As a Yankees fan living in Cincinnati who also sort of roots for the Reds, I have a unique window into two baseball streaming worlds. One is run by MLB.TV, whose out-of-market coverage lets me watch every Yankees game except those that are nationally televised. The other is run by Main Street Sports Group, whose FanDuel Sports Network app streams local Reds games. The two services ought to be comparable, but there’s really no contest. The MLB app is by far the better way to watch baseball, but you can only use it under two conditions: Either your favorite team doesn’t play where you live (like the Yankees, in my case), or your local team is one of the 10 clubs that partners with the league for in-market streaming. Otherwise, you’re stuck with whichever regional sports network operates in your area for standalone streaming, and the experience will probably be worse. Why the MLB app is better The MLB app can sync radio broadcasts perfectly with the video feed.Jared Newman / Foundry The differences between MLB.TV and FanDuel Sports Network are apparent as soon as I start streaming. MLB.TV’s streams are always smoother out of the gate for me. While video quality can be blurry at the outset, within seconds the stream pops into clear HD quality. On my smart TV—a Hisense set running Google TV—FanDuel’s streams tend to stutter for the first 30 seconds or so, and while they eventually settle down, it’s initially more distracting to watch. Catching up on games is also easier in the MLB app, which shows the inning count in its video player and overlays the score as you fast forward or rewind. That’s helpful for jumping directly to scoring plays, but FanDuel’s app offers nothing similar. And after the game, MLB’s app offers condensed games and recaps, whereas FanDuel’s app offers full replays only. The MLB app’s video player helps you home in on scoring plays.Jared Newman / Foundry MLB’s app has some other neat features that make watching games more enjoyable. My favorite is the option to play the local radio broadcast in sync with the video telecast. (No disrespect to Michael Kay, but I want to hear how Dave Sims is acclimating to his new job.) There’s a statistical overlay for pitch sequences as well, though to be fair FanDuel’s app offers a similar feature. Because MLB.TV’s service also streams other out-of-market games, you also can use its multiview feature to watch more than one game at a time on Apple TV, Fire TV, and Google TV devices. That’s not an option in FanDuel’s app, which doesn’t have much else to watch anyway. The MLB app can stream up to four games at once.Jared Newman / Foundry All told, the MLB app just feels like a more lively place to watch baseball. You open the app and are instantly greeted with scores, schedules, and highlights. The FanDuel Sports Network app feels barren and overly utilitarian by comparison. The FanDuel Sports Network app offers little beyond a pitching stat overlay.Jared Newman / Foundry The FanDuel Sports Network app’s home screen doesn’t have much going on.Jared Newman / Foundry What should be done about it No matter how you pay for the games, you should be able to watch them in the MLB app, where the experience is just better, though that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. As of 2025, five MLB teams (the Diamondbacks, Guardians, Rockies, Twins, and Padres) partner directly with the league to distribute in-market games, priced at $100 for the season or $200 when bundled with MLB.TV’s out-of-market coverage. For five additional teams, the league partners with their respective regional sports networks to offer in-market streaming through the MLB app. That leaves 20 teams whose in-market games aren’t available through the MLB app. Local fans of those teams who don’t want an entire live TV streaming package must instead rely on whatever standalone streaming service their nearest regional sports network offers. In the case of the Reds and eight other teams, that’s FanDuel Sports Network. (A few teams don’t offer standalone options at all.) Even with a FanDuel Sports Network subscription, you can’t use the MLB app to watch live games.Jared Newman / Foundry In the near term, it’d be great if those networks could partner with the league on authenticated access to the MLB app. The technical capability to stream any game already exists—Reds fans who live outside of Ohio can watch them with an MLB.TV subscription—and the MLB app already offers authenticated access for Mets and Dodgers fans who get SNY or SportsNet LA as part of a pay TV package respectively. There should be a system where subscribers to FanDuel Sports Network, Gotham Sports, and other standalone regional sports services could sign into the MLB app as well. Over the long term, the league should just offer in-market streaming access nationwide, with no blackouts. That’s reportedly been the plan for years—here’s a rumor from 2021, and here’s one from last week that says the league wants to partner with a larger streamer on such an offering—but commandeering the rights from regional sports networks has been a slog. CNBC’s Alex Sherman says not to expect any significant moves until 2028, when the league’s major media rights deals expire. In the meantime, the 2025 season is another reminder of how baseball streaming is a case of haves and have nots. Here in Cincinnati, I’m a little of both. Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice. Read...

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We’re less than couple of weeks from the start of hockey season, and the streaming situation looks just as complicated as baseball was over the summer. As pay TV subscriptions decline and the regional sports business model collapses, NHL teams are moving in different directions. Some are spinning up new regional sports streaming services, while others are partnering with broadcasters to distribute local games for free over the air. Others are still clinging to the regional sports model, requiring bloated pay TV packages with no cheaper standalone alternatives. It’s a mess, and it doesn’t help that the information you need can be scattered all over the place. Just like during baseball season, I’ve put it all back together again. Here are all the NHL streaming and over-the air options for the 2024-2025 season: NHL in-market streaming options: An overview for 2024-2025 Below is a chart showing every National Hockey League team, its corresponding local channel or regional sports network, the live TV streaming services that carry those channels, and whether a standalone alternatives exist. (You can also view a version of this chart on Google Sheets.) Note that these options only apply for locally-televised, in-market games. They won’t help for games that air on national TV, including most playoff coverage. NHL TeamLocal channel/RSNStreaming bundle optionsUnbundled optionsAnaheim DucksFOX 11 Plus (KCOP Channel 13)YTTV, Hulu Live, Fubo, DTV Stream, SlingVictory+ (Free)Free over-the-airBoston BruinsNESNDTV Stream, FuboNESN 360 ($30/mo or $330/yr)Buffalo SabresMSGDTV Stream, FuboGotham Sports ($30/mo or $280/yr)Bundled with YES ($42/mo or $360/yr)Calgary FlamesSportsnet–SportsNet+ ($180 per year)Carolina HurricanesFanDuel Sports Network SouthDTV Stream, FuboFanDuel Sports Network ($20/mo or $190/yr)Chicago BlackhawksChicago Sports NetworkDirecTV StreamCHSN ($20/mo)Free over-the-airColorado AvalancheAltitude SportsDirecTV Stream, FuboAltitude+ ($20/mo)Columbus Blue JacketsFanDuel Sports Network OhioDTV Stream, FuboFanDuel Sports Network ($20/mo or $190/yr)Dallas Stars–NoneVictory+ (Free)Detroit Red WingsFanDuel Sports Network DetroitDTV Stream, FuboFanDuel Sports Network ($20/mo or $190/yr)Edmonton OilersSportsnet–SportsNet+ ($180 per year)Florida PanthersFt Laud: WSFL-TV 39Palm Beach: WHDT 9Ft Myers: WFTX 36.3–Panthers+ ($70/yr)Free over-the-airLos Angeles KingsFanDuel Sports Network WestDTV Stream, FuboFanDuel Sports Network ($20/mo or $190/yr)Minnesota WildFanDuel Sports Network NorthDTV Stream, FuboFanDuel Sports Network ($20/mo or $190/yr)Montreal CanadiensTSN–TSN ($20/mo, $80/half-year, $120/yr)Nashville PredatorsFanDuel Sports Network SouthDTV Stream, FuboFanDuel Sports Network ($20/mo or $190/yr)New Jersey DevilsMSGDTV Stream, FuboGotham Sports ($30/mo or $280/yr)Bundled with YES ($42/mo or $360/yr)New York IslandersMSGDTV Stream, FuboGotham Sports ($30/mo or $280/yr)Bundled with YES ($42/mo or $360/yr)New York RangersMSGDTV Stream, FuboGotham Sports ($30/mo or $280/yr)Bundled with YES ($42/mo or $360/yr)Ottawa SenatorsTSN–TSN ($20/mo, $80/half-year, $120/yr)Philadelphia FlyersNBC Sports PhiladelphiaYTTV, Hulu Live, FuboPeacock sub required, plus $25/moPittsburgh PenguinsSportsNet PittsburghDTV Stream, FuboSNP 360 ($18/mo)San Jose SharksNBC Sports CaliforniaYTTV, Hulu Live, Fubo, DTV StreamPeacock sub required, plus $18/moSeattle KrakenKONGDirecTV StreamAmazon Prime Video (no extra charge)Free over-the-airSt. Louis BluesFanDuel Sports Network MidwestDTV Stream, FuboFanDuel Sports Network ($20/mo or $190/yr)Tampa Bay LightningFanDuel Sports Network SunDTV Stream, FuboFanDuel Sports Network ($20/mo or $190/yr)Toronto Maple LeafsSportsnet, TSNSportsNet+ ($180 per year)TSN ($20/mo, $80/half-year, $120/yr)Utah Hockey ClubUtah 16 (KUPX-TV Channel 16)DirecTV StreamUtahHC+ ($15/mo, $70/yr)SEG+ (Jazz bundle, $175/yr)Free over-the-airVancouver CanucksSportsnet–SportsNet+ ($180 per year)Vegas Golden KnightsScripps SportsDirecTV StreamKnightTime+ ($70/yr)Free over-the-airWashington CapitalsMonumental Sports NetworkYTTV, Hulu Live, DTV StreamMonumental ($20/mo or $200/yr)Winnipeg JetsTSN–TSN ($20/mo, $80/half-year, $120/yr)Note: DTV Stream stands for DirecTV Stream, and YTTV stands for YouTube TV. What about nationally-televised games? For the past few years, NHL TV rights for nationally-televised games—including most playoff coverage—have been carved up between Disney (ESPN, ABC) and Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT). Those channels are included with several live TV streaming services, including YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and DirecTV Stream. Sling TV carries ESPN, but is missing ABC in all but a handful of markets. Alternatively, Warner’s sports coverage is currently included with Max, which starts at $10 per month with ads or $17 per month without. Warner says it will eventually charge an extra $10 per month for live sports, but hasn’t turned on the paywall as of September 2024. As for ESPN, most of this year’s nationally-televised games will stream on ESPN+, which costs $11 per month, or $15 per month as part of the Disney Bundle. (Those prices are increasing to $12 per month and $17 per month, respectively, on October 17. Some games will be reserved for ESPN’s cable channel, which is not included with ESPN+ and is not available without a live TV streaming service, though a standalone streaming version of the channel is coming in 2025. You can see ESPN’s hockey broadcast schedule here. Out-of-market NHL games ESPN+ has streamed out-of-market NHL games exclusively since 2021. That means if your favorite team plays in a different market from where you live, you can watch without navigating the regional sports mess. That said, you’ll still run into blackouts for games that are televised nationally, necessitating some of the other options mentioned above. Even when streaming options seem straightforward, complications have a way of arising. For more help navigating the streaming sports landscape, check out these useful tools. And consider signing up for my Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter to get money-saving streaming advice every Friday. Read...

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Some online stores and services have what’s called “dynamic pricing” algorithms. That means they adjust their prices for each customer on an individual basis according to various factors. Instead of being shown the best price, you’re shown a price that the algorithm thinks you’ll pay. Notorious (and controversial) examples of dynamic pricing include airline tickets, ride-sharing services, hotels and Airbnbs, sports and concert tickets. The price you see could fluctuate for all kinds of reasons. You can defend yourself against dynamic pricing by deleting the cookies saved in your web browser. A cookie is a file stored on your device by a website that’s used to track your activity and remember things about you—and when dynamic pricing is in play, websites use cookies when determining what price to show you. If you delete your browser cookies before shopping online, you may see cheaper prices.Joel Lee / Foundry In Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and most other modern browsers, you can press the Ctrl + Shift + Delete keyboard shortcut to open the “Delete browsing data” window. Here you can change the time range to “All time” and make sure the “Cookies and other site data” checkbox is ticked. Then click the Delete data button. With your browser cookies deleted, you should now be shown the best prices when you visit the website again. If you have Chrome on Android, you can do the same thing by tapping More > History. Select the time period as “All time” and tick the relevant checkbox. Confirm with Delete data. On iOS, you can delete cookies via Settings > Safari > Delete history and website data. Read...

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