To put it mildly, the last several months have been extremely challenging for sports fans. Since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down virtually every sports league, people have had to make do with watching re-runs of old games on television and maybe even checking out a video game competition or two to get some semblance of a sports fix.
Fortunately, sports fans who have gone through major withdrawals are now able to watch some live games again. The NBA and MLB are both back and playing, and right now the plan is for NFL to return in the fall.
As for how you can watch and cheer for your favorite teams, players and sports as things pick up again, check out the following suggestions:
NFL: Scheduled to Be Back in September
People who are more than ready for some football probably already have September 10, 2020 circled in red on their calendars. According to ESPN, this is the scheduled date for the league’s Thursday night opener, with the Texans and Chiefs going head to head. While this date might change, as the NFL is still trying to get its safe training and game protocols in place, it is encouraging news.
As for how to watch live NFL games when they return, you will have a number of options, including catching your fave teams on major television channels like CBS, ESPN, NBC, Fox and the NFL Network. If you have a subscription to cable, you can search for the live game schedule on your TV guide and watch. You can also install each network’s app onto your TV and then log in with your cable provider’s credentials to watch the game, or you can install a live TV service like Sling or YouTube TV and subscribe for a monthly fee. If your cable service offers a NFL package, you can also subscribe to it for an additional fee, so you can watch even more of your favorite sport.
NBA: Up and Running Right Now
Basketball fans who have been suffering from serious withdrawals are in luck: you can now watch NBA games live. The regular season started back up again on Thursday, July 30 from inside “The Bubble” at Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida. Game 7 of the NBA Finals, if necessary, will take place on Tuesday, October 13, so you will get the chance to watch plenty of games as the 2019-2020 season finishes up.
Looking ahead, NBC Sports reports that right now, the plan is for the 2020-21 NBA regular season to start on December 1, 2020. To watch NBA games live, you can catch them on ABC, ESPN, NBA TV and TNT. Serious basketball fans may enjoy spending a bit more and getting the NBA League Pass, which is the League’s own streaming service that broadcasts each and every live, out-of-market game. You can also get the NBA Team Pass, which is a sports TV subscription service that will let you see your local team’s home and away games. As is the case with the NFL games, if you prefer a streaming service, you can use the Cox Contour Stream Player without a cable outlet to stream the games, or install the network app or live TV service of your choice.
MLB: The Shortened Season Has Begun
According to MLB.com, Major League Baseball began their 60-game regular season schedule on July 23 and 24. Although there have been some hiccups in terms of players from teams testing positive for COVID-19, right now the season is still going forward. Since fans are not allowed to see the games live in person right now, you can watch your MLB games on Fox, MLB and the TBS networks. If you prefer, you can also download the MLB app and/or MLB Extra Innings, which will allow you to watch pretty much all the baseball you could ever want or have time for. And like the other sports listed above, you can also download a streaming service like Sling, or the specific TV station app.\
Sports are Back—Hooray!
The return of live sports on TV is giving sports fans all around the country a much-needed return to some sort of normalcy. While cable is traditionally your most affordable route to getting all of the channels you want, there are definitely other alternatives out there that will allow you to tune in and cheer for your favorite players and teams.