Boston Red Sox
Updated June 2, 2026 · 2026 MLB season coverage
How to Watch the Boston Red Sox in 2026
Most Boston Red Sox games air on NESN, with selected national broadcasts spread across NBC, FOX, FS1, ESPN, TBS, Apple TV, and Peacock.
There's no single streaming service that carries every game. The realistic options:
- Local fan with cable — your provider almost certainly carries NESN. You're set for most games.
- Local fan without cable — many teams now offer an in-market streaming pass through the MLB App that carries the RSN blackout-free — check whether NESN has one. Otherwise DirecTV Stream has the most reliable RSN coverage; YouTube TV and Fubo carry select RSNs depending on market.
- Out-of-market — MLB.tv carries every regular-season game live or on-demand, subject to local blackout rules.
- Casual fan — Sunday Night Baseball airs on NBC, free over the air with an antenna. Apple TV has exclusive Friday Night Baseball with a basic subscription.
Of the 162 Boston Red Sox games this season, the large majority air on NESN; the remainder are spread across national broadcasters detailed below.
The Boston Red Sox play in the American League East and contest 162 regular-season games from late March through early October. Local fans in the Boston market see the bulk of the schedule on NESN, the team's regional sports network — the large majority of games each season, including all weekday and weekend home and away games not picked up by a national broadcaster. National TV partners include NBC (Sunday Night Baseball, free over the air, beginning in 2026), Peacock (the Sunday Night Baseball simulcast, the Wild Card round, and Sunday Leadoff morning games), FOX and FS1 (Saturday Game of the Week, postseason), ESPN (a midweek game package; ESPN also now sells MLB.tv), TBS (Tuesday Night Baseball, postseason), Apple TV (exclusive Friday Night Baseball doubleheaders), Netflix (the season-opening game and the Home Run Derby), and MLB Network (out-of-market reruns and select live broadcasts). For viewers outside the team's home TV market, MLB.tv is the league's direct-to-consumer streaming service and carries every regular-season game live or on-demand — though local games are blacked out in your home market.
Where to Watch the Boston Red Sox
Eight live-streaming and broadcast services together cover the full Boston Red Sox schedule. Here's what each carries and who it's best for:
MLB.tv
Best for out-of-market fansThe league's official direct-to-consumer streaming service. Carries every regular-season game live or on-demand. The catch: local games are blacked out in your home TV market, so MLB.tv is the answer for fans living outside the Boston Red Sox' home region — not for fans in Boston.
- Every out-of-market regular-season game live or on-demand
- Multiple feeds per game (home, away, audio-only Spanish broadcast)
- Pause-and-rewind, condensed game replays, classic games archive
- Single-team subscription tier is cheaper than full league access
- Some T-Mobile mobile plans include MLB.tv for free annually
NESN (RSN)
Primary local broadcasterThe team's regional sports network — the large majority of Boston Red Sox games each season. Available through most cable and satellite providers in the team's home market. Streaming availability varies: DirecTV Stream carries virtually all RSNs nationwide; YouTube TV and Fubo carry some RSNs in specific markets. Check the service's channel lineup for NESN before subscribing.
DirecTV Stream
Most cable-like coverage of any live-TV streaming service. Carries virtually every team's RSN nationwide plus all the major national MLB broadcasters (FOX, FS1, ESPN, TBS, MLB Network). Premium pricing but the most comprehensive single-service option for cord cutters who want to keep things simple.
YouTube TV
Carries all major national MLB broadcasters and select RSNs depending on your market. The most popular live-TV streaming service overall. Strong DVR and multi-stream support. RSN availability for NESN varies — verify on YouTube TV's site before subscribing.
Apple TV
Friday Night BaseballApple has exclusive rights to Friday Night Baseball — a weekly doubleheader most Fridays during the regular season. A standalone Apple TV subscription is required (no other service carries these games). Coverage is national, with no blackout rules.
NBC (broadcast)
Free optionBeginning in 2026, NBC carries Sunday Night Baseball — the marquee weekly national game — on its over-the-air broadcast network. With a simple HD antenna it's completely free, no subscription or cable login required. NBC also airs select primetime games on Opening Day and Labor Day, and the Sunday night game is simulcast on Peacock.
Fubo
Carries the major national MLB broadcasters (FOX, FS1, ESPN, MLB Network, TBS) and some RSNs depending on the market. Coverage for NESN specifically varies — Fubo's RSN lineup changed substantially after the Diamond Sports bankruptcy in 2024. Check current Fubo channel lineup for your market.
Peacock
NBC's streaming service is the streaming home of the new NBC package: the Sunday Night Baseball simulcast, MLB Sunday Leadoff morning games (which moved here from the Roku Channel), and the entire Wild Card round of the postseason. Peacock Premium subscription required.
How to Watch Boston Red Sox Games by Type
Local Boston Red Sox Games (NESN)
The vast majority of Boston Red Sox games — both home and road — air on NESN: approximately 150 of 162 games this season. The RSN is available through cable and satellite providers in the team's home market and through select live-TV streaming services (most reliably DirecTV Stream).
Apple Friday Night Baseball (Apple TV)
Apple has exclusive rights to Friday Night Baseball. Most Fridays during the regular season, Apple TV airs a doubleheader (typically 7 PM ET and 10 PM ET start times). These games are only available on Apple TV — they're blacked out from MLB.tv, cable, and all other streaming services. A standalone Apple TV subscription is required.
MLB Sunday Leadoff (Peacock)
Sunday Leadoff — a national Sunday morning game most weeks of the regular season — is carried on Peacock beginning in 2026, after NBCUniversal reacquired the package (it aired on the Roku Channel for free from 2023 through 2025). It now requires a Peacock Premium subscription rather than being free.
Sunday Night Baseball (NBC / Peacock)
Beginning in 2026, Sunday Night Baseball airs on NBC — free over the air with an HD antenna — and is simulcast on Peacock. (The package aired on ESPN from 1990 through 2025 before moving to NBC.) It's the marquee weekly national broadcast slot.
ESPN Midweek Games & MLB.tv
Under the 2026 rights deal, ESPN no longer carries Sunday Night Baseball or the Wild Card round. Instead it airs a midweek national game package and has become the seller of MLB.tv, the out-of-market streaming service — so new MLB.tv subscriptions are now purchased through ESPN as well as through MLB directly. The Boston Red Sox are scheduled for 2 ESPN national appearances this season.
FOX Saturday Game of the Week (FOX / FS1)
FOX and FS1 carry Saturday afternoon and evening games during the regular season, plus postseason coverage including the World Series. FOX is free over-the-air with an HD antenna; FS1 requires cable or a streaming service that includes it (most do). The Boston Red Sox have 8 FOX/FS1 broadcasts scheduled.
TBS Tuesday Night Baseball (TBS)
TBS carries Tuesday night national broadcasts during the regular season and postseason coverage including the League Division Series and League Championship Series. Available through Fubo, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling Blue, and DirecTV Stream. The Boston Red Sox have 2 TBS broadcasts this season.
Postseason (FOX, FS1, ESPN, TBS, MLB Network)
MLB's postseason airs across multiple national broadcasters. The Wild Card round airs on NBC and Peacock beginning in 2026 (it was on ESPN through 2025). League Division Series and League Championship Series rotate between TBS and FOX/FS1. The World Series airs on FOX. None of these are blacked out — all postseason games are available nationally.
MLB.tv: The Out-of-Market Answer
MLB.tv is the league's direct-to-consumer streaming service. A subscription gets you every regular-season game from every team, live or on-demand, on virtually any device. There's also a single-team tier that costs less than the full league access if you only follow the Boston Red Sox.
The Blackout Rule
MLB.tv blacks out games when both teams play in your local TV market. For Boston Red Sox fans living in the Boston region, this means Boston Red Sox games are not available live on MLB.tv. The intent is to protect local broadcaster rights — those games air locally on the RSN. Blacked-out games become available on-demand approximately 90 minutes after the game ends. For a local cord-cutter, check whether the Boston Red Sox offer an in-market streaming pass through the MLB App — that, not MLB.tv, is the blackout-free in-market option.
For fans living outside the Boston Red Sox' home market, MLB.tv is the most direct way to watch every game live. It's also the standard answer for college students attending school far from home, expats, military families, and casual fans following a team they don't live near.
Friday and Sunday Game Restrictions
Beyond the local-market blackout, MLB.tv has two additional limits worth knowing: Apple TV Friday Night Baseball games are not available on MLB.tv, and Peacock Sunday Leadoff games are typically delayed on MLB.tv until the broadcast concludes. To watch these specific games live, you need the respective Apple TV or Peacock platform.
T-Mobile Tuesdays
T-Mobile customers historically receive a free MLB.tv subscription each year through the carrier's T-Mobile Tuesdays promotion. The offer typically activates in late March or early April. If you're already a T-Mobile customer, check the T-Mobile Tuesdays app before subscribing directly.
Free Ways to Watch the Boston Red Sox
MLB is more cable-locked than NFL — but there are still legitimate free options:
- Sunday Night Baseball on NBC — Beginning in 2026, the marquee weekly national game airs free over the air on NBC (simulcast on Peacock). The most consistent free option, with just an HD antenna.
- FOX over-the-air — FOX Saturday Games of the Week and FOX postseason coverage are free over-the-air with an HD antenna ($20-$40). FS1 cable broadcasts are not OTA.
- Netflix Opening Night — Netflix carries one standalone season-opening game each year (in 2026, the Giants hosting the Yankees on March 25); it's included with any Netflix plan.
- MLB.tv free games — Opening Day and select games throughout the season are made available free on MLB.tv. Check the MLB.tv schedule for current free games.
- Streaming service free trials — DirecTV Stream, YouTube TV, Fubo, and Apple TV all offer free trial periods for new subscribers. Time a trial to a key series for a no-cost watching window.
What can't be watched free: Apple TV Friday Night Baseball, RSN broadcasts (the bulk of the schedule), TBS Tuesday Night Baseball, Peacock Sunday Leadoff, and TBS/ESPN/FOX postseason coverage beyond the over-the-air windows. Each of these requires a paid subscription to the corresponding service or a cable/streaming bundle that includes them.
Compatible Streaming Devices
All major live-sports streaming services support the same set of devices. If you have any modern smart TV or streaming stick, you can watch on it:
- Roku — Roku Streaming Stick, Roku Ultra, Roku-enabled smart TVs (TCL, Hisense, others)
- Amazon Fire TV — Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Cube, Fire-enabled smart TVs
- Apple TV — Apple TV 4K, Apple TV HD
- Google Chromecast — Chromecast with Google TV (newer models), older Chromecast streaming devices
- Smart TVs — Samsung Tizen TVs, LG webOS TVs, Vizio SmartCast TVs, Android TV models
- Gaming Consoles — PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
- Mobile — iOS (iPhone, iPad), Android phones and tablets, with the option to AirPlay or cast to a TV
- Web Browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge on Mac and Windows