
The 2023 ESPY Awards will air live on ABC on Wednesday, July 12th, from 8 p.m. ET – 11 p.m. ET. This year’s celebration of the best moments from the year in sports will be hostless due to the writer’s strike. Read on to learn how to watch this star-studded event.
- When Are The ESPY Awards: Wednesday, July 12th from 8 p.m. ET – 11 p.m.
- Best Way To Watch The ESPYs Live: Watch live on ABC using a free trial to DIRECTV STREAM (free-trial), FuboTV (1-week free trial), or YouTube TV (1-week-free-trial)
- How To Watch The ESPYs on Demand: Any of the services above include a cloud DVR. If you can’t watch live, just set the ESPYs to record and watch whenever you like.
Watch The ESPYs Live Without Cable
The 2023 ESPY Awards air live this Wednesday, July 12 at 8:00 PM ET on ABC. The following summarizes your options are in our guide to watching ABC without cable and will let you watch The ESPYs as they air live on ABC.
Watch The ESPYs Free
The easiest way to watch the ESPYs for free is to use a free trial to a streaming service that carries ABC in their channel lineup. The following streaming services carry ABC and have a way to watch free for a trial period:
- DIRECTV STREAM – Streams ABC live. Sign up for their 5-day free trial
- Fubo TV– Streams ABC live in most markets and offers a 1-week free trial
- YouTube TV– Streams ABC live and offers a free trial
There is another way to watch The ESPYs this year if you don’t have cable. You can use a TV antenna if you live close enough to an ABC broadcast tower.
Watch The ESPYs Live on Hulu

Hulu offers a live TV service that carries ABC in nearly all US TV markets along with cable TV and broadcast networks. Therefore, you can watch The ESPYs live as it airs on ABC. To see if live ABC is available in your area, you can use this tool: Hulu Live TV Channels by Zip code.
Hulu + Live TV is supported on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Android, and more. You can read more about Hulu in our review of Hulu. There isn’t a month-to-month contract, so you can sign up to test the service without fear of a long-term commitment. You can sign up for Hulu Live TV using this link: Sign up for a Free-Trial to Hulu + Live TV.
How Much: $76.99 per month.
Watch The ESPYs on YouTube TV

YouTube TV is another great option to watch The ESPYs live. YouTube TV offers live ABC with its streaming service in nearly ALL markets in the US. The only market where YouTube TV doesn’t offer ABC is in the Rochester-Mason City-Austin market, which covers parts of Minnesota and Iowa. (YouTube TV does offer ABC in Rochester, NY, and Austin, TX.)
YouTube TV supports Roku, Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. Be sure to check out our review of YouTube TV for more information. You can sign up for their free trial.
How Much: $72.99 per month.
Watch The ESPYs on fuboTV

FuboTV recently added ABC in most TV markets. You can check out a free trial to FuboTV here. Fubo TV supports the following streaming devices:
- Android smartphones
- Android tablets
- iPhone
- iPad
- Apple TV (4th Generation only)
- Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
- Roku
- Chromecast
For more information on FuboTV features, please see our Fubo TV review.
How Much: FuboTV costs $74.99.
Watch The ESPYs on DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM offers live ABC streaming in many markets. ABC is available through its “Entertainment” package for $79.99 a month, along with a ton of cable TV and other broadcast networks. DIRECTV STREAM offers ABC in over half the markets in the US. They offer a free trial to allow you to make sure ABC is offered in your area. For more information, check out our review of DIRECTV STREAM.
How Much: $79.99 per month through the “Entertainment” package.
2023 ESPY AWARD Nominees
BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS
- Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
- Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Lionel Messi, Argentina
BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS
- Mikaela Shiffrin, Ski
- Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns
- Iga Świątek, Tennis
- A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE
- Caitlin Clark, Iowa Women’s Basketball
- Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
- Angel Reese, LSU Women’s Basketball
- Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners
BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
- Novak Djokovic wins his 23rd Grand Slam title
- LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for NBA career scoring record
- Mikaela Shiffrin breaks the record for the most World Cup victories
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull, set record for most wins in a season
BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
- Leon Edwards, UFC – defeats Kamaru Usman to win UFC welterweight title
- Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets – 2023 NBA Finals MVP
- Lionel Messi, Argentina – 2022 World Cup Final
- Rose Zhang, LPGA – first woman in 72 years to win her first professional start.
BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE
- Jon Jones, UFC
- Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
- Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut
- Justin Verlander
BEST PLAY
- Michael Block’s hole in one – Golf
- Justin Jefferson with the Catch of the Century, NFL
- Ally Lemos with the perfect corner to tie the National Championship game, NCAA
- Trinity Thomas’ Perfect 10 to tie NCAA Record, NCAA
BEST TEAM
- Denver Nuggets, NBA
- Georgia Bulldogs, NCAA Football
- Kansas City Chiefs, NFL
- Las Vegas Aces, WNBA
- Louisiana State Tigers, NCAA Women’s Basketball
- Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA Softball
- Vegas Golden Knights, NHL
BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS
- Zach Edey, Purdue Basketball
- Duncan McGuire, Creighton Soccer
- Brennan O’Neill, Duke Lacrosse
- Caleb Williams, USC Football
BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS
- Jordy Bahl, Oklahoma Softball
- Caitlin Clark, Iowa Women’s Basketball
- Izzy Scane, Northwestern Lacrosse
- Trinity Thomas, Florida Gators Gymnastics
BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
- Erica McKee, Sled Hockey Team
- Zach Miller, Snowboarding
- Aaron Pike, Wheelchair Racing & Cross-Country Skiing
- Susannah Scaroni, Wheelchair Racing
BEST NFL PLAYER
- Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
- Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
- Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
BEST MLB PLAYER
- Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
- Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
- Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
- Justin Verlander, Houston Astros
BEST NHL PLAYER
- Jonathan Marchessault, Vegas Golden Knights
- Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
- David Pastrňák, Boston Bruins
- Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins
BEST NBA PLAYER
- Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
- Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
- Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
- Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
BEST WNBA PLAYER
- Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury
- Candace Parker, Chicago Sky (Current Las Vegas Aces)
- Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm (Current New York Liberty)
- A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
BEST DRIVER
- Brittany Force, NHRA
- Kyle Larson, NASCAR
- Josef Newgarden, IndyCar
- Max Verstappen, F1
BEST UFC FIGHTER
- Leon Edwards
- Jon Jones
- Islam Makhachev
- Amanda Nunes
BEST BOXER
- Gervonta Davis
- Devin Haney
- Claressa Shields
- Shakur Stevenson
BEST SOCCER PLAYER
- Aitana Bonmatí, Spain/Barcelona
- Erling Haaland, Norway/Manchester City
- Lionel Messi, Argentina/PSG
- Sophia Smith, USWNT/Portland Thorns
BEST GOLFER
- Wyndham Clark
- Nelly Korda
- Jon Rahm
- Scottie Scheffler
BEST TENNIS PLAYER
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Novak Djokovic
- Aryna Sabalenka
- Iga Świątek
Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award
- Jamal Hill (Paralympic Swimmer and UN Ambassador)
- Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks)
- Lauren Holiday (retired U.S. Women’s National Team)
- Brad Stuver (Austin FC)
Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year
- Connecticut Sun
- Indianapolis Colts
- New York Jets
- San Antonio Spurs
Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award
- Jordan Adeyemi
- Ashley Badis
- Rishan Patel