August in Williamsport is basically a religious experience for baseball fans. If you’ve ever smelled the fresh-cut grass at Lamade Stadium or seen a twelve-year-old launch a ball into the bushes beyond center field, you know exactly why. But for most of us, we aren't sitting on the hill; we’re sitting on our couches. That’s where the little league world series tv schedule becomes the most important document in your house.
Honestly, trying to track all seven divisions across the globe is a mess if you don't have the dates down. You’ve got games in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and even Delaware. It’s a lot.
The Big Dates for Williamsport 2026
The flagship event—the one everyone calls "the" World Series—takes place in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. For 2026, the little league world series tv schedule officially kicks off on August 19 and runs through August 30. This is the 80th edition of the tournament, which feels kinda wild when you think about how much the game has changed since the 1940s.
ESPN and ABC have been the gatekeepers of these games for decades. That isn't changing. If you want to see the United States and International brackets collide, you’re going to be spending a lot of time with the ESPN family of networks.
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Where to find the games
Most of the early-round action stays on ESPN, ESPN2, and occasionally ESPNU. When things get serious during the weekend doubleheaders, ABC usually steps in to broadcast the major afternoon matchups.
If you’re a cord-cutter, you aren't out of luck. ESPN+ typically streams a massive chunk of the regional tournaments and the early World Series games. It’s basically the only way to see the smaller regional qualifiers that lead up to the big show.
Beyond the Main Bracket: The Other World Series
Most people forget there are actually seven different World Series tournaments. If you only watch Williamsport, you’re missing out on some of the best softball and teenage baseball on the planet.
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- Senior League Baseball: This one starts first, running from August 1 to August 8 in Easley, South Carolina.
- Little League Softball: This is huge. It takes place in Greenville, North Carolina, from August 2 to August 9.
- Intermediate (50/70) Baseball: Head to Livermore, California, from August 2 to August 9 for this one.
- Junior League Baseball: This goes down in Taylor, Michigan, between August 9 and August 16.
The little league world series tv schedule for these events is a bit more scattered. You’ll find the championship games on the main ESPN networks, but the preliminary rounds are almost exclusively on ESPN+. It’s worth the five bucks or whatever the subscription costs just to see the speed of the softball games—the pitching is legitimately terrifying.
The MLB Little League Classic
One of the coolest things they’ve done lately is the MLB Little League Classic. On Sunday, August 23, 2026, the Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers are heading to Williamsport. They play at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field.
This isn't just a regular MLB game. The pro players spend the whole day at the Little League complex, hanging out with the kids and watching the afternoon games. Then, at 7:10 p.m. ET, the lights go up for the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast on ESPN. It’s basically the peak of the little league world series tv schedule for that week.
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Streaming and Regional Action
Before the teams ever get to Williamsport or Greenville, they have to survive the Regionals. This is where the drama is actually the highest. One loss and you’re going home to start school.
The regional tournaments usually start in late July and wrap up by mid-August. If you want to find your local team, you’ll need to check the ESPN+ schedule daily. They broadcast hundreds of games during this window. It’s kinda overwhelming, but the production quality is surprisingly high for youth sports.
Practical Tips for Fans
- Check the Time Zone: Remember that Williamsport is Eastern Time. If you’re watching from the West Coast, those 11:00 a.m. games are early morning coffee sessions.
- Download the App: The Little League World Series official app is actually pretty decent for real-time score alerts.
- ABC Weekends: Keep your Saturdays and Sundays open for the "big" games on broadcast TV. You don't even need cable for those if you have an antenna.
Watching these kids play is a reminder of why we like sports in the first place. No million-dollar contracts, no trade demands—just a bunch of kids trying not to strike out on national television.
To stay on top of the action, your best move is to bookmark the ESPN Watch page about a week before the August 19 start date. The specific game-by-game matchups are usually filled in only 24 to 48 hours in advance as teams win their way through the bracket.
Make sure your streaming logins are updated before the first pitch in Easley on August 1. You don't want to be resetting your password while a kid is rounding third for a walk-off home run.