MTV
MTV’s popular, long-running reality competition series The Challenge returns on Wednesday, April 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT with its 35th season, titled “Total Madness.”
If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of The Challenge on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming subscription services:
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FuboTV
MTV is one of 95-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can then watch a live stream of The Challenge on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch most shows up to three days after they air (and sometimes longer) even if you don’t record them.
Philo TV
MTV is included in Philo’s main 59-channel bundle, which is the cheapest among all streaming services if you plan on keeping it long-term. It also comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Philo, and you can then watch The Challenge live on your computer via the Philo website, or on your phone (iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV or or other supported device via the Philo app.
If you can’t watch live, Philo also allows you to DVR programs and watch them up to 30 days later. And even if you forget to DVR something, Philo also comes with a 72-hour rewind feature, which allows you to replay events that have aired in the last three days.
Sling TV
MTV is included in either Sling TV’s “Sling Orange + Comedy Extra” bundle (41 channels) or the “Sling Blue + Comedy Extra” bundle (54 channels). They both cost $25 for the first month and $35 per month after that:
Or, as part of a special deal that Sling is currently offering, you can get a free Amazon Fire TV Stick if you prepay for two months:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch The Challenge live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 10 hours of cloud DVR.
‘The Challenge: Total Madness’ Preview
Like most seasons, The Challenge has a group of 28 men and women all competing for a million-dollar prize. Contestants this year include MTV stalwarts, like Chris “CT” Tamburello and Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, but it also features new faces from Big Brother, Survivor, So You Think You Can Dance, and The Amazing Race.
But unlike most years, there’s a new twist in season 35 that will make things very interesting — each contestant has to survive an elimination battle in order to advance to the finals. If you haven’t won one and gotten a red skull on your helmet, you can’t go through to the finals.
Now, it remains to be seen if that actually comes into play, i.e. someone gets all the way to the end and hasn’t survived an elimination battle. But even if it doesn’t come into play at that point, it will make the on-going strategy within the season completely different than it normally is. Is it better to go into the elimination battle earlier and get it over with? Should you wait until you can face off with someone in particular down the line? But what if you wait too long and then the contestants purposefully don’t vote you into the elimination battle so that you can’t win the whole show? There are so many variables.
Additionally, host T.J. Lavin tells the players right at the outset that this will be the hardest Challenge season ever.
“This will be the most dangerous season we’ve ever had. For those of you who can brave the madness and survive, $1 million is at stake,” says Lavin. “It is not gonna be easy. This will be the hardest thing that you have ever done. You must prove that you can adapt to any situation because you’ll be living in a world of constant uncertainty. Sometimes you guys are going to be put in teams, sometimes you’ll be paired up. But make no mistake, the only person you can trust is yourself. This is an individual game. I guarantee you no one knows what’s coming. Straight up, this season is no joke. So I hope you are f*cking ready. I’d like to welcome everybody to The Challenge: Total Madness.”
The producers certainly aren’t messing around with the accommodations. The contestants are staying in a renovated bunker in the Czech Republic — and some of them are quite dismayed at the living conditions. It should be a lot of fun to watch.
The Challenge airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.
READ NEXT: MTV ‘The Challenge’ Season 35 Spoilers: Who Are the Predicted Winners?
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How to Watch The Challenge Season 35 Online Without Cable