The above schedule helps bettors find the answer to the question "What sports is on UK TV?". They will find out what games and tournaments are being shown on live television. The channels available include Sky Sports, TNT Sports, NOW TV, La Liga TV, Premier Sports and Apple TV.
The Different Sports on TV
It will come as no surprise that football features very heavily in the live sport on TV schedule, but over time more and more sports will be added.
This will ensure your favourite sports to watch live on TV will be featured and have the appropriate channel alongside each game.
Here are a few brief examples of which sports you will be able to view when you watch live sport on TV now.
The one thing that we can say about live football on TV is that if it is not available on any television channel, then it probably is not worth watching anyway.
Sky Sports continue to set the standard when it comes to live football. There are plenty of live Premier League matches available every weekend with games on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The Premier League is not the only football tournament available on live TV today. Games from the Championship, League One and League are on offer, while matches from other leagues including the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A and La Liga are live on TV.
It is not just Sky Sports that shows live sport on TV. When it comes to football, TNT Sports have matches each week from the Premier League, the Champions League and the Europa League.
We will go into more detail on the channels available, but La Liga matches will be streamed live on La Liga TV, while Premier Sports and Apple Tv have their own selection of live football matches.
Cricket - Live Sport On UK TV
Cricket is another sport that features heavily in TV schedules. With the different formats of the game like One Dayers, Test Matches, Twenty20 and the Hundred, there is plenty of live action available to supporters.
The Hundred keeps getting bigger each season. Add that to the T20 tournaments like the Big Bash, Indian Premier League, The Blast and the Caribbean Premier League then there is plenty of cricket action in a calendar year.
This is before you even get to the Test matches and international ODIs and T20s. One of the biggest sporting events live on TV has to be the Ashes. The famous five Test series between Australia and England is a tense affair and makes for excellent viewing.
As a cricket fan, you will be spoiled for choice all year round. A bit like football, if the cricket match means something, then you will be able to sit in front of a television and watch it live.
NFL - Live Sports On TV
Believe it or not, American Football is popular all around the world, not just in America.
The proof of that is the popularity of the games in the United Kingdom, Germany and Brazil. Tickets sell out almost immediately as fans want to see the likes of Josh Allen, Tyreek Hill, Jayden Daniels and Patrick Mahomes line up in person.
Tickets are really hard to come by for fans, but do not despair because every piece of action can be found live on television.
Sky Sports show a Thursday night game, three on Sunday and one on Monday night during the regular season. Also, every single play-off game is live on TV.
Another impressive bow to Sky Sports’ coverage is the Red Zone that airs seven hours of commercial free football every Sunday. This shows action from every single game and all the scoring plays.
Sky Sports is not the only company that holds a monopoly on the NFL. You can watch all the matches with a DAZN subscription. This used to be NFL Game Pass but they have merged with DAZN and by signing up you will get all the action live on your TV or mobile device.
Rugby League - Live Sport On TV Today
There are two major rugby league tournaments and you can watch all the action live on Sky Sports.
From the 2024 season, every Super League match was shown live on TV. Sky Sports show the big games on one of their major sports channels, but if a game is clashing due to the kick-off time then that will be available on the Sky Sports +.
Having a Sky Sports subscription has never been so good. Aside from the Super League, you can watch a selection of games from the NRL each week as well as all three matches from the State of Origin series.
UK TV Channels Showing Live Sport in 2026
We might be showing our age here, but years ago we only had four terrestrial channels to choose from and any live sport was a bonus.
Live sport on TV today is just as common as the news. There will always be live sport on a channel somewhere. Here, we break down the top TV channels available for people in the UK to watch live sport on TV.
Sky Sports - Watch A Selection Of Live Sports On TV
Sky Sports was launched in 1990 and they have gone from strength to strength with a lot of people using their channels as a personal season ticket for live sport on TV.
A lot of sports fans get annoyed when people treat live sport as a normal television show, because they feel you do not get the full experience at home.
The launch of the Premier League in 1992 skyrocketed the need for Sky Sports as they started broadcasting live football on weekends.
Live English football was their major selling point, but over the years their portfolio has extended with the likes of Formula One, Super League, Test Cricket, The Hundred, Boxing, Darts and NFL all featuring heavily.
At the time of writing, Sky Sports have 11 separate channels for people to watch live action. They are as follows:
- Sky Sports Main Event
- Sky Sports Premier League
- Sky Sports Football
- Sky Sports Cricket
- Sky Sports Golf
- Sky Sports F1
- Sky Sports Action
- Sky Sports +
- Sky Sports Tennis
- Sky Sports Racing
- Sky Sports Mix
Aside from all these channels, sports fans and punters can get all their up-to-date sport information from the Sky Sports News channel. This provides us with all the breaking news from every sports that is covered by Sky Sports.
TNT Sports - Plenty Of Live Sport On TV
At first glance, you might think this is a new channel that you have missed.
Do not panic, BT Sports was rebranded and renamed to TNT Sports in 2023, but nothing much has changed other than they have more sports to show live on TV.
We have already touched on that TNT Sports show Premier League matches, but they have become much more than that.
On the football side of things, TNT Sports have rights to screen Serie A, Ligue 1, FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League, Scottish Premier League and Major League Soccer.
Away from football, TNT Sports shows every live UFC event on the TV. We have covered UFC betting sites here. You can also watch Premiership Rugby, Tennis events and MotoGP races.
ViaPlay (Premier Sports) - Pick The Best Live Sport On TV Today
ViaPlay is a streaming format that is accessible as an app on your Smart TV or through an Amazon Prime account. They acquired Premier Sports in 2022 and started to show live ice hockey, rugby league and non-league football.
For whatever reason, the company switched the name back to Premier Sports in 2024 and will operate the same way.
Premier Sports will stream live Bundesliga action, Premier League and a wide range of motorsports.
NOW Sports - Watch Live Sport On UK TV
NOW Sports is a streaming format that allows you to buy a membership package to be able to watch all 12 Sky Sports channels.
All 11 live sports channels and Sky Sports News can be streamed to your TV, mobile, tablet, computer and other devices.
Members will have access to live Premier League, Darts, Cricket, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Golf and Tennis.
Customers can sign up for 24 hour access or on a monthly basis. Monthly packages start from £14.99 per month.
Betting on Live Sport on UK TV Today
You can bet on any sport whether it is live on TV or not, but the introduction of live in-play betting has made it more exciting for bettors with plenty of the
best betting sites
running this function. .
Watching sport live on TV is brilliant when you can place in-play bets and track the action as it happens.
The
best UK bookmakers
have plenty of markets available for the likes of football, boxing, cricket, rugby league, rugby union, American Football, tennis and golf.
Here is a breakdown of two of the best betting sites that will allow you to bet while watching live sport on TV.
Bet365 - Excellent Sports Coverage
Pros and Cons of Bet365
- Competitive odds
- Extensive range of sports betting markets
- Live streaming available
- Bonus offers can be limited
Bet365 is one of the most trusted online bookers on the market and their bonus offers and generous odds are two reasons why.
Their sign-up offer might not be mind blowing, but it is reliable and straight to the point. New customers who have signed up to Bet365 need to deposit and bet £10 in order to receive £30 in free bets, and the free bet credits can be used on darts.
Bet365 is up there as one of the best betting sites for a couple of reasons. The extensive markets available for events like the Premier League, The Ashes, UFC events and PDC Darts is amazing.
The live in-play market makes Bet365 one of the best
in-play betting sites. It is not just for the odds and markets available but also for their live streaming system.
If for some reason you cannot watch your sport on TV legally, you can sign up to a site like Bet365 and use their live streaming system. It is not rare to find
live streaming on online betting sites.
Bet365 prides itself on their live streaming format. They provide punters with a wide range of matches. If you see the play icon next to your match, then you can watch the game live and place in-play bets while you are watching.
Open Account Offer Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. The bonus code can be used during registration but does not change the offer amount in any way. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required.
BetMGM - Impressive Sports Betting Odds
Pros and Cons of BetMGM
- Favourable betting odds
- Wide range of markets
- Mobile app now available
- Not every major event is live streamed
BetMGM is new compared to quite a number of online bookmakers, but they are making big waves and are quickly becoming a betting site that can be trusted.
The ‘Bet £10 and get £40 in free bets’ is a little bit different to other bonus offers, but is regarded as one of the
best betting bonuses. You can qualify for the offer by placing a £10 bet on any sports, but the offers you will receive are spread over a couple of sports.
Overall, you will receive 4 x£10 bets, but there are restrictions. You will claim a free £10 bet to use on any acca, one £10 bet to be used on football and one £10 bet on horse racing along with a £10 bet builder.
These offers are perfect if you are watching live sport on TV. You can choose which offer to use depending on what sport you are interested in that day. This site is one of the best betting sites to use when watching live sport on TV. You can check out our full
BetMGM guide here.
New cust. Deposit £10+ in 7 days & bet on sports. Min odds apply. Reward = 4 x £10 Free Bets (2 x £10 Bet Builders & 2 x £10 Sports bet). Valid 7 days. Free bets not valid on e-sports & non UK/IE horse racing.
18+. T&Cs Apply.
GambleAware.org.
How Much Does Watching Live Sport on TV in the UK Cost?
Nothing in the UK at the moment is cheap as there are a lot of people struggling for money, but for some reason we always find enough to fulfil our sporting needs.
Below is a breakdown of how much it costs to be able to watch live sport on TV. Obviously, prices may vary and some companies may offer other discounts, but for the sake of this guide this is what you should be paying.
Sky Sports - Subscription For Live Sport On TV
Sky would prefer it if all their customers had all the channels on offer in one massive bundle, but not everyone watches sports and movies.
With Sky, if you get the Sky TV bundle with Netflix and all sports channels, then you will be paying from £46 per month. If you just want the sports package it will be from £27 per month on top of your initial subscription price.
If football is the only sport you watch live on TV, then you can pay from £15 for just the Sky Sports Premier League channel.
NOW Sports TV - Monthly Option For Live Sport On UK TV
With this being a guide on sports live on TV, we will stick to how much it will cost you per month to watch all the action live.
Customers are expected to pay £34.99 per month to get all 12 channels. A contract is not needed and you can cancel at any time.
NOW Sports TV also has a 24 hour pass. This is a one off payment of £14.99 that will see customers receive all the sports channels for 24 hours. This is ideal if you want to watch two or three matches in one day. This package is very popular on Super Sunday.
Premier Sports - Monthly Or Annual Payment For Live Sport On TV Today
Premier Sports customers have the option of paying for this subscription on a monthly basis or a one-off annual price.
Customers can gain access to live football, ice hockey, GAA and motorsports for £9.99. An offer with Premier Sports sees customers get the first month free and then £9.99 thereafter.
Premier Sports customers who wish to pay the annual price of £99.00 per year can do so.
Consider Bookmakers That Offer Live Streaming
Looking at the prices of the likes of Sky Sports and subscription services, it might be too expensive for some people. However, there is another way.
No not that way, but live streaming sports at betting sites is becoming more and more popular.
Bet365 prides itself on their live streaming service. They stream a lot of sports including football, horse racing, cricket, tennis, rugby league and table tennis.
It is a cheaper option because all you need is a funded account at Bet365, Not all streams will have live commentary, but sometimes you just need the visual pictures. You would not have commentary if you were at the game, so it’s not really a problem.
Other betting sites that have live streaming functions include BetMGM, Unibet, Betfred and Ladbrokes to name a few.
Live Sport On TV Conclusion
There is live sport everywhere you look. Having a format where you can check what sport is live on TV is genius. When you ask yourself in a morning "Is there any sport on TV today?", you will be able to check out this page and see what sport is on TV today.
With the amount of sport on TV today, it is easy to miss some of the action. Having a guide telling you where and when you can watch a certain match is a game changer.
Football might be the most popular sport when it comes to watching it on TV, but knowing where you can watch live darts, Super League and the NFL, as well as being able to place wagers during the action is something special.
Live Sport on UK TV - FAQs
⚽ Do You Need A Paid Subscription To Watch Sport On TV?
If you want to watch any of the live action from Sky Sports, then you will need a subscription with Sky and you will need to have the sports package in order to be eligible. If you don't want a monthly subscription, you can get a 24 hour pass with NOW Sports TV.
📺 What Sports Channels Can You Get With Sky Sports?
If you get the Sky Sports package with Sky or Virgin Media, then you will receive 12 channels where you can keep up to date with all the action. Eleven of the channels will feature live sport, while you will also have access to Sky Sports News.
👍 Is It Legal To Watch Live Sport Online?
As long as you go through the right channels, then watching sport on TV is completely legal. You will need a subscription with Sky Sports or TNT Sports.
✅ Can I Get A 24 Hour Pass To Watch Sport On TV?
If you are signing up with Sky or Virgin, then you will probably be put on a monthly deal. If you do not watch enough sport to justify the money, you can pay for a 24 hour pass with NOW Sports TV and you can watch all the sport inside 24 hours.
