How to Watch NESN Without Cable

In New England, sports are a way of life. And that makes NESN – New England's regional sports network – one of the most essential channels on TV. So when the time comes to consider cutting the cord, the Boston faithful and the rest of the New England sports crowd have to pause: Can they really give up their Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins? Fortunately, there's a way around that question. All you have to do is learn how to watch NESN without cable! With the right solution, you can stream the Red Sox to your heart’s content, with no cable required.

Here are a few of our favorite ways to stream NESN Regional:

	Price	Channels	Free Trial
#1	$69.99 – $139.99	65+	None	See Offer
#2	$54.99 – $86.96	100+	7 days	See Offer

If you’re a Red Sox (or Bruins, or Celtics) fan, then you need NESN — but you don't need cable. Here's why: There’s another type of pay-TV service that offers a ton of the same great stuff that cable does – plus more – while charging a whole lot less for it. This type of pay-TV service is called a live TV streaming service, or “skinny bundle.” Having a skinny bundle is essential for getting your hands on a NESN livestream and watching the Red Sox (or any of your favorite aforementioned teams) online. So, let's take a quick moment to establish what the heck a skinny bundle actually is.

A skinny bundle is a pay-TV service in which you pay each month for a bunch of live channels. Sounds like cable, right? Except skinny bundles stream their content over the internet. That means no regional monopolies, and therefore more competition, which means lots of good stuff for consumers: lower prices, better services, and the option to buy “skinny” channel bundles that aren't all bloated with channels you don't want. Unlike cable, skinny bundles aren't here to force you to subscribe to an extra hundred channels.

There's just one catch — since it's a regional sports network (or “RSN,” for short), NESN is available only in select markets. That’s just as true of live TV streaming services as it is of cable or satellite packages. So if you're sick of paying cable for NESN in Boston, you can easily jump ship to a skinny bundle. But if you can't get NESN through cable because you live in Arizona, skinny bundles won't help you (we do have another solution for out-of-market Red Sox fans, though, so read on!).

If you live in the NESN coverage area, you can use AT&T TV to get a livestream of NESN. AT&T has changed its name a few times over the years. At one point, it was DIRECTV NOW, and after that, it was AT&T TV NOW. But while the “now” is gone, your ability to watch NESN is not.

fuboTV has staked its reputation on treating sports fans right, and New Englanders may find that hard to argue. fuboTV offers a NESN livestream to subscribers in markets served by the channel. Still not sure about fuboTV? Check out our fuboTV review, because reading what we think about the service just might help you figure out what you think about the service.

MLB.TV

If you’re a fan of the Red Sox who lives in New England, you can grab a NESN livestream with a live TV streaming service. But what if you’re out of NESN’s market area? Well, in that case, you can’t get a livestream of NESN — but you can still stream the Red Sox!

MLB.TV is baseball’s streaming service, and it’s a fantastic choice for out-of-market fans. Though obnoxious blackout rules keep local fans from streaming their favorite teams, these fans (and savvy VPN users, too — hint, hint) will have no problem catching all of the games.

MLB.TV is a great way to watch the Red Sox online. And if you’re a fan of other Boston teams, you have options for streaming them, too. Celtics fans can check out NBA League Pass, which is essentially just the NBA’s version of MLB.TV. Bruins fans can check out NHL.TV and ESPN Plus.

NESN was born on cable TV. It doesn't belong on cable anymore, but it still belongs on your TV, so let's talk streaming platforms – starting with those all-important streaming boxes, sticks, and smart TV platforms that will help you put your NESN livestream on your TV screen. The chart below will help you figure out which devices you can use.

NESN helps you keep track of all your favorite New England-area teams. But what do you do when you want to watch teams from outside the area? This next section will zoom out a bit and focus on less regional ways to watch some of your favorite sports.

For instance, there are rivalries besides the Yankees versus Red Sox. Sure, it’s a fun one, but so is watching games between, say, the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. Moving west, games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are also fiercely contested pretty much every go-round. Our “How to Watch MLB Without Cable” page can help you watch all those teams and more.

We can’t forget to mention football as well. There are 31 teams besides the one that plays in Gillette Stadium. For obvious reasons, Patriots fans may first think of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which is practically Patriots South at this point. But you’ve got exciting teams all over the country, from Kansas City to Seattle and beyond. Our guide to watching NFL games without cable can tell you how to keep up with the rest of the action around the league. So grab a Sam Adams, order some lobster rolls, and get started watching whatever makes you happy.