The CW & ESPN Expand Sports Coverage With August Launch
For sports fans, ESPN viewers are set to get an expansion of content via a new deal to bring CW Sports’ live events to the ESPN App from Tuesday, 4th August 2026.
This new expansion will see more than 800 annual hours of CW Sports content broadcast live on The CW Network as well as streamed live on the ESPN App for viewers with an ESPN Unlimited subscription plan.
Fans can activate the ESPN Unlimited plan through their TV or mobile providers in addition to a standalone subscription. Audiences now can watch all CW Sports offerings live on any device with the ESPN App as a complement to The CW’s nationwide over-the-air broadcast and Pay TV distribution, combining premium sports offerings into a single viewer-friendly experience while advertisers extend reach to new audiences across all digital platforms.
CW Sports on the ESPN App launches with a thrilling two-hour live WWE NXT event on Tuesday, August 4 at 8:00pm ET. Motorsports fans can stream the final two regular season NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races from Iowa Speedway on Saturday, August 8 at 4:30pm ET and the legendary Daytona International Speedway on Friday, August 28 at 7:00pm ET before The Chase for the championship continues throughout the fall. The CW’s biggest college football season in network history—which features 140 hours of games across the ACC, Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences—kicks off on Saturday, August 29 at 6:30pm ET with New Mexico State at Florida State. The weekend concludes with the can’t-miss WWE NXT “Heatwave” Premium Live Event from deep in the heart of Texas on Sunday, August 30 at 3:00pm ET.
Launched in 2023, CW Sports has rapidly become a broadcast destination for live sports across a diverse variety of sports, including college football and men’s and women’s basketball from the ACC, Mountain West and Pac-12 conferences, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, WWE NXT every Tuesday night, WWE NXT Premium Live Events, PBR Bull Riding, AVP volleyball, PBA bowling and the 2026 Arizona Bowl.
CW Sports is the exclusive home for all 33 races in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series through the 2031 racing season. During its first year on The CW in 2025, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series had its most-watched season in four years, growing its total audience by ten percent over the previous year. The first 19 races of the current 2026 season delivered more than one million total viewers every week (pre-rain delay), and viewership is up 11 percent over last year’s season average.
The CW is a prominent broadcaster within the college sports landscape, including a sublicense with ESPN to air ACC college football and men’s and women’s basketball games. The network extended its partnership with the new Pac-12 Conference to include 13 regular season football games per year through the 2030-31 season, regular season men’s and women’s basketball games, and the women’s basketball tournament’s semifinal and championship games. In Fall 2026, CW Sports will also begin its partnership with the Mountain West Conference, airing 13 football games, 20 men’s basketball games, and 15 women’s basketball games per year through the 2030-31 season. This fall, The CW will also broadcast the 2026 Arizona Bowl for the fourth year in a row.
Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited Bundle subscribers can access all ESPN and CW Sports content on Disney+.
Roger’s Take: This partnership with CW Sports is a great way for the network to bring in additional revenue from streaming, without spending money on launching its own platform, while ESPN subscribers get even more content each year. Adding more value to that subscription.
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