Live & MTV.com
If you’re looking to watch The Challenge and your main goal is just The Challenge, I recommend Philo. It’s currently only $20/month, or you can get a 7-day trial, and has many Viacom channels like MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon. Plus, Nielsen Media monitors your viewing habits so it’s guaranteed to support your favorite show’s ratings. The down side, you won’t have access to local channels like NBC, CBS, or ABC. You can use your credentials to view MTV’s online catalog which will give you some access to Challenges.
Streaming Services
Paramount Plus (formerly CBS All Access) added The Challenge seasons 10-13; 15-35 on their service. You can get a free trial and this will give you access to Big Brother. It also has Inferno 2, which seems not to be available on other platform anymore.
Netflix has two seasons of The Challenge as of Dec. 15, 2021. They offer Fresh Meat + Free Agents.
Hulu has “the Trilogy” as of Feb. 26, 2021. They offer Dirty Thirty, Vendettas, and Final Reckoning.
As of May 2020, YouTube TV has included MTV as part of their agreement with Viacom. This puts the cost of the package at $64.99, so it is competitive with AT&T, but you do get many channels with this package. There are also options for an add-on, but MTV is included in the base package.
Streaming Channels
Amazon has a variety of ways to purchase and view old seasons. Amazon Prime allows you to stream TV content, but The Challenge is not included in the bundle. You will need to upgrade to MTV Hits to stream The Challenge on Amazon. MTV Hits has a 7 Day free trial and costs $5.99/month after that. Currently, season 20 (Cutthroat)- season 31 (Vendettas) are included in Amazon MTV Hits.
If you have an Apple TV, you can also subscribe to the MTV Live network. It costs $5.99/month but you get a little bit more. They have The Gauntlet 2, The Duel, then The Island- War of the Worlds 2. However, you can only access this with an Apple TV, it is not available through iTunes on other platforms.
Free Online Streaming
Season 23-30 (Battle of the Seasons 2012- Dirty Thirty) run on a repeated loop on Pluto TV Channel 298. There are commercials here, but it’s absolutely free. A couple of episodes are missing, such as one episode in Rivals 2 and the first few from Exes 2. Pluto TV has apps for most streaming boxes and is easily accessible for all viewers.
Purchase Seasons
The only Challenge season available for purchase is Rivals 2. Amazon also has many seasons available for digital purchase. Starting with The Island up to the current season. You can buy individual episodes or entire seasons.
iTunes also has seasons for purchase. Their archive has a couple more seasons than Amazon, such as The Gauntlet 2 and The Duel.
The Microsoft Store has The Gauntlet 2, then every season from The Island- current.
The Gray Zone
Of course, there are some sketchier ways to watch The Challenge. They’re not outright illegal, but they’re not recommended either.
To get caught up on the current season, you can use the free trial on MTV.com. If you activate the free trial in a private browser, MTV will not retain your information. So, you can make unlimited free accounts. You can also clear your browser history if you’d like to reset your trial.
International MTV websites have archives of The Challenge, such as MTV.ca. You will need to live in Canada or use a VPN like Atlas VPN that allows you to change your location. This allows you to unrestrict access on MTV.ca. Some other MTV sites have Challenge seasons on them. If you go to MTV Germany, you can watch Vendettas and the swearing is uncensored.
Bonus: The Challenge YouTube
While you can’t watch prior Challenge seasons on YouTube, MTV does have a free Challenge channel on YouTube. It has a lot of bonus content and countdown lists. This will give you clips from previous seasons in good quality. Many of the best challenge moments can be found here if you dig enough.
Feel free to let me know if there are other methods of accessing The Challenge. All of these methods are subject to change. If you notice a broken or incorrect link, I’d appreciate a heads up!
Stop Being Polite 