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Am thinkin of droppping Direct TV and going to something like You Tube but I don’t see anything that looks like baseball coverage. What would anyone recommend. Want to watch ESPN, SEC, And college conference channels plus baseball coverage.
Sooner, my suggestion is to go to the websites for the main programming providers such as YouTube TV. Hulu+, Fubo, etc. and review their channel listings to ensure they carry the channels you want, such as SEC Network. ESPN is pretty much everywhere, but every person’s specific channel want list is different.
For MLB, if you are in the Cardinals coverage footprint, then the new FanDuel app may be the answer. If you are out of network, then MLB.TV is the choice. They are separate from your main programming provider.
Sooner, having lived out in the boonies, then the city and now the suburbs, I’ve used just about every option to watch sports over the years. I’ll run a few down for you, with my rankings:
Free options
1. Over the air antenna. This is the cheapest option in total as you need nothing more than an antenna and a dumb TV, and if you live in or near a major city, you’ll get the major networks and a surprising amount more for nothing. This will not let you watch the Cards all that often, but you can watch the games of the week and some of the playoffs. It basically covers you for almost everything important in football, though.
2. Free Live Sports. This is new so I haven’t used it, but alleges that you can get a number of free channels that show sporting events around the world. I think it’s only available as an app on Roku.
Cheap options
1. Paramount Plus. For relatively cheap, you’ll get your local CBS games for NFL and college. This is good if you’re a fan of the AFC or a Big Ten team. I used it as my go to for regular season games for several years.
2. Peacock. You can watch whatever NBC offers and for a fairly decent price. As a fan of The Office, I appreciated that. Following Big Ten football, it’s nice to get the night games.
3. Amazon Prime. You’re probably already using it, and they are picking up sports all the time. A weekly NFL game plus NBA and NHL coming soon, and I would not be surprised if they dug into MLB soon too.
Low End Full Package Streaming Services
1. Sling TV. This will get you in the door for sports and it’s relatively decently priced, but the packages are somewhat limited individually. It does not have all the local channels, typically. I typically went Orange for the ESPN access but blue has the locals. Blue + Orange comes in a bit less than the other more expensive options.
2. Vidgo. It has ESPN and I had it for a trial and a month. It had a lot of sporting options, and they all came in the basic package. It was cheaper than the big box guys. But it never streamed as well for me, which knocks it below Sling and almost everyone else.
3. Tubi. I think you can get some locals free, but it’s limited. I personally never used it.
4. Philo TV. It’s cheap but I’m not sure there’s any sports at all on it, so it’s obviously last if you’re needing that.
Full Service TV Providers
1. YouTube TV. This is the Cadillac of streaming services. It’s got everything you’d be looking for sports wise and it’s on the best streaming platform there is. I lived in an area with no inernet service (for real, I had to hotspot my mobile device for service) and I never had issues with buffering or cutting out, and very rarely low quality video (always on my end). I used this one at least one month every year (typically NFL playoffs/college bowls) while I lived in the country.
2. Hulu Live TV. It offers most all the channels that YouTube TV does, but typically didn’t stream quite as well or clearly for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was fine and I used it more than any other service besides YouTube TV. I’d say if you like what else Hulu has to offer TV or movie wise, there is some value there.
3. Fubo TV. I used this a few times for free trials or a month. I felt like it did everything fairly well, and it had all the channels I usually used. It just wasn’t as crisp an experience as YouTube TV, so I probably only paid for a month once or twice. It also lacks TBS and TNT, which have a surprising amount of sports you’d like to watch, like the NCAA basketball tournament, MLB playoffs, and will have college football playoffs this year too.
4. DirecTV Stream. Pricey and I don’t think it does anything better than the options above. I used it for a free trial and that was it.
I also used the PlayStation TV service when it existed, and probably whatever else I found at any point. Lol. Personally, I used YouTube TV the most, but you can try out free trials to see what you like best. If you have multiple emails that you use regularly, you could probably try out all the services back to back for a few months straight…
As a reminder, if you live in Cardinals territory, you either have to subscribe to a provider that carries FanDuel Sports Midwest or you will need to get the new FD standalone app to see Cardinals games. Out of network, subscribe to MLB.TV, which is not part of anyone’s programming package.
“Out of network”…I never would have imagined that attempting to watch a ballgame would he similar to attempting to understand the fine print contained in the explanation of a health plan supplement.
Does this new “FanDuel Sports Midwest” channel offer the ease and convenience of placing a large wager on a baseball game from the comfort of your den? Press the $ icon button on the remote and have access to instant high roller action? If so, Billy Jr. must be beside himself with joy whenever his thoughts take into consideration the profit potential of this new and wondrous instrument of revenue enrichment. Is he allowed to wager on the action?
I really hope Fanduel doesn’t have betting info all over the game. It is really annoying even going to ESPN and seeing betting odds taking up more room on the NFL weekly scoreboard than the actual games.
Unfortunately the best way to watch your team is to live out of market with MLB.tv. $150 for 90% of games and then you can watch other games as well. You could maybe get a VPN and watch your team even in market, but I research that first to make sure MLB.tv doesn’t bypass the VPN location somehow.
You guys have provided some good info for Sooner. As ATM alluded, not all VPNs do a a good job sidestepping blackout restrictions. NordVPN is one that I’ve read that consistently does well, although I don’t need or use it. It also rates highly as a VPN for overall use too, and I’m thinking about getting it for my own personal data and identity protection.
Another thing I’ll add is if you fall into one of the discount categories, don’t forget to take it. MLB.tv and other services often give discounts if you’re a senior citizen, veteran, student, educator, etc.
I believe the merger is Hulu and Fubo. They are competitive streaming packages. It looks like they will remain separate after the merger, which will take 12-18 months to complete. It looks like the motivation is for Disney to get its new sports venture going with FOX and Discovery, which Fubo was trying to block.
For out of market fans who subscribe to T-Mobile already, this is a no-brainer.
friendly reminder to T-Mobile customers, you can redeem your free mlb tv for the year starting today pic.twitter.com/WVBytuBnBe
— Stew (@StewStilez) March 25, 2025
Dom, we’ve been old school radio listeners since Dish dropped Fox Sports Midwest. Looking back we’d likely be on our 4th or 5th provider, constantly chasing down broadcasts.
All the info needed about options available in these constant broadcast threads, is what we decided to avoid, and we’re glad we did. Major headache.
The game recap highlights are free everywhere. I compare mlb to purchasing a pay-per-view event. Pass.
I stopped what I was doing this morning to help this fan out. Maybe it can be of value to someone reading this, as well. She wrote to me overnight because the Cardinals and FanDuel make it almost impossible to contact them directly.
Companies today are more focused on expense control than revenue generation. Good customer support is needed to acquire new customers and keep them. I will stop this rant before I get worked up…
Anyway, here is our exchange.
I am a 76 year old who has been a Cardinal fan my whole life! I have moved to Washington State to be near family. I am more than EXTREMELY disappointed that I am apparently unable to access Fandual to watch Cardinal games this year! I have tried various formats and Fandual directly and each time the response is that it is unavailable in my zip code 98022. Please explain this to me and hopefully tell me how to remedy this situation. This is the first time in years that I will not be able to watch opening day and opening day festivities and I am heart broken!
Hello, Janice. You moved out of the Cardinals TV territory so cannot subscribe to FanDuel Sports Midwest. But you can still see the games. There are two ways to watch games when you live out of market.
The first option is via MLB.TV. This is what I use. If you have a smart TV, you can stream all the games all season to your TV using MLB.TV. You can also view games on your phone or tablet (if you use them). Think of it like subscribing to Netflix or HBO.
MLB.TV costs $150 per year and includes all teams’ games except for the ones in your area (my guess is the Mariners are blacked out) as well as most minor league games if you care about (Cardinals) prospects. Audio is also included if you want to listen to the radio telecast (from KMOX or other) instead.
Here is the link to order, which is directly from MLB. They offer a free trial.
https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/subscribe/sny/1
If by chance you are a T-Mobile customer for your cell phone, they give their customers MLB.TV for free.
https://www.t-mobile.com/benefits/mlb
Your second choice is MLB Extra Innings. It is like MLB.TV, but not every game is included. The service is ordered from and provided by the paid television provider you already have. Across the USA, the most popular provider that offers MLB EI is DIRECTV, but there are many others, too, like Xfinity and Dish Network. Using the link below, click on “Step1: Select Your Provider” to see the list of companies that support MLB Extra Innings. You can see if the TV provider you use already has MLB EI available to add onto your current cable or satellite service.
It also costs $150 per season. One benefit of MLB Extra Innings is that it also gives you access to MLB.TV at no additional cost. That way, if you want to use mobile devices to stream the games sometimes, you can do that, too. Or you could use MLB.TV on the days MLB Extra Innings does not include the Cardinals game.
I prefer MLB.TV because it has more games, but MLB Extra Innings is easier to use for some because it is just another set of channels on your current TV listing. Whichever one you buy, one you get the hang of it, it should be straightforward to use. You just select St. Louis’ game from the daily choices. You can also come back and watch them after the fact if you can’t catch the games live. I imagine with the time zone difference, that could be valuable now and then.
I know this is a lot of information, but I tried to be complete. If you need it, perhaps you can ask a tech-savvy family member or friend to help you. If you have time to work on it this morning, you should be ready to go by first pitch. Good luck!
Brian Walton
The Cardinal NationBrian – lots of good information there for the everyday user. It’s a shame that we now have a company like FanDuel in charge that is likely focused on other motives rather than providing a good baseball experience to a fan base.
It’s a shame that we now have a company like FanDuel in charge that is likely focused on other motives rather than providing a good baseball experience to a fan base.
I fully agree with this. Making money by hook or by crook is all these ridiculous entities are there for. All of these sports leagues jumping into bed with big gambling is not going to end well. It’s only a matter of time until a major scandal strikes and then people will sit back and wonder how it happened. Duh
Advertising used to pay for broadcasts on the networks. Now teams have added pay to view from the customer. Evidently that’s not enough of a cash grab, so pilfer another 30-40mil from the player budget, and stuff them pockets full. Rinse, repeat.
Fans in Arkansas, Oklahoma, as well as parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi can more easily find #stlcards game telecasts on any given day this season, starting with Opening Day. https://t.co/PjQ9XexUww pic.twitter.com/89TvjeNdxe
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) March 27, 2025
FanDuel Sports Network is offering a 30-day free trial is you use the promo code baseball30 (have to sign up for the monthly plan).
I am in Arkansas and my local cable provider has the games on Fan Duel Midwest so that is how I will watch but didn’t I read somewhere where Amazon Prime is another option to purchase Fan Duel for those who have a Prime subscription?
I switched from DirecTV to YouTube tv, knowing that I’d lose Cardinals coverage. I was prepared to add Fubo for the games. The monthly payment for both services would still have been less than I was paying for DirecTV.
But, I learned that I could add FanDuel sports midwest through Amazon prime video for about $20 per month. It allows me to watch the games when it’s convenient for me. If typically start watching about an hour after first pitch and forward through commercials and the inevitable pitching meltdowns that leave me exasperated.
If you already have Amazon Prime, it’s areal bargain and gives me the flexibility that I want.
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