October 14, 2024

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Watch the MLB playoffs online: A how-to guide for cord cutters

Wow, this has been a World Series for the ages, as the Washington Nationals—facing elimination—blasted the Houston Astros 7-2 last night after one of the most controversial umpire calls—against the Nationals, no less—in the game’s storied history. You won’t want to miss tonight’s game, which will determine which team becomes world champion. Yes, Major League Baseball makes it hard for cord-cutters to catch the series, but our guide will show you how you can watch the finale without signing up for a long-term contract with a cable company.

If you have an over-the-air antenna and live within reach of your local Fox TV affiliate, you can catch the action without spending another dime when game 7 of the World Series starts at 8:08 p.m. Eastern time.  Don’t live within range of your local Fox affiliate’s broadcast tower? No worries, you still have plenty of options.

flat tv antenna Jason Cirpriani

You can watch the World Series on Fox with just an antenna, provided your TV has a tuner (and almost all of them do). 

Sling TV

Sling TV is your single best option for watching the postseason without a cable subscription. In fact, you can access a significant number of games for what you’d pay for a couple of beers at the ballpark. The Sling Orange + Sling Blue package includes ESPN, TBS, Fox Sports 1, and local Fox affiliates in select markets for just $25 per month. You can get MLBN by subscribing to the Sports Extra package for an additional $10 a month.

sling tv ui Sling TV

A Sling TV subscription is your best option for streaming almost every game of baseball’s postseason.

If you’re hesitant to add a streaming subscription to your budget just for the privilege of watching postseason baseball, remember that with a Sling TV package, you get access to many other popular cable channels including CNN, HGTV, and Comedy Central. There’s no contract, so you can cancel as soon as the World Series ends, though you might find you don’t want to. Sling TV also offers a free seven-day trial, so you can essentially watch the first week of postseason play without spending a dime.

PlayStation Vue

playstation vue plans Sony

Playstation Vue offers channel packages similar to Sling TV, but at a slightly higher price.

You can also catch every game with a PlayStation Vue subscription. That’s the good news. The downside is PlayStation Vue’s Core package, which includes ESPN, TBS, Fox, FS1 and MLBN, will cost you $55 per month. The service can be used on PS3 and PS4 consoles and has dedicated apps for Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, and Android and iOS devices. You can also stream it to your TV via Google Chromecast  or on your Windows or MacOS computer through a web browser. You can read our complete guide to PlayStation Vue here.

AT&T TV Now

AT&T TV Now, formerly DirecTV Now, offers ESPN, FOX, FS1, and TBS as part of its $50-per-month Plus plan that delivers access to 45 channels of TV. You can get those same channels in its Max package, which bumps the number of channels to more than 60 and includes HBO and Cinemax, but the cost of that packages jumps to $70 per month. 

Neither package includes MLBN, so you might miss some American League Division Series (ALDS) games, but you’ll have full coverage of the Wild Card round, the Championship series, and the World Series.

directvnowguide DirecTV Now

AT&T TV Now provides a traditional channel grid for those who can’t let go.

Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV

Unlike the competition, Hulu and YouTube TV don’t offer subscription tiers with their live TV services. It’s a one-size-fits-all approach that costs a $45 and $50 a month respectively. The extra five bucks you’ll pay for YouTube TV delivers MLBN, which Hulu with Live TV does not offer. As with many of the services, there are 7-day free trials available for both subscriptions.

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