There you are, immersed in a tight game, waiting for something big to happen. Right before a game-winning bucket or that NHL shootout, your streaming app freezes or starts buffering. This is an all-too-common occurrence on ESPN, and it’s my least favorite app that I don’t want to stop using.
ESPN is one of the best places to watch as many sports as possible. Even though the app (and ESPN+) are awful, it’s the only real option for millions of fans. A lot of streaming services aren’t that great, but this one takes the cake. I wish all my favorite sports and teams were available literally anywhere else.
All These Sports, But No Good Way to Watch Them
I have a love-hate relationship with the ESPN app, whether on my mobile device or my big-screen TV. For starters, it’s an excellent place to find an extensive variety of sports. I wouldn’t call it one of the best streaming services for sports, but it’s up there in terms of what it offers.
You can watch all sorts of sports on the mobile ESPN app, ESPN on your TV, or through a subscription to ESPN+ for $11.99 per month. Some include the NFL, UFC, Boxing, MLB, the PGA Tour, NHL, and Tennis. Plus, ESPN+ gets you access to tons of college sports programming, including NCAA football, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, and more. The service even has conference-specific offerings from the Big 12, SEC, ACC, The American, and more. There’s a reason it calls itself the “worldwide leader in sports.”
It’s Not Just You, ESPN+ Is Bad
Back in 2022, you could get ESPN+ for $6.99 per month, but then the price went up to $10. And like every other service, that wasn’t the last price hike. Here in 2025, it’ll run you $11.99 per month to try and watch countless sporting events. I say try because that’s what it feels like. I’m constantly trying to battle the app, refresh game streams, or relaunch the entire app after it times out or freezes my TV.
Does the ESPN+ app (especially on TVs) struggle for you? If so, you’re not alone. A quick glance through Reddit suggests users everywhere are frustrated by the experience of ESPN+. One user went as far as to say it’s the worst app ever made.
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So, what’s the problem? Well, where do I start? The ESPN interface could certainly use some help, but that’s not a huge concern because users can eventually filter content by sport and find the game they’re looking for. It’s not awful, but it’s not very good either.
The main problem is streaming performance. It doesn’t matter if you’re watching the NHL, NBA, or UFC; ESPN constantly lags, stutters, or looks jittery, starts buffering, or drops down the resolution to the point that it’s entirely unwatchable. Remember trying to watch Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul on Netflix? Imagine that, maybe a little better, but it happens during every event or game you try to watch.
While terrible, a little stutter or buffering wouldn’t be the end of the world because I can still see the game. However, the other major issue is ESPN’s app freezing TVs. A quick search on Reddit yields dozens of complaints about the app timing out or freezing TVs to the point that they need a reboot. This happens on my Roku TV, a Hisense U7N with Google TV, and my new TCL QM6K that came out earlier this year.
I don’t know what’s happening to the servers over there at ESPN, especially when it comes to using ESPN+, but it’s far worse than any other streaming service I’ve ever used. Something needs to change.
Sports Fans Deserve Better
Sports fans deserve better than what we’re getting from ESPN, especially when many of us pay an additional $11.99 per month.
We all have too many subscription services, myself included, but that also means we know what to expect. I’m currently using—or have previously used—services like YouTube TV, Sling TV, MAX, Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV+, Fubo, Paramount+, Peacock, Netflix, Prime Video, and others.
I also have a fast 1.5 Gbps fiber internet connection, which means all those apps run great on any TV in my home. ESPN is the only streaming service or app that consistently has issues. Every other app I’ve tried over the last few years works better. Paramount Plus is pretty bad, too, but I don’t use it anyway.
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In fact, I can fire up four NFL games simultaneously using YouTube TV’s excellent multiview feature, and it’s a seamless, stable experience. It doesn’t lag, hiccup, or struggle to deliver four streams. But if I try to watch one NHL game on ESPN+, it stutters like I’m on dial-up from the year 2000.
Unfortunately, ESPN has the worst performance of all the streaming services I’ve tried. I don’t know if it’s just a bad app, something on the back end, or a combination of things. If the same game is available on YouTube TV, I can switch to that, and the experience will be miles ahead. YouTube TV even has a setting to help with sports delays.
It’s too bad Venu Sports got canceled before it was released. I had hopes that it would deliver a better ESPN experience, but I guess we’ll never know.
Can You Fix ESPN Streaming Issues?
The worst part about this entire situation is that we don’t have any other option. ESPN is the “worldwide leader in sports,” and it’s one of the only places to see many of these games. As a Vegas Golden Knights hockey fan living in Texas, ESPN+ is the only way I can tune in. I have no other legitimate option.
Unfortunately, I’ve not found any solutions to these ESPN and ESPN+ problems. I’ve tried reinstalling the app on several TVs, sideloading older APKs on Google TV, and making sure the TV isn’t “optimizing” the app and limiting bandwidth. Nothing works.
The only thing I’ve found that makes it run a little better is accessing ESPN+ inside the Disney+ app or Hulu with the ESPN+ add-on. Now that Disney owns all of these services, we’re slowly seeing all the content get combined. As a result, ESPN+ is available inside the Disney+ and Hulu apps. Your mileage may vary, but it’s worth a try.
At this point, I think I’m done paying for ESPN Plus and won’t be going back without a few changes. It’s time to vote with my wallet. If the app gets a design overhaul, improves streaming performance, or at least gets some resolution settings to choose from, maybe I’ll give it another try.
