How to watch the 2022 NCAA college football championship live online for free—and without cable

By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer
Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

    Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

    This year’s bowl season was a mess. The Omicron variant caused a lot of last-minute shuffling as schools were forced to drop out of games and substitutes were hastily made. It was a dissatisfying end to the 2021 season for many players and fans.

    Ultimately, though, the two teams many people expected would go head-to-head in the NCAA national championship easily made their way to the final round. Alabama’s Crimson Tide trounced Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl 27-6, while the Georgia Bulldogs easily took out No. 2 Michigan in the Orange Bowl by a score of 34-11.

    Alabama beat Georgia by a score of 41-24 when the two teams met just a month ago (on Dec. 4). So anticipate that the Bulldogs will be looking for revenge.

    Working a late shift on Monday or unable to be in your living room? No worries. You’ve got several options to watch the game.  

    Which teams are playing in the college football national championship? And what channel is airing the games?

    ESPN is airing the NCAA national championship, and it will offer extensive pregame coverage, starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. Things will start getting serious at 5:57 p.m. ET, with the kickoff of College GameDay and the official pregame show starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.

    Monday, Jan. 10

    Georgia Bulldogs (No. 3) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 1), 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN2

    Where is this year’s college football national championship being held?

    The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide will face each other in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium.

    How can I watch the NCAA championship for free over the air?

    The best way to watch any sort of network programming for free on a big screen is with a good HD antenna. But, in this case, that’s not an option. NCAA championship games air exclusively on ESPN, so if you don’t have a cable subscription, you’re going to need to rely on a streaming service.

    How can I stream the NCAA college football championship live online if I don’t have a cable subscription?

    There are, fortunately, several options using this method:

    ESPN+

    The stand-alone streaming service for the sports network runs $6.99 per month or $70 per year, letting you stream exclusive live games from conferences, including Big 12, Conference USA, the American, and the Sun Belt. There is no free trial for the stand-alone version; however, you can try out the full Disney+ bundle for free (see below).

    Hulu with Live TV

    You can try the service free for a week. Once that’s up, you’ll pay $65 per month.

    YouTubeTV

    After a two-week trial, you can expect monthly charges of $65.

    Sling TV

    Dish Network’s Sling lower-tiered Orange plan will run you $35 per month. Adding the more comprehensive Blue plan bumps the cost to $50 per month. You’ll have a seven-day free trial first—and right now, the cord-cutting service is dropping the first month’s bill to $10.

    AT&T TV

    Formerly known as DirecTV Now and AT&T TVNow, AT&T’s streaming service will run you $70 per month and up. There is no longer a free trial option.

    Disney+

    Disney’s bundle of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ can be enjoyed for free for seven days, after which you’ll pay $13.99 per month for all three combined.

    Fubo TV

    This sports-focused cord-cutting service carries broadcast networks in most markets. There’s a seven-day free trial, followed by monthly charges of $65 to $80, depending on the channels you choose.

    Can I watch NCAA college football games on Amazon?

    Not this year. There’s not even a workaround to subscribe to ESPN+ or Disney+ via the service.

    Does the NCAA offer any viewing packages to watch the games I want?

    Unlike the NFL, the NCAA doesn’t have an app, website, or broadcast service that broadcasts its games.

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