Streaming news roundup: two drafts hit the air this week, and the offseason TV map keeps getting redrawn

After a week of megadeals, the action turns back to the prospects: the NBA and NHL drafts both land this week, and a chunk of it is watchable without a big cable bill. Plus where the offseason local-TV scramble stands, and the World Cup knockouts on deck.

The gist: Last week was all boardroom news — Fox buying Roku, the DOJ clearing Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the CBC losing Hockey Night in Canada. This week the spotlight swings back to the players: the NBA and NHL drafts both happen, and you can catch a good chunk of it for free or cheap. Here's how to watch, where the offseason local-TV scramble stands, and what's coming on the World Cup front.

This week: the NBA and NHL drafts

Two of the offseason's marquee TV events land within days of each other.

NBA Draft — Tuesday & Wednesday, June 23–24 (8 p.m. ET, Barclays Center). The Washington Wizards hold the No. 1 pick after winning the lottery. How to watch:

• Round 1 (Tue, June 23): ABC and ESPN. ABC means Round 1 is free over the air with an antenna — the cheapest way in.
• Round 2 (Wed, June 24): ESPN only. No free broadcast for night two.
• Streaming: the ESPN App (ESPN Unlimited, $29.99/month), or any live-TV service carrying ESPN (DirecTV, Fubo, Sling, YouTube TV). A Sling Day Pass ($4.99 for a day) is a cheap way to catch it on the ESPN App without a monthly commitment.

NHL Draft — Friday & Saturday, June 26–27 (KeyBank Center, Buffalo). The Toronto Maple Leafs pick first. How to watch:

• Round 1 (Fri, June 26, 7 p.m. ET): ESPN and ESPN+ in the US; Sportsnet in Canada. No free over-the-air option for round one here — it's cable or streaming.
• Rounds 2–7 (Sat, June 27, 11 a.m. ET): NHL Network and ESPN+ in the US; Sportsnet in Canada.
• Streaming: ESPN+/ESPN App, or a live-TV service carrying ESPN and NHL Network. In Canada, this is the first NHL event of the new Rogers/Sportsnet era we wrote about last week — Sportsnet is now the country's national hockey home.

The quick read: if you only want to dip in for free, the NBA's first round on ABC is the one. Everything else is cable or a streaming sign-in — and a one-day Sling pass beats a full month if you just want draft night.

Where the offseason local-TV scramble stands

The drafts arrive while both leagues are still sorting out where their teams' games will even air next season. As we covered Friday, the Texas Rangers' regional network (the Victory+ operator) is reportedly in talks to pick up local broadcast rights for NBA teams left homeless by the FanDuel/Main Street collapse — one of several possible landing spots, and still just talks. On the baseball side, the migration to team-run streaming continues: MLB now says all 30 clubs have a direct-to-consumer option, with more than a dozen added this offseason.

The throughline for fans: if you follow an NBA, NHL, or MLB team whose regional network went dark, don't lock into a long-term plan this summer — where your team lands for 2026-27 is, in several cases, still being decided. (For the full baseball picture, see our new MLB 2026 viewing guide.)

On deck: the World Cup knockouts

The group stage wraps this week, and the Round of 32 begins at the end of the month. Nothing changes about how to watch — every match stays on FOX or FS1 in English (free over the air on FOX, or streaming on FOX One) and Telemundo/Universo in Spanish — but the win-or-go-home rounds are where casual viewership spikes, so it's worth knowing your free options before the knockouts start. (Full details in our World Cup guide.)

Draft night, a team's new streaming home, or the World Cup knockouts — StreamCaddy tells you the cheapest correct way to watch, for your location and the services you already have.

Sources

1. NBA.com — "2026 NBA Draft: How to watch, selection order and things to know" (June 23–24, Barclays Center; Round 1 on ABC/ESPN, Round 2 on ESPN; Wizards No. 1), June 2026 — https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-faq
2. Yahoo Sports — "How to watch the 2026 NBA Draft" (8 p.m. ET both nights; ESPN App/ESPN Unlimited $29.99; Sling Day Pass $4.99), June 2026 — https://sports.yahoo.com/wnba/article/how-to-watch-the-2026-nba-draft-where-to-stream-live-start-time-draft-order-and-more-143800106.html
3. NHL.com — "2026 NHL Draft Coverage Central" (June 26–27, Buffalo; Round 1 on ESPN/ESPN+/Sportsnet/TVA Sports, Rounds 2–7 on NHL Network/ESPN+/Sportsnet), June 2026 — https://www.nhl.com/events/nhl-draft/
4. MLB.com — "How to watch every MLB team during the 2026 season" (all 30 teams have a direct-to-consumer streaming option), May 2026 — https://www.mlb.com/news/how-to-watch-every-mlb-team-in-2026
5. Sports Media Watch — "Roku, Fox, Rangers Sports Network, Paramount-WBD merger DOJ" (Rangers Sports Network reportedly pursuing local NBA rights; no agreement finalized), June 2026 — https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2026/06/roku-fox-rangers-sports-network-paramount-wbd-merger-doj/