How To Watch ION Television Online Without Cable: WNBA, NWSL, and More

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With the 2025 WNBA season in full swing, it may be difficult to tune into Friday night games on ION Television without traditional cable, If you don’t know where to find the network online, The Hollywood Reporter has put together a handy guide to help.

For the uninitiated, ION TV is a broadcast network that’s the home for WNBA games, NWSL matches and syndicated TV shows, including Blue Bloods, Bones, Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, Criminal Minds, FBI, Hawaii Five-O (2010), Magnum P.I. (2018), NCIS, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and much more.

At a Glance: Watch ION Television Online

With tip-off about to start, keep reading to find out how to watch the WNBA season and other programming, including NWSL matches, FBI, Chicago Fire, Law & Order: SVU, NCIS and more on ION TV.

How to Stream ION Television Without Cable: Stream Online Free

While most of the WNBA season and other programming broadcast on ION TV, you can also stream on web-based streaming cable services, like DirecTV and Fubo, which both offer free trials.

Ahead, find a few ways for watching ION TV with and without a cable subscription.

Watch WNBA games and other programming with DirecTV, which carries ION Television, along with more than 40 other channels — such as A&E, Bravo, CNBC, Discovery Channel and others. The streamer has a free five-day trial available, which will let you watch ION TV. Prices start as low as $34.99 per month for DirecTV’s convenient new Genre Packs subscriptions, making it one of the best live TV streaming services with flexible plan options.

Another way to watch ION TV is through Fubo. The streaming service starts at $64.99 for the first month of service ($84.99 per month afterward) with more than 225 channels. You can also record over 1,000 hours of TV shows, movies, games and more. If you want to watch some of the WNBA season and other programming live online free, the online TV streaming service offers a seven-day free trial for new subscribers.

ION Television is available to watch on Frndly TV, which starts at just $6.99 per month. It also has a seven-day free trial available to watch other networks, like A&E, The Hallmark Channel, History, Lifetime, Vice and others.

SLing

Ion is available on Sling Freestream, the free, ad-supported service from Sling that offers select live TV networks and on-demand titles.

Sports fans might prefer to upgrade to Sling Orange + Blue plan for only $33 for the first month of service ($65.99 per month afterward) to watch a wider range of channels, such as ESPN, ABC, TNT, Bravo, FreeForm and others. Sling Orange + Blue also features Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, CNN, Fox News, TBS, MSNBC and much more.

Please note: Pricing and channel availability varies from TV market to TV market.

Where to Stream Ion TV for Free

Ion TV is available as a FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channel on select services, including Sling Freestream and Amazon’s Fire TV Channels, However, you’ll get access to other sports channels and more content when you upgrade to paid subscriptions.

To watch ION TV for free on Amazon Prime, all you need is an Amazon account. While it’s free to sign up, sports lovers can watch even more — including WNBA games and NWSL matches — with a membership to Amazon Prime or the standalone Prime Video streaming service, which both offer 30-day free trials to eligible new subscribers.

Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime to take advantage of everything the service has to offer, including access to Prime Video, Prime Gaming and Amazon Photos; fast free shipping in less than two days with Prime Delivery; in-store discounts at Whole Foods Market; access to exclusive shopping events — such as Prime Day and Black Friday — and much more. Learn more about Amazon Prime and its benefits here.

How to Watch ION Television on Cable

WNBA games and other programming broadcast on ION TV in the U.S. You can watch online with any of the above streaming services, like Sling FreeStream, or over-in-air with a digital TV antenna. You can find your local ION TV broadcast with your ZIP code here.