Although manufacturers don't focus on making their TVs only for sports, there are certain aspects of TVs that are important for a good experience while watching your favorite team play. Since a lot of sports are played during the day, you want a TV that has good enough brightness and reflection handling to overcome glare in bright rooms. You also don't want the fast action on your screen to look blurry, so it's important to have a TV with a quick enough response time. If you regularly watch sports with family or a group of friends, it really helps to have a TV with a wide viewing angle, so people seated to the sides of the screen don't see a drastically degraded image. We buy and test dozens of TVs each year, and through our rigorous testing procedures, we're able to see how each TV we test performs in regard to watching sports, and we use that data to determine what models we suggest people buy.
Below are our recommendations for the best TVs for sports to buy. See our picks for the best 4k TVs, the best budget TVs, and the best outdoor TVs, or vote on which ones you want us to buy and test. To learn more about the current TV models on the market, check out our 2025 TV lineup page.
Quick Look
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests are done with specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
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Best TV For Watching Sports
Sports8.8Bright Room8.8Color9.1Processing (In Development)8.3Black Level10SDR Brightness8.6Direct Reflections9.8See all our test resultsResponse Time9.7The best TV for sports that we've tested is the Samsung S95F OLED. This is an incredibly bright OLED model, and its matte screen coating provides top-tier reflection handling, so this is a TV you can use on a sunny Sunday afternoon with the curtains open without glare being an issue at all. The TV has perfect black levels, so it looks amazing in a dark room too. It has an incredibly wide viewing angle, making it a perfect choice for watching the big game with a large group of friends in a wide seating arrangement, as everyone will have a good experience. Colors are incredibly vibrant and punchy, so playing fields and jerseys really leap off the screen.
It has very good upscaling, which is important since there are barely any sports broadcasts in 4k. If you don't have cable, the Tizen OS interface offers a great selection of streaming apps, making it easy to find your favorite sports channels. It also features a multitude of modern gaming capabilities, making it ideal for playing the latest Madden or FIFA game after watching the big game.
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Best Upper Mid-Range TV For Watching Sports
Sports8.1Bright Room7.6Color8.8Processing (In Development)8.4Black Level10SDR Brightness7.2Direct Reflections8.4See all our test resultsResponse Time9.7If the Samsung S95F OLED is too expensive or you typically watch sports in a more light-controlled room, you can get the Samsung S90F OLED without sacrificing very much. The TV is bright enough for use in well-lit rooms, but reflections are still a bit of an issue if you're in a sunlit room with a lot of natural sunlight shining on the screen. Fortunately, you get the same wide viewing angle as the S95F, so it's a good option for watching the game with a large group of friends. Colors are nearly as vibrant, blacks are still perfect, and it does just as good a job upscaling, so you still get one of the best TVs on the market when it comes to overall image quality.
It features the same set of gaming capabilities as the S95F, allowing you to take full advantage of your modern console, whether you're playing sports games or first-person shooters. Like the S95F, it comes with the Tizen OS interface, making it easy to find apps like DAZN, ESPN, or Sportsnet, so you can spend more time watching the game than searching for it.
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Best Mid-Range TV For Watching Sports
Sports8.3Bright Room8.4Color8.0Processing (In Development)7.8Black Level9.2SDR Brightness9.1Direct Reflections6.8See all our test resultsResponse Time7.9If our top two picks are a bit too expensive, or you just simply want a Mini LED model, go with the very well-rounded TCL QM8K. It's a very bright TV and does a solid job handling reflections from indirect light sources. However, it's not the best at reducing the intensity of direct reflections, so it's best to avoid placing the screen directly in front of a window or lamp. It doesn't display the same perfect blacks as the OLEDs above, but it's surprisingly close, so blacks are very deep and look impressive. That, combined with its outstanding color vibrancy, and you get excellent picture quality overall.
It even does a good job upscaling sports to 4k, so the image doesn't look soft. If you're also looking for a great gaming TV, this one is loaded with modern features, so you can take full advantage of whatever console you own. Unfortunately, it has a narrow viewing angle, especially when compared to the OLED options. This means that its image quality is degraded if you're seated at an angle from the screen, so it's not the best for large group settings. If you and your friends can stay mostly seated centered to the screen, you get a TV with image quality that really punches above its price.
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Best Lower Mid-Range TV For Watching Sports
Sports7.9Bright Room8.0Color7.5Processing (In Development)7.7Black Level8.4SDR Brightness8.6Direct Reflections6.5See all our test resultsResponse Time8.0If you like what the TCL QM8K offers but it's out of your price range, go with the TCL QM7K. While it's not quite as bright as TCL's higher-end model, it's still bright enough to handle glare from indirect light sources in well-lit rooms. Black levels aren't quite as good, but blacks still look bold and impressive, especially in darker environments. Colors are still well-saturated and vibrant, so the image looks lively and impressive. Like the QM8K, its viewing angle is relatively narrow, so it's best to sit directly in front of the screen for the best experience. Its upscaling is only slightly worse, and you still get sharp enough details that the image doesn't look too soft.
Beyond its solid image quality, this model offers the same range of modern gaming features as the QM8K, so you're totally covered regardless of what modern console you play on. Like its older sibling, it runs the Google TV OS that's loaded with a ton of apps, so finding the game is easy whether you're watching soccer, football, or hockey. If you're looking for an option that delivers solid image quality and a wealth of features without breaking the bank, the QM7K is a fantastic choice.
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Best Budget TV For Watching Sports
Sports7.6Bright Room7.6Color7.5Processing (In Development)6.8Black Level7.1SDR Brightness8.3Direct Reflections5.6See all our test resultsResponse Time8.0The best budget TV for watching sports is the Hisense U65QF. Despite being on the cheaper side, it still has great SDR brightness that allows it to overcome glare in most well-lit rooms, just as long as you don't place the screen directly in front of any light sources. Although blacks are nearly as deep as what you get from the TCL QM7K, the TV still has a solid local dimming feature that deepens blacks enough that the image doesn't look flat. Colors aren't as vibrant as they are on the QM7K, but they still look quite good, so you don't have to watch a dull image. Its viewing angle is about the same as the other LED models on this, so it's best viewed from directly in front of the screen.
One advantage this model has over the QM7K is slightly better upscaling, so HD broadcasts and streams don't lack sharpness. It still has a wide assortment of gaming features, which is great if you also play video games. This model runs the Fire TV OS, which isn't as popular and is a bit more sluggish compared to the Google and Tizen operating systems that the other TVs on this list utilize. Still, it's easy to find most streaming platforms to watch your favorite sports. Even though this model fits firmly into the 'budget' category, it has better image quality and more features than competing models from most other brands.
Notable Mentions
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LG G5 OLED:
The LG G5 OLED is one of the best OLEDs on the market and competes with the Samsung S95F OLED. The LG has better image processing, which can help make low-quality feeds look cleaner. However, the Samsung is a bit more colorful and performs better in bright rooms, so it's the better option to watch sports for most people.
See our review -
LG C5 OLED:
The LG C5 OLED is an amazing TV and one of the best upper mid-range TVs you can buy. Still, the Samsung S90F OLED is slightly better due to its wider viewing angle and richer colors. While the C5 has its strengths, sports don't really take advantage of them.
See our review -
Hisense U8QG:
The Hisense U8QG is a solid alternative to the TCL QM8K. The Hisense is even brighter and has a slightly wider viewing angle. On the other hand, the QM8K has superior black levels, better motion handling, and offers a much better HDR experience, making it the better TV all-around.
See our review -
Hisense U75QG:
The Hisense U75QG is similar to the TCL QM7K, but it offers better peak brightness. However, the TCL is the more well-rounded option, since it displays clearer motion, has superior contrast, and a wider viewing angle.
See our review -
TCL QM6K:
The TCL QM6K competes with the Hisense U65QF and is a bit better for mixed usage. However, the Hisense is the better pure sports TV due to its superior brightness, better upscaling, and wider viewing angle.
See our review
Recent Updates
Nov 13, 2025:
We confirmed the accuracy of our picks and tweaked some text for clarity.
Aug 19, 2025:
Replaced the Samsung S90D OLED with the Samsung S95F OLED as our top pick, the LG B4 OLED with the TCL QM8K as the 'Best Mid-Range', the Hisense U7N with the TCL QM7K as the 'Best Lower Mid-Range', and the Hisense U6N with the Hisense U65QF as the 'Best Budget'. We removed the 'Best Bright Room' and 'Best Budget Sports TV For Wide Seating Areas' since the current options on our list outperform the ones that were in those categories. We refreshed the Notable Mentions.
Jan 21, 2025:
We confirmed the availability of our current picks and added the Hisense A6N to the Notable Mentions.
Oct 29, 2024:
We replaced the Samsung S90C OLED and the LG B3 OLED with their 2024 successors. We also replaced the Sony X80K/X80CK with the LG UT7570 in the 'Best Budget Sports TV For Wide Seating Areas' category and refreshed the Introduction and Notable Mentions sections.
Aug 08, 2024: Replaced the Sony X93L/X93CL with the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED in the 'Best Bright Room TV For Watching Sports,' the Sony A75L OLED with the LG B3 OLED in the 'Best Mid-Range TV For Watching Sports,' the Hisense U7K with the Hisense U7N in the 'Best Lower Mid-Range TV For Watching Sports,' and the Hisense U6/U6K with the Hisense U6/U6N in the 'Best Budget TV For Watching Sports' categories, respectively.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think is currently the best TV for watching sports in each price range. We factor in the price (a cheaper TV wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no TVs that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here is the list of all our reviews of TVs. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no TV is perfect, most TVs are great enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them. Also, keep in mind that our scores aren't comparable across different test benches, so most of the TVs in the list below score higher than they would today.