Sports Streaming Free Trials — Which Ones Still Exist

Here is the uncomfortable truth about free trials in 2026: most of the big sports services have killed them, and a lot of websites have not caught up. If a guide offers you a "30-day free trial of Peacock" or an "ESPN+ free trial", it is describing a product that no longer exists.

This page is the current state of play, including what is gone. We would rather tell you there is no trial than send you to a signup page that asks for a card.

Always check the trial length at signup, not here. Trial terms change without notice, and they differ by country even for the same service. Treat the table below as a starting point, not a promise.

Trials that are gone

These are the ones people most often assume still exist. None of them do.

Service	Status
Peacock	No trial, and the free tier was discontinued as well. Both are gone.
ESPN Select and ESPN Unlimited	No trial on either tier.
Paramount+	No trial.
HBO Max	No trial.
Sling	No trial — day passes have replaced it.
NOW (UK)	No trial, stated explicitly on the sports membership page.
Sky Sports	No trial.
TNT Sports	No trial.
Stan Sport (Australia)	No trial in 2026.
Sky Sport Now (New Zealand)	No trial — the day pass is the closest thing.
Netflix	Ended in 2020.
Disney+	None since 2020.

Trials that do still exist

The list is short, and the ones that carry meaningful live sport are the shortest and the most expensive afterwards.

Service	Trial	What happens after	Live sport?
Amazon Prime Video	30 days	Prime subscription, from about USD 14.99/month	Yes — Thursday Night Football in the US
YouTube TV	Up to 21 days (varies)	About USD 82.99/month	Yes — and NFL Sunday Ticket as an add-on
Apple TV	7 days	About USD 14.99/month	Yes — F1 in the US, Friday Night Baseball
Fubo	About 5 days	From about USD 14.99 to 103.99/month depending on package	Yes — live broadcast channels
DIRECTV	About 5 days	About USD 84.99 to 171.98/month	Yes
Philo	7 days	About USD 33/month	Limited
Discovery+, AMC+, BritBox and similar	7 days	About USD 6.99 to 17.99/month	Barely — these are entertainment services

The pattern is worth noticing. The services that carry real live sport have the shortest trials and the highest prices, because they know you are not subscribing for the back catalogue. The long trials are on services that barely carry sport at all.

The catches

A trial is still a contract, and there are four things worth knowing before you start one.

Billing starts automatically. If you do not cancel before the trial ends, you are charged. There is no reminder.
A card is required to start. That is the point of the trial — it converts a free user into a paid one. If a service asks for a card upfront, it is betting you will forget.
One per household. Trials are usually limited to new customers, checked by payment method and address, so you cannot chain them.
The trial may not cover the sport you want. A trial of a service gives you the service — but if the match you want is on a pay-per-view tier, or blacked out in your region, the trial does not help.

Better than a trial, often

If what you actually want is one match or one weekend, a trial is frequently the wrong tool. Three alternatives are usually cheaper and carry no risk of an unwanted renewal.

Day passes. NOW in the UK sells a Sky Sports day membership for about £14.99 for 24 hours. Sky Sport Now in New Zealand sells a day pass for about NZD 29.99. No contract, no renewal, nothing to cancel.
Free tiers. Several services run permanent free ad-supported tiers that are not trials at all — DAZN in most markets, Tubi, Pluto TV. See the free options guide.
Public broadcasters. If the event is a major one, there is a good chance it is free by law somewhere you can legally watch it. Wimbledon, the Six Nations and the World Cup all fall into this category in the UK.

Does ESPN+ still have a free trial?

No. Neither ESPN Select nor ESPN Unlimited offers a trial. ESPN+ is also no longer the correct name for the digital service — it is ESPN Select now.

Does Peacock have a free trial?

No. Peacock has no free trial, and the free tier it used to run was discontinued. Both of those facts are widely misreported.

Which sports streaming free trial is longest?

Amazon Prime at 30 days, and YouTube TV at up to 21 days. Both carry live sport — Thursday Night Football and NFL Sunday Ticket respectively. Both also charge you automatically when the trial ends.

Can I use the same free trial twice?

Almost never. Trials are limited to new customers and are checked by payment method and address, so a second card is usually required and sometimes a second address as well.

Is a day pass better than a free trial?

For watching one specific match, usually yes. A day pass has no renewal risk and no card kept on file. It is only worse if you want a whole month of sport.

Where to go next

Free live sports streams — what is permanently free. Cheap ways to watch sports — day passes, rolling contracts and other ways to cut the cost.