2026) and directv.com genre-pack listings (search snippets 2026-10-05) give $64.99/mo regular price; directv.com still not fetchable and one directv.com FAQ snippet still says $69.99; CableTV said $69.99. Re-checked 2026-10-12: Variety (Oct 4, 2026) says regular price $64.99 ("curr. $64.99/mo."); directv.com still blocks fetching; CableTV (Oct 4) still says $69.99. Includes ESPN Unlimited. Locals market-dependent | [MD44] [MD48] [MD17] |
| Fubo Sports + News | $64.99 | $324.95 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, FS1, FS2, CBSSN, BTN, ESPN+, SECN+, ACCNX, CW, ESPNEWS | No TNT/truTV; includes ESPN Unlimited; free trial + $10 off first month. Price not re-verified on fubo.tv 2026-10-05 or 2026-10-12 (fubo.tv JS-only); FuboTV Sept 29, 2026 release (via PPC Land) still gives $64.99; kept 2026-10-01 value | [MD18] [MD19] [MD49] |
| Fubo Pro | $88.99 | $444.95 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, FS1, FS2, CBSSN, BTN, ESPN+, SECN+, ACCNX, CW, ESPNEWS | Plus regional sports fee in some markets; no TNT. Price not re-verified on fubo.tv 2026-10-05 or 2026-10-12 (fubo.tv JS-only); FuboTV Sept 29, 2026 release (via PPC Land) still gives $64.99; kept 2026-10-01 value | [MD18] [MD19] [MD49] |
| Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle (with ads) | $35.99 | $179.95 | s, a, m, e, , a, s, , E, S, P, N, , U, n, l, i, m, i, t, e, d | $4 more than ESPN Unlimited alone; Premium version $44.99 | [MD43] |
| Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle (with ads) | $21.99 | $109.95 | ESPN+, SECN+, ACCNX | No linear ESPN networks; up from $19.99 [MD21]; Premium $32.99 | [MD43] [MD21] |
| Sling Orange day pass (1/3/7-day) - DISCONTINUED Oct 2, 2026 | — | — | ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, +Sports Extra: ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SECN, ACCN, SECN+, ACCNX | DISCONTINUED: Sling stopped selling all Passes on Oct 2, 2026 [MD46][MD15]. Prices shown are the last prices (accessed 2026-10-01). The watch guide uses passes only for games on or before Oct 1 (full-season look-back); every plan from Oct 5 on uses monthly subscriptions only. | [MD46] [MD15] [MD16] |
| Amazon Prime Video | — | — | No 2026 Power 4 or Notre Dame game is listed on Prime Video in the ESPN schedule data (816 team-games) [MD25]. Price not researched because it has no CFB value here. | [MD25] | |
| Netflix | — | — | No 2026 P4/ND game listed on Netflix in ESPN schedule data [MD25]. | [MD25] | |
| YouTube (free/Primetime Channels) | — | — | No 2026 P4/ND game listed on YouTube in ESPN schedule data [MD25]. (YouTube TV is a separate paid service, above.) | [MD25] |
Annual options: ESPN Select $139.99/yr, ESPN Unlimited $319.99/yr [MD1]; Fox One annual regular $199.99 (the first-year $99 offer ended 9/30/26 and is no longer on fox.com/foxone) [MD4]; Peacock Premium $129.99/yr [MD5]. Because CFB lasts about 5 months, annual plans only win when the promo is deep; with the Fox One promo gone, monthly Fox One ($19.99 x 5 = $99.95) is the cheaper way to cover one season.
Free trials and student discounts
Shown separately and not used in the cost math above. Offers change often; check before buying.
| Service | Free trial / promo | Student discount |
|---|---|---|
| ESPN Unlimited | — | No ESPN student price found. Disney+/Hulu student bundle $6.49/mo does not include ESPN Unlimited [MD37] |
| Fox One | 3-day free trial [MD4] (first-year $99 annual promo ended 9/30/26) | — |
| ESPN Unlimited + Fox One bundle | No free trial (fox.com/espn per search; Fox Corp) | — |
| Peacock Premium | No standing free trial (secondary) | Peacock Premium $5.99/mo for 1 yr (SheerID) [MD39] |
| Paramount+ Premium | Paramount+ 7-day trial on most plans (secondary, subbuddy; not fetched) | Paramount+ Premium $6.99/mo student (50% off) [MD39] |
| HBO Max Standard | — | HBO Max student $5.49/mo applies to Basic with Ads only, which excludes live sports [MD38][MD8] |
| YouTube TV Sports Plan | 21 days for $0 shown on Sports Plan page [MD11]; new users $54.99/mo first 12 months [MD10] | — |
| YouTube TV Base Plan | New-user promo $67.99/mo first 3 months (offer terms; via CordCutterPro) - not independently fetched | — |
| Hulu + Live TV (with ads) | No free trial; $49.99 first month promo ends 10/26/26 [MD14] | — |
| Sling Orange | Day/3-day/7-day passes discontinued Oct 2, 2026 [MD46][MD15]; 50% off first month (affiliate claim, not re-verified) [MD16] | — |
| Fubo Sports + News | Free trial + $10 off first month [MD19] (not re-verified 2026-10-05 or 2026-10-12) | — |
| Fubo Pro | $63.99 first month [MD19] | — |
Conflicts and unknowns
- DirecTV MySports (changed 2026-10-05): modeled at $64.99 (was $69.99). Variety (Aug 14 and Oct 4, 2026) and directv.com genre-pack listings (search snippets) give a regular price of $64.99/mo [MD44] [MD48]; CableTV said $69.99 [MD17] and one directv.com FAQ snippet still says $69.99. directv.com blocks fetching, so this is the best available evidence, not a fetched official page. At $69.99, ACC/ND plans that use it rise $5/mo.
- Fubo prices ($64.99 Sports+News, $88.99 Pro) were not re-verified on fubo.tv on 2026-10-05 or 2026-10-12: fubo.tv shows prices only via JavaScript. The FuboTV Sept 29, 2026 release [MD49] and October 2026 listings show the same prices. Kept the 2026-10-01 values and sources.
- Sling Essentials ($19.99, ESPN/ESPN2) and Sling Select ($19.99, FS1) appear on Sling's football page [MD15] but are not in the optimizer (same scope as Oct 1). A test run with them added changed one single-package answer by $0.01 (Big Ten with postseason, Oct 5 test run) and lowers several postseason month-by-month totals by about $15 (Dec/Jan Sling Essentials + HBO Max instead of Sling Orange).
- Big Ten Championship network: SVG says FOX, Dec 5, 8pm ET [MD20]. Older rotation reporting (sponsors track) implied NBC in 2026. Modeled as FOX.
- Hulu + Live TV: TNT/truTV, FS2 and CBSSN carriage not confirmed on the fetched page, so Hulu Live is not counted for TNT/CBSSN games [MD14].
- YouTube TV + ESPN Unlimited: promised "this fall" [MD10] and live since Sept 1, 2026 per YouTube [MD47]. Counted from the 2026-10-12 refresh (ESPN+/SECN+/ACCNX games covered by YouTube TV Sports and Base plans); it changes only tie-breaks, not any cheapest price.
- TNT CFP quarterfinal/semifinal on HBO Max: explicit for first-round games [MD22]; for the Fiesta QF and Orange semifinal it comes from FBSchedules/WBD listings [MD24] [MD23].
- Notre Dame at Navy (10/31): TV TBD; Navy is a G5 (American) host, so the pool is ASSUMED to be ESPN family + CBS/CBSSN. This assumption drives the ND cost.
- Fox/NBC on Sling only in select markets; CBS not on Sling [MD15].
- Holiday Bowl network TBD [MD24]; not modeled. Arizona Bowl on CW (antenna).
- 325 of 816 team-games (164 of 478 unique games) had no TV assignment as of Oct 12 (Oct 5: 382 and 193; Oct 1: 394 and 199). Costs are worst-case and will fall as networks announce picks. Re-run
work/schedules.py+work/run.pyweekly. - Taxes, regional fees (e.g., Fubo RSN fee) and device/antenna costs are excluded. Network executive names for decision_makers remain unsourced (
network-execsentry in the sponsors decision_makers.json).