MLB fans in SoCal can watch the Padres live without cable on MLB.TV free of charge until local Padres stations are announced.
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Padres games will no longer air on Bally Sports San Diego after the channel’s parent company missed TV rights payments. Our top pick for watching the Padres, Fubo, carries the local channels needed to watch Padres games, as well as PAC-12 Network for watching USC and UCLA football. In addition, San Diego sports fans who still follow the Chargers can watch the team on KFMB-TV CBS 8 San Diego with fuboTV.
Watch local San Diego channels, ESPN, TBS, FS1, plus KFMB-TV CBS 8 San Diego. | $74.99 / month | 7 Day Free Trial |
Watch ABC, CBS, FOX, ESPN, TBS, FS1, and more. | $99.99 / month | 5 Day Free Trial |
For out-of-market Padres fans. | $24.99 / month | Signup for MLB.TV on ESPN+ |
The most important channels for Padres fans
Although Bally Sports San Diego is out of the picture, most of the Padre’s regular season is still broadcast locally. Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of the Bally Sports RSNs, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy this year, and the company missed its required payments to the Padres.
For national TV games, ESPN, FS1, FOX, MLB Network, and TBS will be the channels to look for. MLB fans also need to be aware of the new “streaming exclusive games” on Apple TV+ and Peacock. When the Padres are featured on a nationally televised broadcast, or on one of the new streaming exclusive games, Bally Sports San Diego will be blacked out.
| DIRECTV STREAM – Choice | Fubo | Hulu + Live TV | YouTube TV | Sling Orange | |
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| $99.99 / month | $74.99 / month | $69.99 / month | $72.99 / month | $35 / month |
If you live in San Diego
Fubo carries Bally Sports San Diego, West, and SoCal, as well as PAC-12 Network in the “Sports Lite” package, which makes the platform an excellent option for sports fans in the San Diego and LA area.
In addition to Padres games, Fubo carries both the Rams and Chargers every Sunday on local CBS and FOX affiliates and offers a membership pause option for fans who only want to sign up to watch one team. Upgrading to Fubo’s Elite plan will give cord-cutters with supported devices access to FOX broadcasts in 4K, including for the World Series.
DIRECTV STREAM is expensive. However, the good news is that DirecTV Stream is a good choice for streaming NFL games, including Chargers games, and sports fans can also pick up a lot of LA pro sports on Bally Sports SoCal & West, as well as on Spectrum SportsNet for watching the Lakers.
Read our DirecTV Stream review for sports fans.
Technically, Padres fans can watch the team in-market on Bally Sports Plus, but with Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of Bally Sports, in bankruptcy, now probably isn’t the time to add Bally Sports+ to watch the Padres.
If you don’t live in San Diego
Outside of San Diego, out-of-market fans can watch the Padres on MLB.TV.
MLB.TV is the premium out-of-market option for MLB fans. With MLB.TV fans can circumvent the regional broadcast rules and watch any game they like, including San Diego Padres games. If you want to follow just one team all summer, the rate drops to a one time annual fee of $109.99.
ESPN+ – watch out-of-market baseball
During the regular season, ESPN+ carries one out-of-market regular season game every day. While the random nature of these broadcasts doesn’t allow fans in San Diego to follow along with the Padres, it is a fun way to watch a diverse lineup of MLB games.
In addition, MLB fans have the option of upgrading ESPN+ to add MLB.TV to the service. Adding MLB.TV to ESPN+ will get you access to every Padres game if you don’t live in SoCal.
Read our ESPN+ review.
When the Padres are on national TV
Not every Padres game will be available on Bally Sports San Diego. As a popular team that had a nice playoff run last season, the Padres will often be slotted to appear on ESPN, FOX, and TBS, as well as some streaming exclusive games. When the Padres are on national TV, a streaming exclusive game, or in the playoffs, here is how to watch all of the action.