By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman
TV Answer Man, I see on DIRECTV’s web site that it says it has the most local MLB games. Is that true or just a marketing thing that isn’t really true once you look at it? — Beck, Flagstaff, Arizona.
Beck, you’re right. DIRECTV and DIRECTV Stream are now boasting at their web site that they have “the most local MLB games.” But marketing slogans are often misleading when you start to dig deeper, right? So is this just a marketing pitch or for real?
Answer: It’s for real.
Both DIRECTV and DIRECTV Stream carry more regional sports networks than any other pay TV service, including cable, satellite and streaming. (The two services carry the same RSNs.) Here’s a list of the RSNs both services carry:
Altitude (Nuggets, Avalanche), MASN (Orioles and Nationals), AT&T Sportsnet Southwest (Astros), AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh (Pirates, Penguins) Root Sports Northwest (Mariners), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Rockies), AT&T SportsNet LA (Dodgers), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Astros), MSG (Knicks, Devils, Rangers, Islanders), NESN (Red Sox, Bruins), Yes Network (Yankees), SNY (Mets), NBC Sports regionals (San Francisco Giants, White Sox), Marquee Sports Network (Cubs) and the 19 Bally Sports regionals (14 MLB teams).
That covers all but two MLB teams: The Toronto Blue Jays, whose games are broadcast by Sportsnet in Canada, and the Philadelphia Phillies, whose games are broadcast by NBC Sports Philadelphia, which the two DIRECTVs do not carry. (See this article to find out why.)
No other pay TV service has that many local games. None.
However, there is a catch. (There’s always a catch, right?) To watch the RSNs on the two DIRECTVs, you must subscribe to their Choice (or above) plan. Stream’s Choice package is $99.99 a month while DIRECTV’s satellite Choice plan is $84.99 a month for new customers with a two-year commitment. (The two-year agreement comes with a price lock.) There’s also a regional sports fee that varies by market and channels in your area. You can learn more here.
See a video demonstration below of how to look for your RSN on DIRECTV Stream:
Beck, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
While it may be “for real”, it’s also very misleading, not to mention unrealistic. Yes, DIRECTV carries all those RSNs but how many can you, the subscriber, actually watch? Only those that are in your market, hence the term “Regional”.
So the fact that DIRECTV carries ALL those local games shouldn’t mean much to you – what matters is if they carry YOUR local games.
Directv still carries the most MLB local games, too, Ken. Fubo is missing the Dodgers, Orioles, Nationals, Blue Jays and Yankees. Directv is missing only the Phillies and Blue Jays. So what’s misleading about it? TV Answer man is correct, DIRECTV carries the most MLB teams, most MLB games nationally and the most MLB local games. Period. And Fubo missing the Dodgers and Yankees is about a big a gap as you can get on must have MLB content.