How to watch live sports on the Roku Sports Channel without a Roku

The Roku Sports Channel is one of the newest additions to Roku’slibrary of free streaming channels.

The new channel was announced back in August and is now a free live-streaming home for exclusive content from Major League Baseball, the National Football League, Formula One racing, and collegiate sports. Since it’s all free, the Roku Sports Channel is a great replacement for ESPN’s regular programming. Especially when you add in that the Rich Eisen show airs on the Roku Sports Channel every weekday. ESPN’s daytime schedule is pretty much limited to it’s highest paid on-air talent, Stephen A. Smith, yelling about the Dallas Cowboys or New York Yankees.

Roku’s channel can’t compete with the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports in terms of actual live sporting events, but the two channels are actually pretty similar otherwise. Which is why it’s worth checking out the new Roku Sports Channel if you’re a big sports fan. It won’t cost you anything, and it’s easy to find, especially on a Roku device, but how do you access it if you’re not using a Roku streaming device? We’ve rounded up every way to access Roku’s sports-centric live-streaming channel below.

What’s on the Roku Sports Channel?

Lots of sports talk, not much in terms of actual sports

The Roku Sports Channel does offer some live sporting events, the biggest draw of which is Major League Baseball games. You can also watch live Formula E racing and championship boxing matches on the Roku Sports Channel. The channel even broadcasts some high stakes poker events as well.

Beyond the live events, the channel has exclusive content covering some of the largest sports leagues in the world, including the NFL, NBA, WWE, and UFC. That includes Roku Originals like NFL Draft: The Pick Is In, WWE: Next Gen, and Fight Inc: Inside the UFC. There’s also the Emmy nominated Rich Eisen Show, which airs every weekday on the Roku Sports Channel. I love Rich from his days as a Sportscenter anchor in the 2000’s, and his show is usually very entertaining.

Overall, though, it’s still a sports channel without much in the way of actual sports. Some of the content might appeal to you — say if your favorite NFL team is featured in Roku’s NFL Draft: The Pick Is In, but beyond that, it’s just ESPN without the games that air in prime time. Still, it’s free, and that makes it a good enough option to toss on the TV as you get a workout in or if you want something to listen to while you cook dinner.

Watch the Roku Sports Channel on a web browser

Easily access all of Roku’s content on a web browser

The Roku Channel

If you’re in the US, you can watch The Roku Sports Channel directly on a compatible web browser, all you have to do is create or sign-in to a Roku account. Unfortunately, this feature is only available in the United States currently though.

To watch The Roku Sports Channel, head over to TheRokuChannel.com. Create or sign in to your account, then just type sports into the search bar at the top right of the page. One of the top options that will pop up is the Roku Sports Channel, but you can also access some other free streaming sports channels like CBS Sports HQ, NBC Sports, or Fubo Sports.

Watch the Roku Sports Channel on a phone or tablet

The easiest way to check out the Roku Sports Channel on your phone or tablet is through the Roku app.

Roku

The Roku app is fantastic, especially if you’re using a Roku streaming device or smart TV. You can use it as a remote to control your television, as well as just using the search function to find exactly what you’re looking to watch and stream it on your phone or play it on your TV.

To find the Roku Sports Channel, you’ll want to search for it in the Roku app (click the search icon on the top right of the app). Once you click on the Sports Channel, you’ll be given the option to play it on your mobile device or on your streaming device connected to your TV. Just be aware, when you click on the channel, it may turn into the page for the content that’s currently streaming on the channel. For instance, when I clicked on the Roku Sports Channel in the Roku app, it opened up to the page for the Rich Eisen Show, which was currently streaming on the Roku Sports Channel.

Watch the Roku Sports Channel on a smart TV

Amazon Fire and Samsung Smart TV’s can both access Roku’s live channels

Fire TV

You can watch the Roku Sports Channel on most smart TVs. Samsung and Amazon smart TV’s both allow you to download the Roku app from each company’s respective app store. Once you’ve downloaded the Roku app, you can access all of your Roku content on your Samsung or Amazon Fire TV. When I opened the Roku app, the Roku Sports Channel was one of the first options that appeared on the home screen, but if you’re having trouble finding the sports channel you can find it by searching sports in the Roku App.

If you have an LG smart TV, you are out of luck though, as LG doesn’t allow access to the Roku app on its smart TVs.

Watch the Roku Sports Channel on a streaming device

It depends on the streaming device

If you’re using a Roku streaming device, you can easily access all of Roku’s live streaming channels and other content, but you’re not out of luck if you use another streaming device.

You can add the Roku app to your Amazon Fire TV or Chromecast with Google TV streaming devices. You can then launch the app and find the Roku Sports Channel, along with the rest of Roku’s catalog of content. The one major hold-out among streaming device makers is Apple TV. If you’re using an Apple TV device to stream content you won’t be able to access the Roku app on your device, but you can still stream Roku’s content from you phone to your TV using AirPlay.