NBA Streaming Guide 2021: How To Watch Your Team This Season Without Cable

From ScenarioThinking
Jump to navigation Jump to search

id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body" data-component="trackCWV">






















The NBA season is only about a month old, but Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors are already lighting up the league. Meanwhile, the upstart Washington Wizards are making some noise in the East. Can the Wiz continue to build off of their hot start or will the New Jersey Nets pull away from the pack? 
NBA fans looking to follow the drama and stream their team's games will need access to a few channels to catch every second of the season. ABC and ESPN will combine to televise 101 games, TNT will air 65 and NBA TV will have 107. 

All out-of-market games will continue to air on , which will be 50% off this weekend. Fans will be able to get the basic League Pass with NBA TV subscription for $115 for the season while the Premium bundle with NBA TV will fall to $140. To get the deal, fans will need to add in the code NBALP50US when buying a subscription . The code will be active from Friday, Nov. 26, at 12:01 a.m. ET through Monday, Nov. 29, 우리카지노 at 11:59 p.m. ET, the NBA says. Those who have a cable subscription may also be able to find a similar deal through their provi

>Of course, fans of the home team likely need their local regional sports network to watch their team play, as League Pass is only for out-of-market games. This means that you won't be able to able to watch the local team if you live in the same area where your team pl

>While you absolutely don't need cable to watch basketball this year, it still might be the easiest and cheapest choice depending on where you l

>Read more: >Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors during a rece


Ronald Martinez/Getty Im

Live TV streaming services vs. cable>Die-hard sports fans are beholden to regional sports networks, or RSNs, that carry the majority of the games for their local team. These RSNs are usually included in local cable packages, so most cable subscribers never have to worry about gaining access to the broadcasts on these channels: They can simply turn on the TV and watch the gam

>Cord-cutting basketball fans have a tougher path. Because of rights agreements, most like or don't carry many RSNs. is the exception. It has nearly every RSN, particularly the Bally Sports channels (formerly Fox Sports) offered by Sinclair, but you'll need to spring for its $85-a-month pla

>Read mo

>Ultimately, depending on your location, getting a cable subscription that includes ESPN, TNT and the local RSN might actually be cheaper and easier than streaming -- especially if it's bundled with the home internet you'll likely be getting a





CNET TVs, Streaming and Au





Get CNET's comprehensive coverage of home entertainment tech delivered to you






NBA League Pass, NBA TV and blackouts>For NBA fans looking to watch a ton of out-of-market basketball, a subscription to NBA League Pass has a lot to offer. You can get the whole NBA slate for $199 for the season, with commercials and one device, or $249 for the season with in-arena feeds instead of commercials, and the ability to watch on two devices at once. Those interested in following only a single team can buy a Team Pass for $119 for the seaso

>The key catch here is "out-of-market." Most fans are in-market, meaning they follow the local team, and unfortunately for them RSNs have broadcast exclusivity in the region that they cover. That means local NBA games are blacked out on NBA League P

>If you're living in Los Angeles, for example, you won't be able to watch Lakers or Clippers games on NBA League Pass. The same goes for Knicks fans in New York, Bucks fans in Milwaukee and so on. The only way to watch most of those home team games in your home market is to get a service that has the local RSN, namely Spectrum SportsNet, Bally Sports SoCal, MSG Network or Bally Sports Wisconsi

>Services like NBA League Pass use IP addresses to block out games in viewers' regions -- you'll just get a black screen if you try to watch those games. That's why League Pass is ideal for those who want to follow one or more of the teams based in cities other than their own, aka out-of-market teams, but for local fans it's not as usefu

>In another twist, the NBA TV network will broadcast 107 games this season that will be considered national for those out-of-market. This means that you will still be able to watch your local team play on your RSN, but viewers around the country will need NBA TV in order to watch the game -- it will be blacked out on League P

>Luckily, League Pass subscribers have the option of adding NBA TV to their package for an extra $60 a year or $7 a month. This is most likely one of the cheapest ways to get NBA TV for the out-of-market fa

>YouTube TV is the only live TV streaming service that includes NBA TV in its base channel lineup. DirecTV Stream, FuboTV and Sling offer the channel only on higher-priced tiers or in special add-ons; see below for

DirecTV Stream: Best for fans of the local team at $85>For those determined to watch their local basketball team without a cable or satellite TV subscription, a live TV streaming service is the best bet. While it is pricey, DirecTV Stream is the best option for most people, particularly those where the local games air on Bally Sports network

>Below is a chart of all of the NBA teams in the US and their corresponding RSN

>Note: None of the (US-based) services carry the RSN for the Toronto Raptors. Fans looking to watch Fred VanVleet and co. need to use NBA League Pass to get all the games that are not either on your local RSN or on a US national br



RSN availability by team and streaming ser

















Network






DirecTV St






Fu






YouTub






Hulu Plus Liv






Sling












Atlanta H






Bally Sports South





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Boston Cel






NBC Sports Bo





<br





<br





<br





<br





<b










Brooklyn






YES Net





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Charlotte Hor






Bally Sports South





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Chicago B






NBC Sports Chi





<br





<br





<br





<br





<b










Cleveland Caval






Bally Sports





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Dallas Maver






Bally Sports South





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Denver Nug






Alti





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Detroit Pis






Bally Sports Det





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Golden State Warr






NBC Sports Bay





<br





<br





<br





<br





<b










Houston Roc






AT&T SportsNet South





<br





<br





<b





<b





<b










Indiana Pa






Bally Sports Ind





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Los Angeles Clip






Bally Sports S





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Los Angeles La






Spectrum Sport





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Memphis Grizz






Bally Sports South





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Miami






Bally Sports





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Milwaukee B






Bally Sports Wisco





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Minnesota Timberwo






Bally Sports N





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










New Orleans Peli






Bally Sports New Orl





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










New York Kn





<br





<br





<br





<b





<b





<b










Oklahoma City Thu






Bally Sports Okla





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Orlando M






Bally Sports Flo





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Philadelphia 7






NBC Sports Philadel





<b





<br





<br





<br





<b










Phoenix






Bally Sports Ari





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Portland Trail Bla






Root Sports North





<br





<br





<b





<b





<b










Sacramento K






NBC Sports Califo





<br





<br





<br





<br





<b










San Antonio S






Bally Sports South





<br





<b





<b





<b





<b










Utah






AT&T SportsNet Rocky Moun





<br





<br





<b





<b





<b










Washington Wiz






NBC Sports Washin





<br





<br





<br





<br





<b










Some key ta

The RSNs above are typically only available to local subscribers. Refer to the individual service's details below to find out if you live in a place where you can receive a particular RSN. DirecTV Stream's $85-a-month Choice package includes NBA TV and all of the RSNs for basketball, with the exception of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Sixers fans hoping to watch Joel Embiid pulverize the competition will have to look elsewhere. They could jump over to FuboTV, Hulu Plus Live TV or YouTube TV, which all carry NBC Sports Philadelphia, but fans of other teams will mostly be out of luck. FuboTV only offers 10 RSNs for basketball, while Hulu Plus Live TV and YouTube TV only have six. Sling TV doesn't offer a single RSN.>One other note: If you don't recognize the name of some of these channels, don't worry. As mentioned, the Fox Sports RSNs have been rebranded as Bally Sports, because the channels are no longer owned by Fox but Sinclair, which has since partnered with casino group Bally's to rename






















DirecTV Stream is expensive. It's the priciest of the five major live TV streaming services, but it's also the one with the most RSNs. Its cheapest, $70-a-month Plus package includes ESPN, ABC, TNT and TBS. You'll need to move up to the $85-a-month Choice plan to get any available RSN as well as NBA TV. You can use its to see which local channels and RSNs are available in your
























Best options for nationally broadcast games>Aside from DirecTV Stream, the odds are long that a live TV streaming service carries the RSN for your local team's games, which makes the other four services better bets for watching nationally televised






















FuboTV costs $65 per month and offers 10 RSNs for basketball. It also includes ESPN, but not TBS -- which migh



























YouTube TV costs $65 a month and offers six RSNs for basketball, along with all of the national broadcasts including NBA TV. Plug in your ZIP code on its to see which local networks and RSNs are available in yo













































Hulu Plus Live TV costs $65 a month and carries six RSNs for basketball, along with ESPN, ABC, TBS and TNT, but not NBA TV. Click the "View all channels in your area" link at the bottom of its to see which local networks and RSNs are available where y
















































Each live TV streaming service offers a free trial, allows you to cancel anytime and requires a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our