After the collapse of the deal with Diamond Sports Group, Arizona Diamondbacks games are no longer tied to Bally Sports Arizona. With MLB having taken back broadcast control, here’s an overview of your new streaming options for watching the D-backs.
The change in how Diamondbacks games are viewed follows on from from a change to how the San Diego Padres games are viewed. Similar to the D-backs, the deal between the Padres and Bally Sports San Diego fell through, allowing Major League Baseball to take back over the production and distribution of Padres games.
Starting today (July 18), MLB has also taken over production and distribution of all local Arizona Diamondbacks games, and this has resulted in a change to the streaming options.
For starters, there are now more choices available, including the ability to watch games played through Sunday, July 23 for free at MLB.com.
Streaming options for D-backs games:
- Fubo $75+/month
- DirecTV Stream $75+/month
- MLB.com Free (through July 23)
- MLB.TV $19.99/month
To watch the games for free through MLB.com, an MLB account is required. This account is free to create so D-backs fans just need to sign up and log in with their MLB account details to get access to the free live feeds.
Some existing live TV subscribers may find they already now have access to D-backs games. For example, both DirecTV Stream (Channel 686) and Fubo will now be providing access to Diamondbacks games.
If you are already signed up to either of these live TV services then you can simply tune in and start watching. Otherwise, you can consider signing up to either, with both services offering live TV packages that start at $75 a month.
Streaming D-backs through MLB.TV
For those without a live TV package that includes access to Diamondbacks, the easiest way to get access is through MLB.TV. Similar to what happened with the Padres, MLB.TV is now offering the option to subscribe and watch Diamondbacks games for $19.99 per month.
Unlike its usual single-team and all-teams packages, the Diamondbacks package includes access to all in-market games (subject to national exclusives).
Not only does MLB.TV offer a 7-day free trial with this plan, but there’s also the option to just pay $54.99 and unlock access to D-backs games for the rest of the season.
Watching D-backs on local TV
For reference, and for those living in the Phoenix area, Diamondbacks games can be watched locally on channel 1261 by Comcast Xfinity customers, on channel 686-3 by DirecTV customers, and on 304 by Spectrum customers.
If a Cox subscriber, games can be watched locally on Yurview channel 4 for those in Phoenix, or Yurview channel 7 for those located in Tucson.
Lastly, Mediacom customers can catch the games on channels 159 & 764, while Orbitel customers can watch on channels 225 & 925.
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