An inexplicable forecast for rain hopefully won't dampen the spirit of excitement for the Boston Marathon, which takes place on Monday, April 21.
US: ESPN (live TV streaming) | WCVB (free)
UK: Discovery Plus
AU: FloSports
Watch abroad with a VPN
This is the latest World Marathon Major, and also the longest-running annually-celebrated marathon in the world.
The course begins in Hopkinton east of Boston, and takes runners into the downtown of the city through many towns on the way. The latest weather forecast points to rain but that's not rare for this race.
If you're keen to see this major road race, here's how to watch the 2025 Boston Marathon live.
How to watch the 2025 Boston Marathon in the US
In the US, coverage of the Boston Marathon will begin at 9 am ET/6 am PT, with the first wave of the race itself beginning one hour later.
If you're based in New England, you can watch the race on WCVB ABC, and in past the TV channel has offered a free online live stream too.
Elsewhere in the US, coverage of the Boston Marathon will be broadcast on ESPN2.
If you're looking for a way to watch ESPN2 and don't have a cable plan that covers it, you'll be happy to know that several live TV streaming services include it. With DirecTV you can catch it on the standard Entertainment plan, while Sling TV includes it in the Orange or Orange + Blue plans, Fubo has it on its standard plan and YouTube TV has it on its sole plan.
ESPN Plus doesn't seem to be hosting a live stream of the race, and you can't use the service to watch live ESPN channels either.
How to watch the 2025 Boston Marathon in the UK
If you live in the UK, you can watch the Boston Marathon using Discovery Plus, with coverage beginning at 2:30 pm and lasting until 5:15 pm according to the schedule.
Discovery Plus is showing the sport as part of its TNT Sports schedule, which means you'll need the highest tier of subscription to stream it. That's the £30.99-per-month plan called Premium (incl. TNT Sports).
How to watch the 2025 Boston Marathon in Australia
In Australia, you'll have to sign up to FloSports to watch the Boston Marathon, with the pricey sports streaming service being the official broadcaster in the country according to the BAA.
FloTrack costs the equivalent of USD$30 monthly or USD$12.50 if you sign up for an annual plan, with the website not sharing exact Australian pricing. You'll have to sign up to find out!
How to watch x everywhere else
If you're going to be away from your normal TV setup but still want to watch X, you might run into some problems. Thankfully, you can solve this exact issue with a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
A VPN lets you change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your favorite X or other content even if you're not there. Our favorite is NordVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at NordVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
