Sports fans across America were left stumped when news came through that Fox Sports will be rebranded as Bally Sports from the 1st of April. That meant a total of 19 regional sports networks (RSNs) falling under the ownership of the Sinclair Broadcast Group in partnership with Bally’s Corporation. But once the initial disappointment of bidding farewell to Fox Sports subsided, the real question came up – how can one get live coverage and stream games on Bally Sports?
On the whole, things are still quite merry for traditional cable TV and satellite service subscribers as Bally Sports will be available to them on the channels that once hosted Fox Sports RSNs. But what about the cord-cutters, did they jump the gun in transitioning from cable to streaming services?
The dearth of streaming options available for Bally Sports means that every possible avenue to watch live games is worth exploring. So that is what we will look at today, at the end of the first week of MLB.
Bally Sports: South | Midwest | Ohio | Detroit | Wisconsin
Bally Sports Live Streaming Options
After being dropped from their domains a couple of years back, owing chiefly to contractual and monetary disagreements, the Sinclair Broadcast Group hasn’t been able to get a lot of streaming services to take up Bally Sports RSNs again. This includes YouTube TV, Hulu+ Live TV, Sling TV, and Fobo TV – four of the most pre-eminent streaming services for sports fans. This has been a major thorn in their refurbished network sides. But network issues notwithstanding, there are, in fact, a few ways by which one could potentially get access to the games.
AT&T TV
With most third-party streaming services not playing ball, American sports fans are left with a grand total of one streaming service that hosts Bally Sports on its platform- AT&T TV. Being the lone streaming friend to the Sinclair Group and Bally’s corp, AT&T TV packages are a surefire way of seeing the games this season. Little wonder, then, that the prices seem a little on the higher end of the spectrum.
Other than complete access to RSNs and live games, these packages offer a ton of on-demand titles to watch as well as additional channels. But if you’re only interested in sports, the Choice Package should suffice.
Fox Sports Go (Bally Sports) app and website
If you don’t plan to purchase AT&T TV packages anytime soon, you could use your TV Experience credentials to access the Bally Sports on Fox Sports Go. But this is contingent on you (or someone you know) already having a Fox Sports cable subscription.
The Bally Sports app is currently in development and will release sometime in the future. So, in the meantime, your Fox TV Everywhere credentials will give your access to all live Bally Sports RSN games and related coverage.
You can log in to Fox Sports Go app (links below) or visit foxsportsgo.com for the same. This is basically an extension of your satellite or cable TV bundle that you get at home. Once the Bally Sports app is available, the Fox Sports go app will be rendered obsolete, but you’ll still be able to use your credentials to login and stream on the new Bally Sports app.
► Fox Sports Go app: Apple App Store (iPhone and iPad) | Google Play Store (Android)
Out-of-market Packages
Lastly, as getting access to Bally Sports RSNs is so difficult, sports fans have tried to skirt the problem by taking out-of-market packages on MLB.TV, NHL.TV, or NBA League Pass (which you can also get through AT&T TV packages). But the problem with these is that they don’t stream local games since the rights to cover them remain only with the RSNs.
Many have found a way around it too, mainly by using a VPN to make it appear that they’re logging in from somewhere else. Doing so lets them view regional games when they air while logging in without the VPN lets them stream other games.
Of course, one can also switch to national networks when the games are broadcasted there. But there are only a handful of games that get aired on national networks, which doesn’t help much for those who want to stay apprised of all of their favorite teams’ games.
Related: VPN on Android: All you need to know
Why won’t national networks air all non-regional games?
The rules that govern which network will get which games in which markets are quite complicated. But mainly, national networks get only a few games. Every other game will broadcast on Bally Sports RSN. If you don’t live in the region where the local RSN covers the game you want to watch, it will be blacked out. So getting an out-of-market package is your best bet.
So if you want to catch all the live game coverage (and more!) without having to go back to your cable TV operator, these are all the ways that you can stream Bally Sports and watch the latest MLB season games live.
