For Colorado residents, sport is a part of daily life, with some of the biggest professional teams in the country across the Big Four, as well as plenty of other teams plying their trade in the state.
For those without cable, online streaming packages are the way to go, with the likes of DirecTV Stream, Fubo and Sling ideal for getting your fix of the Rockies, Avalanche, Nuggets and more.
Cable Channels - DirecTV Stream vs Fubo vs Sling
| Channel | DirecTV Stream | Fubo | Sling TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| A&E | ✔* | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| AMC | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| BET | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| Bravo | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Orange) |
| Cartoon Network | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| CNN | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| Comedy Central | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| Discovery | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Orange) |
| Disney Channel | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Blue) |
| Disney Junior | ✔ | ✔ | ✔* |
| E! | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Orange) |
| ESPN | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Blue) |
| ESPN2 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Blue) |
| Food Network | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| Fox News | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Orange) |
| Freeform | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Blue) |
| FS1 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Orange) |
| Fox Sports 2 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔* |
| FX | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Orange) |
| FXX | ✔ | ✔ | ✔* |
| Hallmark Channel | ✔ | ✔ | ✔* |
| HGTV | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| History | ✔* | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| Investigation Discovery | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| Lifetime | ✔* | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| MSNBC | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Orange) |
| MTV | ✔ | ✔ | ✔* |
| Nickelodeon | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Paramount Network | ✔ | ✔ | ✔* |
| Syfy | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Orange) |
| TBS | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| TLC | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ (Orange) |
| TNT | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| Travel Channel | ✔* | ✖ | ✔ (Blue + Orange) |
| truTV | ✔ | ✖ | ✔* (Orange) |
| USA Network | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ (Orange) |
| VH1 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔* |
| WE tv | ✔ | ✖ | ✔* |
*signals that require customers to subscribe to a bigger package or an add-on to receive the channel
Best online streaming service for live sports in Colorado
If you're looking to maximise the number of sports channels you receive in Colorado, then you're going to want to look towards Fubo or DirecTV Stream.
Both offer a significant number of channels, even with their more basic packages. The Pro Plan from Fubo is priced at $74.99 and includes 40 base sports channels, including the likes of NBC, FOX, CBS Sports Network and the ESPN Network, which covers you for most major sports and teams across both professional and collegiate levels.
Equally, the Choice package from DirecTV will provide you with much of the same for $84.99, although this doesn't include CBS, which requires a larger package. It does however, include PBS networks for your region.
How to watch Denver Broncos without cable
For Broncos fans, the best package to utilise is Fubo's Pro Plan. This will give you all the channels (aside from Amazon Prime Video, which will stream one game) to watch the Broncos regular season.
CBS carries the rights to the vast majority of games, meaning with DirecTV Stream you'd need to upgrade to the Choice plan, $10 more per month than Fubo's Pro.
ESPN and FOX have the rights to the remaining games, which can be watched across both, as well as Sling Orange and Blue, priced at $55 per month.
How to watch Denver Nuggets without cable
The majority of Nuggets games can be watched in Colorado on Altitude Sports, available on both DirecTV Stream and Fubo.
It's available to subscribers of basic packages of both streaming services, providing you're subscribing from the Rocky Mountain region on DirecTV. If that isn't the case, you'll need the Sports Pack add-on.
ABC and ESPN also hold the rights to NBA games across the season, several of which will involve the Nuggets. Both the Choice package ($84.99 per month) on DirecTV Stream and the Fubo Pro Plan ($74.99 per month) will cover you for these channels.
How to watch Colorado Rockies without cable
To watch all Rockies games across the season, you'll need a Rockies TV subscription, which provides all games in-market both live and on-demand. It's priced at $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the season.
However, with many games broadcast live across ESPN, FS1, FOX Sports and TBS, there are other packages available.
Sling is a good option, with Sling Blue and Orange combined priced at $55 per month and will give you access to Fox Sports channels and ESPN, as will the Fubo Pro Plan ($74.99 per month) and DirecTV Stream Choice at $84.99 per month, but naturally that'll give you access to many other Colorado sporting fixtures too.
How to watch Colorado Avalanche without cable
Altitude Sports has the broadcast rights to the NHL side, which is available across both Fubo and DirecTV Stream. You'll need to be in the Rocky Mountains region for the latter to get it without the Sports Pack add-on, giving you access to almost all Avalanche games.
NHL broadcast rights nationally are held by the ESPN Network, with at least 37 exclusive regular season games, meaning Sling Orange can have you covered for some Avalanche matches at $40 per month, while you can also access these via Fubo and DirecTV Stream plans too.
How to watch Colorado Rapids without cable
Rapids matches are broadcast on several channels, but you can watch every game by subscribing to an MLS Season Pass via the Apple TV app.
Fox Sports also has the rights to 34 regular season games across the MLS, some of which will include the Colorado Rapids, as well as the MLS Cup and eight playoff matches in the build-up to the final.
Sling TV is your cheapest option to pick up Fox, with Sling Blue priced at $40 per month.
How to watch Denver Outlaws without cable
Altitude Sports holds the rights to Major League Lacrosse's Denver Outlaws, with the channel and the team owned by Stan Kroenke. All games can be streamed through the channel, which is available in DirecTV Stream and Fubo packages.
How to watch Colorado collegiate sports without cable
College athletics from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference can be watched through Altitude Sports, while the ESPN Network has the broadcast rights to most university teams within the state.
Sling Orange and the Sports Extra package, which combined is $51 per month is the best option for this, giving you all ESPN channels. However, if you want those alongside altitude then the Fubo Pro Plan or DirecTV Stream Choice, paying slightly more, is what you'll need.