ESPN Streaming Subscription Plans October 2026
Provider | Plans | Prices |
|---|---|---|
ESPN | ESPN Unlimited | |
Sling TV | Sling Orange | |
Fubo | Fubo Sports + News | |
YouTube TV | Sports Plan | |
YouTube TV | Base Plan | |
Fubo | Fubo Pro | |
DirecTV | DirecTV Entertainment | |
Fubo | Fubo Elite | |
Fubo | Fubo Deluxe |
What is coming up on ESPN in October 2026?
Monday Night Football continues to take center stage in ESPN's lineup as the National Football League (NFL) enters the second month of its season.
This month's batch of Monday night games are Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints on October 5, Buffalo Bills @ Los Angeles Rams on October 12, Washington Commanders @ San Francisco 49ers on October 19 and Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles on October 26.
ESPN is also awash with plenty of live NCAA college football games, both on weeknight evenings and throughout its Saturday schedule.
The month begins with North Texas @ Tulsa on Thursday October 1, then Pittsburgh @ Virginia Tech and Montana State @ Idaho on Friday October 2. There'll be further weeknight games, including USF @ UTSA on Thursday October 8; Florida State @ Louisville and Iowa State @ BYU on Friday October 9; Memphis @ Tulane on Friday October 16; Duke @ Virginia and NC State @ Stanford on Friday October 23; and Baylor @ UCF on Friday October 30.
The Saturday slate of games will feature Notre Dame @ North Carolina, Auburn @ Tennessee, BYU @ TCU and Baylor @ Arizona State on October 3; then Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt, LSU @ Kentucky and Kansas @ Utah on October 10. Further games will be added as the weeks progress.
ESPN begins its coverage of the 2026/27 National Basketball Association (NBA) season with a doubleheader of live matches on two nights during opening week, with Minnesota Timberwolves @ Miami Heat being followed by Golden State Warriors @ Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday October 21, then Cleveland Cavaliers @ Philadelphia 76ers - LeBron James's home debut for the Sixers against his former team - followed by Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday October 22.
The following week's Wednesday doubleheader features Philadelphia 76ers @ Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder @ Dallas Mavericks on October 28.
Beforehand, ESPN is set to screen three NBA preseason games - Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers followed by Chicago Bulls @ Denver Nuggets on Sunday October 11, plus Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers on Friday October 16.
The channel will have live National Hockey League (NHL) coverage on Tuesday nights, with this month's games being New York Islanders @ New York Rangers and Florida Panthers @ Los Angeles Kings on October 6; New Jersey Devils @ Detroit Red Wings, Colorado Avalanche @ Dallas Stars and Boston Bruins @ San Jose Sharks on October 13; Boston Bruins @ Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning @ Vegas Golden Knights on October 20; and Boston Bruins @ Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres @ San Jose Sharks on October 27.
ESPN also has live action from the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Playoffs, with coverage of game two of a semifinal series on Wednesday October 7 and potentially a deciding game five on Wednesday October 14.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) will also feature this month, with Bay FC vs Portland Thorns and Kansas City Current vs Washington Spirit set to air live on Sunday October 18 and 25 respectively.
This live event lineup is complimented by the network's staple daily studio programming, giving fans their daily fix of sports talk through favorites such as Get Up, First Take, The Pat McAfee Show, Big Day with Peter Schrager, NBA Today, NFL Live, Pardon the Interruption and comprehensive editions of SportsCenter.
Monday Night Football on ESPN: Everything you need to know
ESPN's 21st season with live TV rights to Monday Night Football will conclude with the channel co-broadcasting Super Bowl LXI from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Sunday February 14 along with its over-the-air sister station ABC.
The network is able to boast its largest NFL game portfolio ever during the 2026 season, with ESPN set to televise 29 games, consisting of 17 Monday Night Football matchups, seven NFL Network broadcasts, a Saturday doubleheader during the final week of the regular season, playoff games from the Wild Card Round and Divisional Round, plus Super Bowl LXI.
ESPN's Monday Night Football games are called by Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, who enter their 25th season as a commentary duo - the longest-tenured broadcast pairing in NFL history - and their fifth year with ESPN after making the move from FOX in 2022.
Buck and Aikman embark on a season that will conclude with them calling their seventh Super Bowl together. They'll be joined by sideline reporters Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge, with the Monday Night Football games set to kick off at 8.15pm ET most weeks.
Monday Night Football will continue to be preceded by the Monday Night Countdown pregame show between 6-8pm ET. Scott Van Pelt will host alongside Jason Kelce and Marcus Spears plus new additions to the panel Pat McAfee and Jason McCourty.
Van Pelt, McAfee and Kelce will also handle the halftime show, while SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt will follow Monday Night Football every week.
What is the ESPN channel?
ESPN is a dedicated 24-hour sports channel that shows a variety of events, including the NFL's Monday Night Football, NCAA college football and basketball, Major League Baseball, NBA and WNBA basketball, NHL hockey and NWSL soccer. It also has a selection of documentaries and analysis programs.
Where can I watch it for free?
You can watch the ESPN channel for free through all of Fubo's and DirecTV's plans, as they both have a free trial for new customers. It's also available on Sling TV's Orange or Orange & Blue plans.
READ MORE: How to get a five-day free pass with Fubo
If you are out of the country and would like to watch upcoming ESPN channel content on your favored streaming service, you can do so by bypassing geo-restrictions by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
