The best free option is ABEMA — it streams every single sumo bout live, from Jonokuchi all the way to Makuuchi, during all 6 annual tournaments. No account, no payment needed. If you're outside Japan, you'll need a VPN set to Japan to access it — NordVPN is the most reliable choice with 100+ Japan servers. For English commentary and no VPN, NHK World offers free highlights. For on-demand catch-up, ABEMA Premium at ¥960/month is the best value by far.
📊 All Options at a Glance
🟢 ABEMA — The Best Free Option
ABEMA is the only service that broadcasts every sumo bout from every division, live, during all 6 annual tournaments. That means from 8:00 AM JST, you can watch Jonokuchi wrestlers on their first-ever professional bouts, all the way through to the final Yokozuna match at 6:00 PM. No other platform covers sumo this comprehensively.
The service requires no account or registration to watch. Open the app or website, search for "大相撲" (sumo), and the live channel appears. During tournament days, it runs for roughly 10 hours straight.
How to Find the Sumo Channel on ABEMA
Download the app or go to abema.tv
Available on iOS, Android, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV. On PC, just open abema.tv in Chrome or Safari — no install needed.
Search "大相撲" (dai-sumo) in the search bar
Type or paste 大相撲 into the search. During a live tournament, the sumo channel appears at the top of results. Outside tournament dates, past broadcasts and related content will appear.
Watch from 8:00 AM JST on tournament days
Coverage starts with the lowest divisions and works up through Makuuchi. The main event — top division bouts — runs from approximately 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM JST.
🌍 Watching From Outside Japan
ABEMA is geo-restricted to Japan. A VPN routes your connection through a Japanese server so ABEMA sees you as a Japan-based user — full free access, same as watching inside Japan. NordVPN is the most reliable option for this: it has 100+ Japan servers, handles Abema's geo-checks consistently, and delivers HD streaming with minimal speed loss.
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🎌 Step-by-step: Watch Abema from abroad
Get NordVPN
Sign up at NordVPN — 2-year plan is the best value. Download the app on your device.
Connect to a Japan server
Open NordVPN, search "Japan", and click Connect. You'll be on a Japanese IP within seconds.
Open Abema and search "大相撲"
Go to abema.tv or open the app. Search for 大相撲 (sumo). The live channel appears — watch free, all divisions.
NHK World is NHK's international streaming service, available worldwide without any VPN or geo-restriction. It broadcasts English-language sumo highlight programmes — edited packages covering the best Makuuchi bouts of the day, with English commentary. Not full live coverage, but a genuine, high-quality option for international viewers who can't access ABEMA.
NHK World also produces longer-form sumo documentaries and wrestler profile pieces that are worth watching for context and background.
The Japan Sumo Association's official YouTube channel posts daily highlight videos during tournaments — typically the best 5–10 Makuuchi bouts of each day, uploaded within hours of the broadcast. The channel also hosts full replays of key bouts, past tournament finals, and historical archive footage. Available worldwide, no VPN needed.
📅 2026 Tournament Schedule
🕐 Broadcast Times by Time Zone
Makuuchi bouts run from approximately 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM JST on tournament days. Here's what that means in your time zone:
Tip: US/UK viewers watching live will need to stay up late — or use ABEMA Premium's catch-up to watch in the morning.