Streaming services and prices
Prices as of 2026-10-01 · 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; all prices are as of 2026-10-01 and exclude tax. 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) | [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 | [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 | New users $54.99/mo first 12 months; ESPN Unlimited access promised "this fall" (not counted for ESPN+ games until confirmed); 21-day free trial on page | [MD10] [MD11] [MD12] |
| YouTube TV Base Plan | $82.99 | $414.95 | ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ACCN, SECN, BTN, FS1, FS2, CBSSN, TNT | Channel coverage assumed >= Sports Plan (Sports Plan is a subset of base); promo $67.99 first 3 months for new users | [MD13] [MD12] |
| 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 | [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 | $69.99 | $349.95 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SECN, ACCN, BTN, FS1, FS2, CBSSN, TNT, ESPN+, SECN+, ACCNX, CW | CONFLICT: $69.99 (CableTV) vs $64.99 (DirecTV page per search snippet; page not fetchable). Includes ESPN Unlimited. Locals market-dependent | [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 | [MD18] [MD19] |
| 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 | [MD18] [MD19] |
| 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) | — | — | ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, +Sports Extra: ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SECN, ACCN, SECN+, ACCNX | Passes are Sling Orange programming; FOX, NBC, BTN, truTV, FS2 not available on passes [MD15] | [MD16] [MD15] |
| 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 first-year annual $99 (regular $199.99) [MD4]; Peacock Premium $129.99/yr [MD5]. A Big Ten fan buying Fox One annual ($99) + Peacock for 5 months ($64.95) pays about $164 for the season. Because CFB lasts about 5 months, annual plans only win when the promo is deep.
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] | — |
| 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 passes: 1-day $4.99, 3-day $9.99, 7-day $14.99 (+$1/$2/$3 Sports Extra) [MD16]; 50% off first month (affiliate claim) [MD16] | — |
| Fubo Sports + News | Free trial + $10 off first month [MD19] | — |
| Fubo Pro | $63.99 first month [MD19] | — |
Conflicts and unknowns
- DirecTV MySports: CableTV lists $69.99 [MD17]; a directv.com search snippet showed $64.99 and the page could not be fetched. Used $69.99. At $64.99, ACC/ND plans that use it drop $5/mo.
- 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]; not yet counted, so ESPN+/SECN+/ACCNX-only games are not counted as covered by YouTube TV.
- 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).
- 394 of 816 team-games (199 of 478 unique games) had no TV assignment as of Oct 1. 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).