The 2021 ESPY Awards will air live on ABC July 10 from 8 p.m. ET – 11 p.m. This year celebration of the best moments from the year in sports will be hosted by Anthony Mackie and include appearances by Kane Brown, DaBaby, Alexandra Daddario, Taye Diggs, Nina Dobrev, Rob Gronkowski, DeAndre Hopkins, Chloe Kim, Ally Love, Maya Moore, Joe Namath, Naomi Osaka, Mikaela Shiffrin, Iliza Shlesinger, Chase Young, and more. Read on to learn how to watch this star-studded event.
- When Are The ESPY Awards: July 10 from 8 p.m. ET – 11 p.m.
- Best Way To Watch The ESPYs Live: Watch live on ABC using a free trial to FuboTV (1-week free trial) or Hulu Live TV (1-week-free-trial)
- How To Watch The ESPYs on Demand: The day after the ESPYs you can watch the ceremony on-demand with Hulu’s Streaming Library (30-day free trial)
Watch The ESPYs Live Without Cable
The 2021 ESPY Awards air live this Saturday, July 10 at 8:00 PM EDT 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:
- Fubo TV– Streams ABC live in most markets and offers a 1-week free trial
- Hulu Live TV – Streams ABC live and offers a 1-week-free-trial
- DIRECTV Stream – Streams ABC live. Sign up here. If you cancel service within 14 days, you get a full refund
- YouTube TV– Streams ABC live and offers a free trial
There are other methods 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 or stream ABC live with the free streaming service Locast. Locast streams the local ABC network live in over 50% of US households, and it is 100% free. You can even watch Locast using a streaming device. Locast supports Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, and Android TV.
Update: On September 1st, Locast lost a significant battle in court against the major broadcast networks. The Networks argued Locast "must secure the consent of the broadcasters to retransmit the broadcast signals." Locast defense claimed they qualified for a copyright-law exemption available to nonprofits. US District Court for the Southern District of New York found that Locast is not eligible for an exemption because it uses donations from viewers to fund its expansion into new TV markets. In response to the court loss, Locast said it was suspending its TV service on 9/2/2021.
You can read more in our review of Locast. You can try their service by downloading Locast to your favorite supported streaming device or on their website. The only problem is you have to watch the show when it airs. There isn’t a way to watch on-demand or record The ESPYs through locast.
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 Zipcode.
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: $64.99 per month.
Watch The ESPYs on YouTube TV
YouTube TV is another great option to watch The ESPYs live. YouTubeTV 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 Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. The YouTube TV app isn’t available on Roku. However, users can use YouTube TV through the YouTube app on Roku devices. Be sure to check out our review of YouTube TV for more information. You can sign up for their free trial.
How Much: $64.99 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 $64.99 per month.
Watch The ESPYs on DIRECTV Stream
DIRECTV Stream offers live ABC streaming in many markets. ABC is available through its “Entertainment” package for $69.99 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: $69.99 per month through the “Entertainment” package.
Watch The ESPYs On-Demand
Hulu’s streaming library will air the 2021 ESPY Awards on-demand starting Sunday, July 11 at 3 A.M. EDT. Hulu’s Streaming Library, starting at just $6.99 per month after a 30-day free trial. The $6.99 plan is ad-supported. However, you can watch commercial-free by subscribing to Hulu’s ad-free plan for $12.99 per month. Hulu has a massive catalog of TV shows on-demand, and you will also have access to Hulu Originals like The Handmaid’s Tale, Shrill, and The Act. You can watch Hulu on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, and more. See our review of Hulu for more details.
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