The local cable network that airs Boston’s Major League Baseball and National Hockey League games is launching a standalone streaming subscription, marking a first for regional sports networks. The option from NESN will be available starting Wednesday and lets people sign up to watch live games without paying for a cable subscription. It comes as millions of Americans are canceling traditional pay TV subscriptions each year as streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max become more popular. Starting Wednesday, NESN will charge $29.99 a month for streaming access to its network’s programming, which includes live Red Sox and Boston Bruins games. The first month will cost $1 as a promotional price. An annual subscription costs $329.99 and comes with eight tickets to any Red Sox game in 2022. The service, NESN 360, will only be available to people in the New England area. MLB owns out-of-market streaming rights for its MLB TV, a streaming service that’s available nationally. “We believe the direct subscription option will build on NESN’s reach in the region,” said Sean McGrail, NESN’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement. NESN, majority owned by Boston Red Sox owner Fenway Sports Group, is seeking to win over a new, younger audience by offering a digital streaming alternative for Red Sox and Bruins games. But the service will be pricey relative to existing streaming services. Netflix and HBO Max, the most expensive global streaming services, have standard plans that cost about $15 per month in the U.S. Regional sports networks have to charge a significantly higher price for an out-of-cable service because of their agreements with cable TV providers, such as Comcast, Charter and DirecTV. Cable providers have agreed to pay NESN a flat monthly fee based on estimates about viewership. Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC.
Alex Sherman, CNBC
Alex Sherman covers technology, media and telecommunications for CNBC.
Earlier this week, we got the announcement from NESN, the broadcasting home of the Red Sox and Bruins in New England, that they’d be launching a standalone streaming service. Up until now, you’ve needed to have an active cable subscription in order to stream from the network, but those days are long gone now. While on the surface it sounds like a great idea, there are a lot of holes that instantly set the service back.
The idea of having a streaming service no longer tethered to a cable package is huge in 2022. The reason why we’ve seen such a rise in these apps and services is directly linked to the insane cost of cable nowadays.
Granted, they’ve been parceled out so much that in order to watch everything you want to you’ll need close to a dozen apps and will probably pay more than you did for cable originally. Now NESN has thrown their hat into the ring and they decided to break the model on day one.
For the most part, the different streaming services tend to range from $5-$15 a month, fairly reasonable considering the content available. Well, NESN 360 will cost you a pretty penny to the tune of $30 a month, yikes. To come right out and be at least 3x what every other program is costing is just wild to me. At that point, you may as well keep your cable and
That’s the first glaring issue for me, getting games is great, but I already do that with MLB.tv, which is cheaper. Not only do I get Red Sox games but my MLB.tv subscription allows me to watch every other team in the league as well, NESN 360 won’t be doing that. On the Bruins side of things, it’s nice to be able to catch every game considering NHL doesn’t have as easy a package to find as MLB does.
One thing that stood out to me as I was surfing around the NESN 360 site and doing some reading elsewhere was that regional blackouts will still exist to an extent. If the Red Sox are playing on the national stage, you won’t be able to watch on NESN 360. So you won’t have regional blackouts in the normal sense of the practice but you’ll be paying $30 to not watch the fellas because they’re on Sunday Night Baseball, per Eli Blumenthal of CNET.
Next is what may be the most egregious issue I’ve found with this new system, it’s not available outside of the New England region. That’s right, Red Sox Nation, if you’re in Oregon, Florida or South Dakota just keep on strolling. This app isn’t for you and you’re once again stuck on the outside looking in. I understand that NESN is a regional sports network, but they could be at the forefront of breaking that mold and trying to reach their fans all over.
Handcuffing the size of the network that this service could cover just feels foolish to me. These teams have fanbases all over the country, looking at just the region of New England is a poor business move. I’m sure there’s a wide market of people that moved away from the region for one reason or another and may still want access to the shows they know that NESN offer. I mean, come on, I need my Charlie Moore fix!
There will be new content as well as deep libraries for both the Red Sox and Bruins, but is that enough? For those in the area that actually can sign up for NESN 360, it’s a way to save some cash if you’re thinking about dropping your cable provider. For those like myself that won’t be able to sign up without using nefarious means, it’s easier to see the warts through the flashy packaging. Time will tell if they feel the need to expand and broaden what the service can do, but as of now, it’s a tough sell for me.
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If you’d like to watch the Red Sox live online, we’ll break down your options to watch the team’s games and share how you can start watching with a free trial.
The Red Sox were the first U.S. MLB team to produce their home games in 4K.
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If you live in the Boston area, you’ll see Red Sox games on NESN or NESNplus. To watch those games, you’ll need a free trial to DIRECTV STREAM or fuboTV. NESN offers streaming of select games in 4K with your fuboTV subscription.
If you’d like to watch the regional broadcast outside Boston, you can pick up a subscription to MLB.TV to watch the games live or on demand.
Nationally televised games may appear on ESPN, Fox, FS1 (Fox Sports 1), or TBS. Additional MLB games will appear on Apple TV+ (Fridays) and Peacock (Sundays). Those games will be exclusive to those platforms and will not be available on any other service.
If you just want NESN, they now offer a direct-to-consumer subscription for $29.99 a month.
Yes, you can watch Boston Red Sox games on NESN, Fox, and ESPN as part of their DIRECTV STREAM Choice package for $89.99 a month. DIRECTV STREAM is the renamed AT&T TV, which recently rebranded their streaming service.
DIRECTV STREAM has 65 channels as part of their service, including sports channels like ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 (Fox Sports 1), Fox Sports 2, MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, TBS, TNT, and USA Network.
This is the full DIRECTV STREAM Channel List.
Every DIRECTV STREAM subscriber can record up to Unlimited on their Cloud DVR, while up to 20 subscribers can stream at the same time.
DIRECTV STREAM supports a wide-range of devices to stream the Boston Red Sox including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, iPhone/iPad, Android Phone/Tablet, Mac, Windows, LG Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, and VIZIO Smart TV. DIRECTV STREAM is not available to stream on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo.
5-Day Free Trial
Yes, you can watch Boston Red Sox games on NESN, Fox, and ESPN as part of their fubo package for $69.99 a month, after a 7-Day Free Trial a month.
You can also add MLB Network as part of the Sports Plus ($11) add-on for live out-of-market games and highlights.
fuboTV has 90 channels as part of their service, including sports channels like ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 (Fox Sports 1), Fox Sports 2, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, NFL RedZone, NHL Network, and USA Network.
This is the full fuboTV Channel List.
Every fuboTV subscriber can record up to 1000 hours to their Cloud DVR, or can upgrade to a Cloud DVR. While 3 subscribers can stream at the same time, you can add up to five streams for $10 a month.
fuboTV supports a wide-range of devices to stream Boston Red Sox games including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, iPhone/iPad, Android Phone/Tablet, Mac, Windows, Xbox, LG Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, and VIZIO Smart TV. fuboTV is not available to stream on PlayStation and Nintendo.
7-Day Free Trial
Yes, you can watch Boston Red Sox games on NESN, Fox, and ESPN as part of their Choice package for $84.99 a month. AT&T TV (previously called AT&T TV NOW), has been replaced by DIRECTV STREAM.
AT&T TV has 65 channels as part of their service, including sports channels like ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 (Fox Sports 1), Fox Sports 2, MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, TBS, TNT, and USA Network.
This is the full AT&T TV Channel List.
Every AT&T TV subscriber can record up to 20 hours on their Cloud DVR, while up to 20 subscribers can stream at the same time.
AT&T TV supports a wide-range of devices to stream the Boston Red Sox including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, iPhone/iPad, Android Phone/Tablet, Mac, Windows, LG Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, and VIZIO Smart TV. AT&T TV is not available to stream on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo.
Sign Up
Yes, you can watch Boston Red Sox games on Fox and ESPN as part of their Hulu Live TV package for $69.99 a month, after a Sign Up a month.
Hulu Live TV has 70 channels as part of their service, including sports channels like ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 (Fox Sports 1), Fox Sports 2, NFL Network, TBS, TNT, and USA Network.
This is the full Hulu Live TV Channel List.
Every Hulu Live TV subscriber can record up to Unlimited on their Cloud DVR, while 2 users can stream at the same time. For $14.99/month, you can upgrade to a 200 Hour DVR (with skippable ads) and use on unlimited screens at home and three on-the-road.
Hulu Live TV supports a wide-range of devices to stream Boston Red Sox games including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, iPhone/iPad, Android Phone/Tablet, Mac, Windows, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, LG Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, and VIZIO Smart TV.
Sign Up
Yes, you can watch Boston Red Sox games on Fox and ESPN as part of their YouTube TV package for $64.99 a month.
YouTube TV has 60 channels as part of their service, including sports channels like ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 (Fox Sports 1), Fox Sports 2, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, TBS, TNT, and USA Network.
This is the full YouTube TV Channel List.
Every YouTube TV subscriber can record to their Unlimited Cloud DVR, while 3 users can stream at the same time.
YouTube TV supports a wide-range of devices to stream Boston Red Sox games including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, iPhone/iPad, Android Phone/Tablet, Mac, Windows, PlayStation, Xbox, LG Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, and VIZIO Smart TV. YouTube TV is not available to stream on Nintendo.
Sign Up
Yes, you can watch Boston Red Sox games on ESPN as part of their Sling Orange package for $35 a month. You can also add MLB Network as part of the Sports Extra ($15) add-on (or $11 if you only subscribe to Sling Orange/Blue).
Sling Orange has 30 channels as part of their service, including sports channels like ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 (Fox Sports 1), NFL Network, TBS, TNT, and USA Network.
This is the full Sling TV Channel List.
Every Sling TV subscriber can record up to 50 hours to their Cloud DVR, while 1 users can stream at the same time. You can upgrade to a 50 Hour DVR for $5 a month.
Sling TV supports a wide-range of devices to stream Boston Red Sox games including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, iPhone/iPad, Android Phone/Tablet, Mac, Windows, Xbox, LG Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, and VIZIO Smart TV. Sling TV is not available to stream on PlayStation and Nintendo.
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