Why You Can Trust CNET How to watch A's baseball in 2019 without cable
From streaming NBC Sports California in the Bay Area to watching MLB.TV out of market, cord-cutting Oakland A's fans have many options for following their club this season.
Khris Davis led baseball in home runs in 2018.
The Oakland A's remain a beacon of hope for all small market teams. Despite having the third-lowest payroll in baseball last year, the A's won 97 games and qualified for the postseason, where, yes, they lost to the big-market New York Yankees in the Wild Card game.
This season, the A's might not be able to keep pace with the Houston Astros in the AL West title, but could sneak into the postseason again with another Wild Card birth. Khris Davis led baseball in home runs last year with 48. Davis wasn't the only home-run-happy hitter in the A's lineup; the team mashed 227 homers in 2018, which trailed only the Yankees' record-breaking 266 home runs in the American League. Matt Olson, Stephen Piscotty and Matt Chapman each hit more than 23 home runs last season and are in the A's lineup again this year.
A's fans who also happen to be cable TV cord cutters have a number of ways to watch the A's, whether you're in the Bay Area or an out-of-market follower of the club.
Stream the A's live in the Bay Area
In 2019, A's games will be shown on NBC Sports California in the Bay Area and as far as Sacramento. All of the major live TV streaming services, starting with Sling TV for just $25 per month, offer NBC Sports California.
Note CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of the products featured on this page.
Sling TV
NBC Sports California is included in Sling TV's $25-a-month Blue package. (The plan is currently discounted to $15 a month for the first three months, which gets you almost to the All-Star break.) You can check this site to see if you live in the right market for NBC Sports California. For national broadcasts, Sling TV's Orange plan includes ESPN and ESPN2, and the Blue plan includes Fox and FS1. Both plans offer TBS. The MLB Network is available as part of the Sports Extra add-on, which costs $5 a month for Sling Orange customers or $10 a month for Sling Blue customers.
Hulu with Live TV
Hulu with Live TV costs $45 a month and includes NBC Sports California. Click the "View all channels in your area" link on its welcome page to see which local channels are offered in your zip code. For national broadcasts, Hulu with Live TV offers ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, FS1 and TBS but not MLB Network.
YouTube TV costs $50 a month and includes NBC Sports California. It also includes the channels that carry national baseball broadcasts: ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, FS1, MLB Network and TBS. Plug in your zip code on its welcome page to see if NBC Sports California is available in your area.
PlayStation Vue
PlayStation Vue's $50-a-month Core plan includes NBC Sports California. The Core plan also includes ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, FS1 MLB Network and TBS for national broadcasts. Visit the PlayStation site to see if NBC Sports California is available in your area.
FuboTV
FuboTV costs $55 per month and includes NBC Sports California. Check here for a list of the regional sports networks that FuboTV carries. It also offers Fox, FS1 and TBS for national broadcasts, but not ESPN, ESPN2 or MLB Network.
DirecTV Now
DirecTV Now's $70-a-month Max package includes NBC Sports California. It also includes ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, FS1 and TBS for national broadcasts but not the MLB Network. You can use its channel lookup tool to see if NBC Sports California is available where you live.
All of the on live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid Internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our massive streaming services guide.
Out-of-market A's streaming
If you are a A's fan living outside of the Bay Area, you can't watch the A's on NBC Sports California. You can, however, stream their games live with an MLB.TV subscription.
You've got two options:
- Pay $119 a year (or $25 a month) to be able to watch every out-of-market game live or on-demand, and the in-market (home) team with a 90-minute delay from the end of the game.
- Pay $92 a year to watch a single, out-of-market team. In this case, the A's and nobody else.
Both MLB.TV plans also include streams of home and away radio broadcasts. The radio broadcasts aren't subject to the blackout rule, so you can listen to home team games live.