Where to Stream Every Major Dog Show in 2026

The short answer: the National Dog Show streams free on Peacock and NBC's own sites on Thanksgiving Day. Westminster has traditionally lived on Fox's FS1/FS2 and the Fox Sports app, but starting with the 2027 edition, Netflix will stream Westminster live from New York City, with Best in Breed competitions on Tudum. The AKC National Championship is the easiest to catch for free — it livestreams free on AKC.tv, with a shorter highlight package airing later on ABC. None of these require a live TV subscription in the traditional sense — a phone, smart TV app, or laptop browser gets you into all three.

National Dog Show — Streaming Options

The National Dog Show is the Thanksgiving Day tradition most people mean when they say "the dog show." The two-hour special airs on Thanksgiving Day from noon to 2 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and is simulcast on Peacock. It's also mirrored elsewhere: NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, which is available on mobile and connected devices including Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire.

That means you don't need cable. A Peacock account (the free tier works) or the NBC Sports app covers it. Every National Dog Show from 2013 to 2023 can be streamed on Peacock too, so replay isn't hard to find. For 2026, expect the show to fall on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, following the same noon-local-time pattern NBC has run since 2002.

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show — Streaming Options

Westminster is trickier to pin down because its home network has changed hands more than once. For the show that already aired this year, Westminster was broadcast live by Fox on FS1 and FS2, as well as online on FOXSports.com and the Fox Sports App, with breed coverage, masters obedience, and demonstration ring coverage available on demand at westminsterkennelclub.org.

The bigger story is what's coming next. The 151st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show takes place Jan. 30 through Feb. 2, 2027, with daytime breed and agility events at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and evening group judging and Best in Show at Madison Square Garden. For that edition, Netflix will stream Westminster live from New York City, with Best in Breed competitions streaming live on Tudum and the Masters Agility Championship taped for later broadcast. That's a genuine shift for a show that's been on cable/broadcast TV since 1948, and it likely means a Netflix subscription becomes the simplest path to live Best in Show coverage going forward.

AKC National Championship — AKC.TV

Of the three, this one asks the least of your wallet. The AKC National Championship, held every December in Orlando, is built around a free livestream: Groups and Best in Show, Best Bred-by Exhibitor and BBE Groups, NOHS Groups and Finals, Puppy & Junior Stakes Groups and Best in Stakes, Junior Showmanship Finals, Agility, Obedience, and Rally all live stream for free on AKC.tv and remain available on demand. You can download the AKC.tv mobile app, stream on your favorite OTT device, or watch on the website.

There's also a network broadcast for people who'd rather not chase a live stream: the 2025 edition aired as a three-hour special on ABC at 11 a.m. (regional start times vary; check local listings). The 2026 championship is already dated — AKC's own event page confirms viewers can watch live December 12–13, 2026 from Orlando, Florida.

Comparison Table

Free Ways to Watch Dog Shows Online

If cost is the deciding factor, AKC.tv is the cleanest option — free, no login, no trial, no ads gate, and it covers not just conformation but agility, obedience, and Junior Showmanship too. Peacock's free ad-supported tier is enough to catch the National Dog Show live, since NBC simulcasts the broadcast feed there directly. Westminster is the outlier: Fox's app coverage sometimes requires a participating TV-provider login for certain group judging blocks, though FOXSports.com carries some free windows. Once the 2027 move to Netflix takes effect, a standard Netflix account should be the only thing standing between you and Best in Show.

YouTube isn't a primary home for any of the three shows live, but highlights from previous National Dog Shows, including Best in Show judging, are available on the NBC Sports YouTube channel — useful if you just want the winner announcement without sitting through two hours of group judging.

While You Wait: A Different Kind of Dog Show

None of these broadcasts run 24 hours a day, which is a shame if you're the sort of person who wants a dog on screen at 3am on a random Tuesday in March. That's really the only gap dogshow.lol fills — it's a live, shared stream where real, owner-submitted dogs take the stage one at a time, and everyone watching reacts together in chat. It's not affiliated with the AKC, Westminster, or any of the shows above, it's not a regulated competition, and there's no cash prize on the line — just permanent titles and bragging rights on a dog's own page. Entering your dog is free. Think of it as the thing you leave open in a second tab while you wait for the actual Best in Show announcement. If you want a broader sense of how these casual, community-run dog contests differ from a sanctioned show, our animal competitions page walks through that distinction, and the America's Favorite Pet Contestants list rounds up more of the fan-vote side of things.