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One of the oldest and most beloved traditions in the U.S. is taking place this week, with the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition.

The annual event, which has been held since 1925, brings together 247 of the best young spellers in the country for three days of intense, high-pressure face-offs in front of judges and a live audience. The winning contestant takes home a $50,000 cash prize, a commemorative medal, and gets to hoist the Scripps Cup, the official championship trophy of the National Spelling Bee tournament.

Want to watch the Scripps Spelling Bee? This year’s event takes place from Tuesday, May 26, to Thursday, May 28 at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. The competition begins with the preliminary rounds and the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals and finals, which will air on the ION television network.

Viewers can watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee on TV with any cable package that includes ION. You can also stream the 2026 Spelling Bee online without cable through a live TV streamer like DirecTV, which includes ION Television as part of its “MyEntertainment Genre Pack” offering.

The package gets you 60+ live TV channels — including ION — for $34.99/month, but you can try it out with no commitment with a five-day free trial here. That’s more than enough time to stream the 2026 Scripps Spelling Bee online for free. Continue on after your free trial is over and you’ll also get HBO Max, Disney+ and Hulu included as part of your $34.99 monthly price, making this one of the best streaming offers online.

You can also livestream the 2026 National Spelling Bee online through Fubo, which carries ION on all its entertainment packages. The live TV streamer is currently offering a deal on its Core package, which gets you 200+ channels (including ION) for just $48.99/month (regularly $73.99). Test drive the service with a five-day free trial here and use Fubo to watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee online free without cable.

Fubo’s free trial includes free DVR so you can record the event to watch back on-demand later, in case you miss the live airing.

The 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee televised portion will air on the ION television network on Wednesday, May 27, and Thursday, May 28. Both broadcasts begin at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

Last year’s Spelling Bee was won by 13-year-old Faizan Zaki from Dallas. The winning word: éclaircissement, a French-origin noun that means to “enlighten” or “clean up something obscure.”

Watch the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee online free through DirecTV here.