How to watch the World Series without a cable subscription – CNET

The Los Angeles Dodgers are back in the World Series for the first time since 1988. The Houston Astros are returning to the World Series for only the second time in franchise history — and the team’s first as a member of the American League. 

The Dodgers won 104 games this year on the strength of having baseball’s best pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, and an offense led by rookie phenom Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner and his giant, red beard. The Astros won 101 games during the regular season and have a dominant lefty of their own in Dallas Keuchel and are led by a tiny shortstop with a big bat in the 5’6″ Jose Altuve.

Game schedule

The best-of-seven series starts in Los Angeles before moving to Houston for games 3, 4 and 5. All games start just past 8:00p.m. ET.

  • Game 1: Tue, Oct. 24 in Los Angeles
  • Game 2: Wed, Oct. 25 in Los Angeles
  • Game 3: Fri, Oct. 27 in Houston
  • Game 4: Sat, Oct. 28 in Houston
  • Game 5*: Sun, Oct. 29 in Houston
  • Game 6*: Tue, Oct. 31 in Los Angeles
  • Game 7*: Wed, Nov. 1 in Los Angeles

* – if necessary

Fox will broadcast the games nationally, but you don’t need a TV in order to watch. Here’s how you can stream the Series.

Sling TV

Sling TV‘s cheap, $20-a-month Blue plan includes Fox, but you must live in a market where Sling TV offers a live, local feed of Fox and just on-demand content. Check out this Sling TV support page to see the available live channels in your area. Sling TV offers a free, seven-day trial.

PlayStation Vue

Like Sling TV, Sony’s streaming TV service is a cable TV alternative that doesn’t require a contract and features a 7-day free trial. PlayStation Vue is available nationwide, but live programming is still available only in select markets, so you may want to use the free trial to ensure you get live streaming on Fox in your area. Sony doesn’t offer a list its channel lineup by market, but Cord Cutter News keeps tabs on which markets offer live, local feeds of the networks, including Fox.

If you want to sign up for a PlayStation Vue plan for the World Series, then the Access plan for $40 a month is the cheapest option that includes Fox. To sign up for PlayStation Vue, you no longer need a PlayStation 3 ($109.00 at Amazon.com) or a PlayStation 4 console. In addition to the PS3 and PS4, supported devices include Amazon Fire TV ($69.99 at Amazon.com) devices, Roku streaming devices and Google Chromecast ($41.99 at Walmart) devices.

DirectTV Now

Direct TV Now‘s $35-a-month package includes Fox and there is a 7-day free trial. The usual caveat applies: Check the channel lineup in your area to make sure you can watch your local TV stations live.

Hulu with Live TV

Hulu with Live TV costs $40 a month and includes Fox. The first month is free, but you’ll need to check to see which live channels Hulu offers in your area.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV costs $35 a month and offers live, local feeds of the major networks, including Fox. There’s a 30-day free trial. If you live in a market where you can get YouTube TV, then you likely get a live feed of Fox, but there are exceptions. Get the details about YouTube TV’s available networks here.

MLB.com At Bat app

The MLB.com At Bat app (available for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire) is great for watching out-of-market baseball games during the regular season, but it’s less useful for tuning into baseball’s postseason because you not only need to prove you are a cable TV subscriber, but you must also be a subscriber to a participating pay TV provider. The list is short: Arvig, AT&T/DirecTV, Brighthouse, Buckeye, Cox, Dish, Fubo TV, Optimum, Suddenlink, TimeWarner, Verizon, WOW!

If you are a subscriber to one of the above pay TV providers, then you can proceed with the $24.99 Postseason Package. To sweeten the deal, the Postseason Package includes spring training games next year.

Fox Sports Go app

Another option if you are a cable subscriber is the Fox Sports Go app — maybe you want to watch baseball on a screen other than your TV. Unlike the MLB.com At Bat, you can watch the World Series for free — well, for no more than you’re already paying for cable. The Fox Sports Go app works with iOS devices, Android devices and the Amazon Kindle Fire as well as with Apple TV ($179.00 at Apple), Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, Roku and Xbox. You can also access Fox Sports Go from a computer.