Updated: When Will the Washington Nationals Announce Cable & Satellite Deals?

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Buy Me a Coffee!

TV Answer Man, any guess on when we will learn if the Washington Nationals will be on cable this year? – Steve, Fairfax, Virginia.

Steve, as you probably know, the Washington Nationals have exited its two-decade long (and contentious) TV partnership with MASN and launched its own streaming service, Nationals.TV. The team’s plan costs $99 for the season or $19.99 per month.

Update: Nationals Releases List of Cable/Satellite Providers For 2026 Update supersedes the remainder of yesterday’s story, but here it is:

But what about fans who subscribe to cable or satellite? Will the Nats be available on TV providers which carried the team’s games on MASN in 2025? (DIRECTV, Cox, Comcast, Verizon, etc.)

Answer: Yes, but we still don’t know exactly which ones or which channels they will be on. (See Update Below)

Nationals’ President of Business Operations Jason Sinnarajah this morning told Fox 5 in DC that cable and satellite announcements are coming tomorrow. Asked by Fox 5 anchor Steve Chenevey if the Nats’ Opening Day game against the Cubs on Thursday (2:20 p.m. ET) will be available on cable and satellite, Sinnarajah said he believed so.

In one strange twist, DIRECTV today at its web site lists the Nats’ first game being available on Monumental Sports Network, the current home of the Washington Capitals and Wizards. There’s no evidence that the Nationals and Monumental have struck a deal so it could be a listings mistake. The TV Answer Man has asked DIRECTV for a clarification and will report back here if we get a response.

Update: The Monumental Sports listing was a mistake by DIRECTV which is now fixing it.

Update #2: The Nationals web site has now posted channel numbers for Spectrum TV, Cox and Comcast’s Xfinity. (1261 for Xfinity; 425 or 330 for Spectrum, depending upon the market; 159 for Cox)

Update #3: The team announces that Spectrum TV, Cox and Comcast have provided channel numbers and will carry the team’s games in 2026. More announcements are coming soon.

I’ve written here previously about why the Nationals TV deals have been delayed. (The nine ex-FanDuel Sports Network teams are going through the same thing.) If you want more details on that, click here.

I hope that answers your question. Happy viewing and stay safe!

Have a question about a cable/satellite service, streaming service, TV product, or favorite show? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com or complete the form below: