Why You Can Trust CNET How to watch XFL week 4, Houston vs. Dallas and more without cable
Cord cutters can stream the newest pro football league on ABC, Fox, FS1 and ESPN 2, no cable required.
P.J. Walker has the Houston Roughnecks off to a 3-0 start in the XFL's inaugural season.
Football fans have more than just the NFL Combine to get their pigskin action this weekend. The XFL's inaugural season continues to provide actual games, and some of them are actually good! With just over a third of the season now behind us another full slate of games awaits this weekend.
As has been the case for most of the season, the Houston Roughnecks are the team to watch. Led by quarterback P.J. Walker, Houston rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Vipers last week in a tight 34-27 contest. This week Walker and the 3-0 Roughnecks head to Dallas to take on the 2-1 Renegades Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.
As with last week, there will be two games on Saturday (Los Angeles vs. New York at 2 p.m. ET on ABC followed by Seattle vs. St. Louis at 5 p.m. ET on Fox) as well as a 7 p.m. ET game on Sunday on ESPN 2 (DC vs. Tampa Bay).
Only four of the eight teams will be able to make the playoffs, and with the halfway mark rapidly approaching it's time to shake the pretenders from the contenders. Here's how you can watch all the XFL action this weekend on ABC, Fox, ESPN 2 and FS1.
What the XF-hell is the XFL?
The XFL is a revived football league owned and financed by the WWE's Vince McMahon. (The WWE boss even sold $100 million in stock in the wrestling giant to help fund the football league.) The original XFL was created in 1999 and played its one and only season in 2001.
This new incarnation, led by Oliver Luck (yes, Andrew's dad) as commissioner, features less of the wrestling-style theatrics and is instead geared more towards traditional football fans. Tweaks have been made to make the games quicker and more lively, such as the removal of kickers for extra points, the allowance of two forward passes and shorter halftimes. Other changes, like adjustments for kickoffs, have been done to improve player safety.
Eight teams are participating in the XFL this year with the regular season running 10 weeks. The regular season will be followed by a weekend of playoffs for the top four teams, with a championship game airing on ESPN on Sunday, April 26.
When are this weekend's games?
Saturday, Feb. 29, will kick off with a matchup of two 1-2 teams, the Los Angeles Wildcats and the New York Guardians, at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT, 11 a.m. PT) on ABC. They're followed by the 1-2 Seattle Dragons visiting the 2-1 St. Louis BattleHawks at 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. PT) on Fox.
Sunday features the aforementioned Houston/Dallas game 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT, 1 p.m. PT) on FS1. The 2-1 DC Defenders visit the winless Tampa Bay Vipers to close out the week at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT, 4 p.m. PT) on ESPN 2.
How can I stream XFL games live?
Your local Fox and ABC broadcast channels, as well as cable channels ESPN and FS1, carry the games live. That means you'll need a live TV streaming service to watch live without cable or an over-the-air antenna. Three of the major such services -- AT&T TV Now, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV -- carry ABC and Fox in most markets across the country, and all three offer both ESPN 2 and FS1.
Of the three, our favorite is YouTube TV. It's the cheapest option at $50 a month and CNET's Editors' Choice for live TV streaming. Hulu with Live TV is a close second at $55 a month, but YouTube's cloud DVR and better interface coupled with that cheaper price make it the best option here. Two other such services, Fubo TV and Sling TV, offer some combination of the four XFL channels, but not all four. See below for the full breakdown, ordered by price.
Other stuff to know about live TV streaming services:
- You'll need a solid internet connection.
- You can watch any of them on TV as long as your smart TV has the service's app. You can also watch on your TV using a media streamer, such as a Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV or Chromecast.
- You can also watch on iPhones, Android phones , tablets and computer browsers.
- You can sign up and cancel anytime, no contract required.
- All of them offer free trial periods, so you can sign up to watch and then cancel.
- Sling subscribers will need both Blue and Orange to get ESPN, Fox and FS1.
Another catch is that not every service carries every local network, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries the network you want in your area.
Sling TV's $30-a-month base packages, Sling TV Orange and Sling TV Blue, start at the same price but with ESPN on Orange and FS1 and Fox (where available) on Blue you will need the company's $45 combined bundle to get three out of the four games (Sling does not offer ABC at all).
Here's the list of markets where Sling TV Blue carries local Fox station.
YouTube TV costs $50 a month and includes ABC, Fox, ESPN and FS1. Click here to see if YouTube TV carries ABC and Fox in your area.
Hulu with Live TV costs $55 a month and includes all four networks: ABC, Fox, ESPN and FS1. Click here to see if Hulu carries ABC and Fox in your area.
FuboTV costs $55 a month and includes Fox and FS1, but not ABC or ESPN. Click here to see if Fubo carries Fox in your area.
AT&T TV Now includes ABC, Fox, ESPN and FS1 in its basic, $65-a-month Plus package. Click here to see if AT&T TV Now carries ABC and Fox in your area.
