ESPN's standalone OTT service costs $4.99 per month. For that, you'll get live sports, talk and analysis shows, and a solid on-demand library that includes everything from 30 for 30 documentaries to replays of recent and classic sports games, matches, and races. The bad news is that ESPN+ does not feature an ESPN live stream — the content here is mostly online-native, and big-time live sporting events are usually not available. But ESPN+ has lots of great supplementary content, and for fans of the sports and leagues that the service does offer live, ESPN+ is an essential service. Among the leagues that ESPN+ does cover is Major League Soccer: MLS's league streaming service, MLS Live, has been rolled into ESPN+ at no extra charge.

Sport-by-Sport Specifics, League Streaming Services, and More

Skinny bundles and free over-the-air TV will net you a diverse array of channels that will cover many of your sports needs. But if there's one sport or league in particular that you're dying to watch without cable, then you may appreciate our next section, which features links to our sport- and league-specific guides, plus information about a vital tool for sports-loving cord cutters: the league streaming service.

What are the league streaming services? Well, they're another genre of live OTT service. Unlike skinny bundles, they're event-focused rather than channel focused: the streams are live during the games, and that's it. The leagues will generally offer you every game that you can't get through your local cable package. That means home games for your local team are usually blacked out, as are national broadcasts.

So read on for more on how to watch sports without cable, including information about specific sports and league streaming services.

NBA Basketball

The NBA's big presence on cable TV makes skinny bundles a must for NBA fans. OTA can be valuable, too, as some games are on ABC. NBA League Pass, the league's streaming service, is also worth checking out. You've got options for watching the NBA without cable!

NBA League Pass is a little pricey (NBA TV rights are not cheap, so the league isn't about to give you any direct-to-consumer bargains), but it's a worthwhile investment for basketball fans. We haven't reviewed it here yet, but it seems to be keeping fans happy following a rough patch a few years ago.

Check out NBA League Pass

NCAA Sports

College sports are easy to watch without cable, too. Though the NCAA doesn't have a subscription streaming service, the channels that college football and basketball games are on can be obtained via skinny bundles like the ones we listed above. Plus, some of the biggest college action can be found on broadcast (over-the-air) networks. Check out our guides to watching NCAA football without cable and watching NCAA basketball without cable for more information.

NFL Football

The NFL lacks a league streaming service of the MLB.TV variety, but there are still a lot of ways to watch the NFL without cable. The NFL-loving cord cutter's best friend is an OTA antenna, which will give you access to the big Sunday broadcasts on CBS, FOX, and NBC. The Super Bowl is always on a broadcast channel, too.

NHL Hockey

The hard-hitting action of the NHL is best secured via a skinny bundle, because skinny bundles have the regional sports networks and national channels that will air your local games and the league's marquee match-ups. Super-fans will also want to check out NHL.TV.

NHL.TV, formerly known as NHL GameCenter LIVE (why did they ever get rid of such a simple and elegant brand name?), is the NHL's take on the league streaming service. It has a nice (if somewhat incomplete) classic game archive and works pretty much exactly how you'd expect it to. You can read our review of the service here (note that our review was written back in the glory days of the “NHL GameCenter LIVE” branding).

MLB Baseball

Skinny bundles are a valuable option for fans of MLB, because many of them offer access to the regional sports networks that will cover you local games. OTA is key, too, because World Series games and other playoff games are often on broadcast television. For everything else, you'll likely want to check out MLB.TV, which we'll cover below. For more information, check out our complete guide to watching MLB without cable.

MLB.TV was the first of these services to emerge, and it remains the gold standard for league streaming services. The company behind it – MLB Advanced Media – is now one of the most reputable streaming companies on the planet, and the MLB.TV service is nearly flawless. Check out our review of MLB.TV here.

MLS Soccer

MLS fans may find their favorite team's local broadcast on the regional sports networks offered by some skinny bundles. It's a good idea to grab a free trial or two to see what's available in your region. But for die-hards who want more than just local games, the answer is MLS Live. MLS Live is now a part of ESPN+, so it's no longer a standalone league streaming service like MLB.TV. Still, the MLS Live feature of ESPN+ works pretty much in the same way as other league streaming services: you'll get live regular-season games with some blackouts (MLS Live's local-market blackouts aren't as stringent as those of other league streaming services – in-market streaming is available for select teams).

Premier League Soccer

Watching England's top-flight soccer league without cable isn't tough. You'll just need a mix of over-the-air and skinny bundle solutions. Check out our full article on the subject to learn more.

WWE Wrestling

If wrestling is your thing, cutting the cord is easy. The WWE has made OTT its future by focusing on WWE Network, a subscription service that will give you access to the big matches you crave.

I'm not here to debate whether or not pro wrestling is a sport (it is, though) – I'm just here to tell you that if you love the WWE, you might want to invest in their OTT service. WWE Network has replaced traditional pay-per-view as the WWE's broadcast method of choice. Oh, and there's a free trial, too.

Can I Watch Sports on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, or Chromecast?

So can you use these streaming services we talked about above on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV? For the most part, you can! Let's talk platform support, shall we?

The major streaming boxes have apps (or “channels”) for just about all of the products listed above.

Hulu + Live TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, AT&T TV Now, and YouTube TV all have apps for Roku devices.

Fire TV fans, you guys get Hulu + Live TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, AT&T TV Now, and YouTube TV.

Hulu + Live TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, AT&T TV Now, and YouTube TV each work on Apple TV.

Chromecast users can choose between Hulu + Live TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, AT&T TV Now, and YouTube TV.

If you use Android TV, your options are Hulu + Live TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.

Hulu + Live TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, AT&T TV Now, and YouTube TV all have apps of iOS and Android mobile devices, too.

Each of Hulu + Live TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, AT&T TV Now, and YouTube TV also offers an in-browser app for use on your desktop or laptop computer.

Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV also work on Xbox One game consoles. Hulu + Live TV works on PlayStation 4.

What about ESPN+? It's available for iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast. ESPN+'s platform support is still expanding, so stay tuned.

As for the league streaming services, they offer pretty good platform support, too. NBA League Pass, MLB.TV, and WWE Network all work on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, and Android TV devices. NHL.TV and MLS Live work on Roku, Apple TV, and Chromecast right now, but neither has an app for Fire TV or Android TV as of this writing.

NBA League Pass, NHL.TV, MLB.TV, and WWE Network also all have apps for both iOS and Android mobile devices, plus in-browser apps for computers.

NBA League Pass, NHL.TV, MLB.TV, and WWE Network work on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, too.

So there you have it, folks: a whole lot of ways to watch sports without cable on a ton of different platforms and devices. Stay tuned to Cordcutting.com for more on how to watch sports without cable, including sports-specific tips, how-tos, reviews, and more. Cord cutting is what we do (and sports are, too).