The 2021 Baseball Season is happening, and you don’t need cable to watch Pittsburgh Pirates games. However, with MLB TV rights, how to watch your Pittsburgh Pirates can be confusing depending on where you live. This article will explain how to watch every Pittsburgh Pirates game this season, no matter where you live.
- Pittsburgh Pirates TV Market: nearly all of Pennsylvania (outside the Philadelphia market), almost all of West Virginia (except the Eastern Panhandle), western Maryland, eastern Ohio, southwestern border areas of New York and Ashland, Kentucky
- Best Solution when inside their TV Market: Watch on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh through the fuboTV streaming service (free trial)
- Best Solution when living Outside the Pirates TV Market: Watch nearly all Pirates games on MLB.TV.
What Channel Are The Pirates On
You can watch the Pittsburgh Pirates depending on whether or not you live inside the Pittsburgh Pirates TV market, which consists of nearly all of Pennsylvania (outside the Philadelphia market), almost all of West Virginia (except the Eastern Panhandle), western Maryland, eastern Ohio, southwestern border areas of New York and Ashland, Kentucky.
Watching Pirates Games In Market
If you live in the Pirates TV market, you can watch the Pirates on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, the Pirates regional sports network. If you live in the Pirates broadcast areas, you can watch their regional sports network without cable on the following streaming services.
Watch AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh on fuboTV
fuboTV offers subscribers local and cable TV channels just as if you subscribed to a cable TV package, and AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh is a part of their channel lineup. You can watch AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh through fuboTV online or on your TV using a supported streaming device like a Roku or Fire TV Stick. Like cable, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh is only available through fuboTV if you live in their TV market. I recommend checking their website to find the channels they offer in your area using this link.
FuboTV offers a One Week Free Trial, but there is no contract so you can cancel any time. If you cancel during your free trial, you will not be charged at all. Here are some features included with your subscription to fuboTV:
- live local CBS, FOX, and NBC broadcast in many parts of the country
- a ton of channels you usually find on cable like HGTV, History, FS1, and more
- a cloud DVR for recording TV shows
- stream to 2 devices at once (can upgrade to more)
The monthly cost of fuboTV currently starts at $64.99. For more information on this streaming service, see our guide to fuboTV.
DIRECTV Stream
DIRECTV Stream is a live streaming service that carries AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh for those living in their broadcast region. However, you have to subscribe to their “Choice” package for $84.99 per month. You can sign up online. They don’t force you into a contract, and you can cancel at any time. DIRECTV Stream also carries Fox, TBS, ESPN, MLB Network, and FS1, which are all the networks that air nationally televised MLB games.
The service also includes a cloud DVR service and allows you to stream to 20 devices simultaneously. DIRECTV Stream is supported on Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, iOS, Android, Roku, and more. See our review of DIRECTV Stream for more details on this streaming service.
Watching Pirates Games Outside their TV Market
If you don’t live in the Pirates TV market, you can watch the Pirates through the MLB.TV streaming. With MLB.TV you can watch every game, for every team, all season long. With MLB.TV, you can watch Pirates games on Roku, Apple TV, Smart Devices, and more. You can watch Pirates games live or on-demand. Here is a list of MLB.TV features:
- Chose to watch both the home and away broadcast.
- Live Game DVR Controls
- Full Game Archives
- Customized Fantasy Player Tracker
- Clickable Linescores
- A Pitch by Pitch Widget, that tracks speed, location, and pitch type
MLB.TV costs $129.99 for the year to have access to every game for every team. The “all-teams plan” has a free trial and provides a monthly pricing option for $24.99 per month. You can also opt to watch Pirates games through the MLB.TV single-team plan for $109.99 for the year. You can check out their subscription packages at MLB.TV.
Please note that MLB.TV does have blackout rules for games where a team is playing in the market you reside. For example, if the Pirates are playing the Nationals and you live in the DC area, that game will be blacked out on MLB.TV. You can check your zip code here to see which team’s games are under a blackout in your area. Nationally televised games will also be blacked out. The list below provides a general description of whether a game is going to be under a blackout:
- Home and Away games of the designated team if you live within their blackout territory
- Games that broadcast nationally such as the ESPN Sunday game or Fox Saturday game
- Play in games (Playoff tie-breakers)
- Post Season Games, but there is a way around it
Pro Tip: Try This Blackout Workaround to watch the games you want to watch and get around the black-out.
Watching Nationally Televised Pirates Games
Nationally Televised MLB games air on Fox, TBS, ESPN, MLB Network, and FS1. A handful of Pirates games will air nationally this season on one or more of those networks. You can check here for the MLB’s national TV schedule. You can watch nationally televised games using MLB.TV with this blackout workaround. You can also watch nationally televised games using one of the streaming services listed below.
DIRECTV Stream
Through the DIRECTV Stream “Choice” package for $84.99 per month, you can watch nationally televised MLB games on Fox, TBS, ESPN, MLB Network, and FS1. You can sign up online, and you can cancel at any time. The service also includes a cloud DVR service and allows you to stream to 20 devices simultaneously. DIRECTV Stream is supported on Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, iOS, Android, Roku, and more. See our review of DIRECTV Stream for more details on this streaming service.
fuboTV
FuboTV carries the local Fox channel in some parts of the country along with MLB Network, ESPN and FS1 for watching nationally televised games. However, fuboTV doesn’t carry TBS.
They offer a 1-week free trial. After the trial, its basic package costs $64.99/month. The FuboTV app is available on major platforms, including AppleTV, AndroidTV, Roku, and Amazon FireTV. Check out our review of FuboTV for more details.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV cost $64.99/month per month and includes a DVR. YouTube TV carries the local Fox channel in most parts of the country. They also provide access to TBS, ESPN, MLB Network, and FS1 for watching nationally televised games.
Youtube TV supports Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. The YouTube TV app isn’t available on Roku. However, users can use YouTube TV through the YouTube app on Roku devices. Please read our review of YouTube TV for more details.
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu carries the local Fox channel in most parts of the country, along with TBS, ESPN, and FS1 for watching nationally televised games.
Hulu Live TV will cost you $64.99 per month. However, that includes access to Hulu’s on-demand streaming library, a cloud DVR, and more. To see what channels are available through Hulu Live TV in your area, check out the tool: Channels Available by Zip Code
Hulu is supported on Roku, Fire TV Devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, iOS, Android, and more. For more information on this service, please check out Hulu Live TV review.
Sling TV
Sling carries, carries TBS, ESPN, MLB Network, and FS1 for watching nationally televised games. Sling TV also carries the local FOX channel in the following markets: New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, DC, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston, Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Gainesville, Austin, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Phoenix, and Seattle
You can sign up and see if this solution will work for you.
Sling TV is supported on Windows and Mac PCs and laptops, Android and iOS devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Nexus player, Xbox One, 4th Generation Apple TV, Chromecast, and more.
The service also includes a cloud DVR along with other great features. For details on Slings service offerings and the difference between them, check out my Sling TV review.
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