Real, live football is back tonight, as the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears meet in the 2024 NFL Hall of Fame Game. You’re unlikely to see many starters on either side of the field — that includes No. 1 pick Caleb Williams, who won’t yet make his debut for Bears — but it’s still a great opportunity to watch some of the younger players battle it out for roster spots. Or maybe more simply, it’s an opportunity to watch an actual football game, which many have been itching to do for months.
The game starts at 8:00 p.m. E.T. and will be televised on both ESPN and ABC. However, if you don’t have cable, we have put together a handful of different ways you can watch a live stream of the Texans vs Bears for free or for cheap.
Is there a free Texans vs Bears live stream?
You can watch a live stream of ABC (live in select markets) and ESPN (everywhere in the United States) with a free trial of Fubo (“Pro” channel package), YouTube TV (“Base Plan”) or DirecTV Stream (“Entertainment” channel package or above).
All of these services come with extensive channel packages that are intended to replace cable, so they’re fairly expensive long-term options (though still much cheaper than cable), but you can sign up for one, watch the game and then cancel your subscription without having to pay anything.
Watch the Texans vs Bears on ESPN+
If you’ve already used up all your free trials for Fubo, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream, or maybe you’re saving those free trials for the actual NFL season, then the cheapest way to watch a live stream of the game is on ESPN+.
Though it isn’t free, it’s only $11 per month or $110 for the year. This includes dozens of live sports, including Monday Night Football games once the regular season rolls around, as well as all the 30-for-30 documentaries, original shows and more. If you’re looking for even more savings, you could bundle ESPN+ with Disney+ and Hulu, getting all three for just $15 per month.
Watch the Texans vs Bears live stream from abroad
If you live outside of the United States and China, you can watch a live stream of every NFL game–that includes the preseason, regular season and playoffs–on DAZN. Viewers in Canada get all NFL content as part of a regular DAZN subscription, while those in other countries around the world need Game Pass International, which is available by itself or as an add-on to DAZN.
Or, if you want to go another route, you can use a virtual private network (VPN), such as NordVPN, in order to access Fubo, YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream or ESPN+ from abroad.