What Channel Is ESPN? All Four ESPN Channels, and the Two Apps

Quick Answer: ESPN is 206 on DIRECTV and 140 on DISH. The useful thing to know is that the ESPN channels sit in a consecutive block on both satellite providers, so once you know where ESPN is, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews are the next few numbers along. Cable renumbers all of them by market. Separately, ESPN now sells two different apps at two very different prices, and only the expensive one carries the live channels.

The ESPN Channels Sit in One Block

This is the part nobody tells you, and it saves a lot of scrolling. Both satellite providers group the ESPN family together, so you only need to remember one number.

Channel	DIRECTV	DISH
ESPN	206	140
ESPNU	208	141
ESPNews	207	142
ESPN2	209	143

Note that the two providers order the block differently. DIRECTV runs ESPN, ESPNews, ESPNU, ESPN2 across 206 to 209. DISH runs ESPN, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN2 across 140 to 143. If you switch providers, the habit you built on one will send you to the wrong channel on the other.

Provider	ESPN
Verizon Fios	570
Spectrum	Around 300, varies by market
Xfinity	Varies by market
Cox, Optimum, Mediacom, Astound	Varies by market

Cable systems rebuild their maps locally, so the block idea holds but the starting number does not. Search your guide for “ESPN” and the rest will be adjacent. You can also look your exact number up by ZIP in our TV Channel Finder.

Which ESPN Channel Has What

Channel	What it carries
ESPN	The flagship. Monday Night Football, NBA, college football, the big events
ESPN2	Overflow and second-tier live events, plus studio programming
ESPNU	College sport almost exclusively, including the smaller conferences
ESPNews	Rolling highlights and news. Very few live events

Worth knowing: ESPN now also owns NFL Network, having completed a takeover of NFL Media in February 2026. Three games that used to be NFL Network exclusives moved to ESPN as a result, taking ESPN to twenty-eight NFL games a season. So if a game is not where you expected, the ESPN block is worth checking, and our guide to NFL Network on DIRECTV has that channel’s number.

The Two ESPN Apps, and Why They Cost So Differently

This is where most of the confusion now sits. ESPN sells two tiers, and the gap between them is large.

	ESPN Select	ESPN Unlimited
Monthly price	$13.99	$31.99
Annual price	$139.99	$319.99
Before 17 September 2026	$12.99 a month	$29.99 a month
Live ESPN channels	No	Yes
ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews	No	Yes
SEC Network and ACC Network	No	Yes
Exclusive streaming events	Yes	Yes

Unlimited is the tier that streams the actual television channels, which is why it costs roughly the same as a slim cable package. Select is the cheaper library and exclusives tier and will not give you Monday Night Football on a live ESPN feed.

Note: both prices went up on 17 September 2026, the first increase since ESPN Unlimited launched. If you plan to keep the service all year, the annual plan is the cheaper way in. Twelve months of Unlimited paid monthly comes to $383.88 against $319.99 for the year, a saving of $63.89, and Select saves $27.89 the same way.

ESPN+ Is a Separate Question

If you have an older ESPN+ subscription, or you are trying to work out whether your provider gives you ESPN+ as part of a bundle, that is a different product with its own rules and its own carriage deals. We cover it separately in our guides to ESPN Plus on Spectrum and whether ESPN Plus is available on DIRECTV, because the answer depends heavily on which provider you are with.

Which Package Carries the ESPN Channels

Provider	Where ESPN sits
DIRECTV	ENTERTAINMENT and above
DISH	America’s Top 120 and above
Spectrum	TV Select
Xfinity	Popular and above
YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo	Base plans
Sling TV	Orange only, not Blue
Antenna	No. ESPN is cable only

The Sling row is the one that catches people. ESPN is on Sling Orange, while TNT and several other channels are on Sling Blue, which is why some subscribers end up paying for both. The Sling Orange and Blue comparison lists which channels sit on each side.

When ESPN Will Not Come Up

Problem	Likely fix
Game is not on 206 or 140	Check the rest of the block. It may be on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
Expected game is missing entirely	ESPN now has NFL Network games too. Check NFL Network as well.
Paid for the ESPN app but no live channel	You are on Select. Live channels are the Unlimited tier.
Sling has no ESPN	You are on Blue. ESPN is on Orange.
Cable number does not match this page	Cable maps vary. Search the guide for “ESPN” and use the block.
Channel is locked	You are below the tier that carries it.
Antenna will not find it	It never will. ESPN has no broadcast signal.