Sports fans now have more options than ever before as the focus has shifted from cable television to online streaming services.
Supporters can now watch every match from certain leagues through various sites, some of which are dedicated to particular competitions, and others instead cover a wide array of sports.
While the flexibility within live streaming has gotten considerably better, the on-demand capability is now equally impressive. Gone are the days in which viewers had to watch one game and tape another. Now, you can watch them all at your leisure, with condensed highlights options on tap as well.
Below are the top five streaming services for live sports.
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DAZN
Founded in 2015, DAZN launched in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan in 2016. Canada soon followed, and the product is now available in the US, Italy, Spain, and Brazil.
The range of content is outstanding and appeals to fans of combat sports as well as the more traditional team sports in both North America and Europe.
In Canada, a DAZN membership gives viewers access to the NFL, MLB, Premier League, Champions League, plus PPV quality boxing and MMA.
The NBA is also on DAZN in some territories, as well as NCAA action plus a selection of golf, ice hockey, motorsport, rugby union, darts, tennis, and more.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon rolled out its video-on-demand service in 2006, and by 2017, sports content began to be shown live through the platform.
NFL was one of the first leagues to be shown on Amazon, and a number of live prime time games continue to air through Prime Video.
In the UK, both ATP and WTA tennis is shown on Amazon in what is a fantastic offering as users can choose which matches they want to watch – even for the smaller tournaments.
You can also view some of the matches through online betting sites, but Amazon’s coverage is second to none.
June 2018 saw Amazon acquire live Premier League football (soccer) rights for the first time, with 20 games per season being screened initially.
ESPN+
Disney-owned sports broadcaster ESPN introduced their over-the-top streaming service in April 2018, and it is only available to United States residents.
Top Rank boxing is among the main attractions on the service, and various UFC cards are shown as well.
Subscribers can watch college football and basketball through ESPN+, while soccer, tennis, golf, cricket, and rugby union are also shown live and on-demand.
NBA League Pass
All of the major sports leagues in the US have their own streaming services and the NBA version is perhaps the best.
By paying a monthly or annual fee, you can get access to every game each season, blackout restrictions depending.
The service is better for international users as opposed to Americans because no games are blacked out due to television coverage.
All regular-season matches plus All Star Weekend, the playoffs, and finals are all included in the package, and if you miss anything live you can choose to view full games on-demand or watch an ‘all possessions recap’, which shows all of the action without any pauses for time outs.
Now TV
Operated by Sky, Now TV launched in the UK in 2012 and now has availability in Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Austria.
The beauty of Now TV is that you do not have to commit even for longer than a day if you do not wish. Day passes are available, meaning that if there is just one game you want to watch, you don’t need to pay for an entire month.
Sky Sports can be accessed through Now TV, which allows users to watch the Premier League, NFL, NBA, as well as Formula One, golf, darts, cricket, boxing, and much more.
Now TV boxes also have BT Sport on them, and while BT requires a separate subscription, there is plenty more content on there for fans to enjoy.
