The majority of NHL regular season games are broadcast regionally on sports dedicated channels aptly named regional sports networks. However, several regular season games, as well as NHL Playoff games, air to a national audience. Here is how to watch every nationally televised NHL game live without cable.
Under the newest NHL TV contract, which extends through 2028, marquee national NHL games can appear on one of 4 channels: ABC, ESPN, TNT, and TBS. With NBC out of the picture, essentially there are two players for broadcasting national NHL games; Disney (owner of ABC, ESPN, and ESPN+) and Turner Sports (owner of TBS and TNT).
ABC, ESPN, and ESPN+ games
Under the 7 year deal with the NHL, ABC will have the Stanley Cup Finals in 4/7 years.
There is also a lineup of ESPN nationally televised regular season games, as well as a slate of games that are exclusive to ESPN+ as “streaming exclusive” games.
For national games, ESPN has 25 exclusive games that trump your local RSN. When your team appears in one of these national games, local RSNs are blacked out.
The combination of ABC, ESPN, and ESPN+ carry:
- Regular season NHL games, with ESPN having 25 exclusive regular season games
- Exclusive NHL broadcasts
- NHL Playoff games
- ABC carries the Stanley Cup Finals in 2024, 2026, and 2028
Which live TV streaming services carry ABC & ESPN?
In the easy to follow table below, we list the live TV streaming services that carry both ABC & ESPN. Note: Hulu + Live TV is the only streaming service that carries ABC, ESPN, and ESPN+ from the same platform.
| DIRECTV STREAM | Hulu + Live TV | Fubo | YouTube TV | Sling Orange | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| $74.99 / month | $69.99 / month | $74.99 / month | $72.99 / month | $35 / month |
NHL on TNT
The “NHL on TNT” series features 72 regular season games each season, with most non-exclusives that are blacked out in the featured teams markets to protect contracts with regional sports networks.
TNT carries these NHL games:
- 72 regular season games
- NHL Playoff games
- Stanley Cup Finals in 2023, 2025, and 2027
Which live TV streaming services carry TBS and TNT?
In the channel comparison table below, we list the live TV streaming services that carry both TBS and TNT.
| DIRECTV STREAM | Fubo | Sling Orange | Hulu + Live TV | YouTube TV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| $74.99 / month | $74.99 / month | $35 / month | $69.99 / month | $72.99 / month |
NHL Network Games
NHL Network carries 75 nationally televised, non-exclusive, NHL games, that are blacked out in local markets for the featured teams.
Out-of-market, the 75 non-exclusive NHL Network games trump ESPN+. When the NHL Network has a game, ESPN+ is blacked out.
Which live TV streaming services carry NHL Network?
In the easy to use table below, we list the live TV streaming services that carry NHL Network.
| FuboTV Elite | DIRECTV STREAM | Hulu + Live TV | YouTube TV | Orange & Blue Sports Extra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $84.99 / month | $74.99 / month | $69.99 / month | $72.99 / month | $65 / month |