Regional Sport Networks (RSNs) are often a centerpiece of a sports bar’s entertainment. In fact, more than 80% of NBA, MLB, and NHL regular-season games are broadcasting on local RSNs.

However, RSNs relationship with cable companies has been iffy at best the past decade, leading to disruption in service and even some bankruptcy filings.

The Rise & Fall of RSNs

Regional Sport Networks were kings of the sports broadcasting world for decades.

Often these RSNs were part of higher-tier and -priced premium cable packages, being a huge cash cow for the teams, broadcasters, and the cable companies. However, in the early-2000s, Americans (especially Millennials) started “cord cutting” to save on costs.

This led to friction between teams, RSNs, and cable companies, often leading to game/channel blackouts during tough carriage negotiations. As more Americans have dropped cable, so has cable dropped RSNs. In return, many of these networks have decided to cut out the cable middleman and move their programming into a direct-to-consumer streaming model.

In other cases, teams are the ones leaving, dropping RSNs for a mix of local broadcast and online streaming. Several NBA teams did just that before the 2024-45 season, such as the Portland Trailblazers.

The downside is not every RSN, professional team, or third-party streaming service has a commercial/business streaming option at the moment, putting sports bars in a bit of a lurk. The upside is sports bars can still find their local RSNs if they know where to look.

Let’s see where sports bars can still find their local teams’ games.

Where Sports Bars Can Find Their Local Regional Sports Network

Local Broadcast

Chances of Finding Your Local RSN: Low

Like we mentioned earlier, some teams have left RSNs all together for a mix of local broadcast and direct-to-consumer streaming. If your local team(s) have just done that (or are about to), start looking to see if they’re going to air through local broadcasts.

For example: The Texas Rangers can also be found on their team channel via DirecTV as well as 15+ games on Nexstar and other channels.

Cable

Chances of Finding Your Local RSN: Medium

Despite a lot of RSNs leaving cable for a direct-to-consumer model, that’s not true of every RSN. Sports bars can still find RSNs through their local, commercial cable offerings. For example, NESN.

However, sports bars should keep a close eye on how negotiations between RSN and providers go, so you’re able to pivot if and when need be.

EverPass

Chances of Finding Your Local RSN: Low (but with a catch)

EverPass is one of the few streaming services that carry commercial/business license offerings for sports bars. Their service includes NFL Sunday Ticket and Peacock Sports Pass, which includes:

• Sunday Night Football
• Peacock-exclusive NFL streaming games
• Big Ten Basketball and Football
• Premiere League
• Six Nations Rugby
• US Open
• Super Motocross
• Tour de France
• Team USA Men’s & Women’s Soccer
• Preakness

Overall, EverPass carries more than 2,000 hours of sports content per year and over 35 different sports. While you won’t find RSNs, it’s definitely a good bang for your buck in terms of being able to show a wide variety of games and sports to your guests.

EverPass also includes Victory+, another streaming service, that carries the Texas Rangers, Dallas Stars, Anaheim Ducks, and the WHL.

DirecTV

Chances of Finding Your Local RSN: High

Currently, DirecTV has every regional sports network available on it’s platform, except for Comcast’s NBC Sports Philadelphia. This includes larger RSNs like Main Street Sports Group’s FanDuel Sports RSNs; ones previously owned by providers like Comcast’s NBC Sports-branded RSNs in Boston or the Bay Area; and Charter Spectrum’s two Spectrum SportsNets based in Los Angeles.

DirecTV also carries RSNs operated by teams themselves, such as Madison Square Garden (MSG) group, NESN, Chicago Sports Network, and Altitude Sports & Entertainment.

DirecTV has been a centerpiece of most sports bars’ TV content and entertainment and as long as they continue to have a hold on RSNs, that may continue into the near future.

Side note: If you’re on DirecTV, we can run a quick audit that could save you up to $600 a year in programming costs.

DirecTV Channel Listings for the MLB (2025)

Arizona Diamondbacks | Ch.686 (Team Channel)

Athletics | Ch. 698 (NBC Sports California)

Atlanta Braves | Ch. 646 (FanDuel Sports South)

Baltimore Orioles | Ch. 640 (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network)

Boston Red Sox | Ch. 628 (New England Sports Network)

Chicago Cubs | Ch. 664 (Marquee Sports Network)

Chicago White Sox | Chicago Sports Network & All Games on Local Stations

Cincinnati Reds | No Channel Listing (FanDuel Sports Indiana)

Cleveland Guardians | Ch. 662 (Team Channel)

Colorado Rockies | Ch. 683 (Team Channel)

Detroit Tigers | Ch. 663 (FanDuel Sports Detroit)

Houston Astros | Ch. 674 (Space City Home Network)

Kansas City Royals | No Channel Listing (FanDuel Sports Kansas City)

Los Angeles Angels | Ch. 692 (FanDuel Sports West)

Los Angeles Dodgers | Ch. 690 (Spectrum SportsNet LA)

Miami Marlins | Ch. 654 (FanDuel Sports Florida)

Milwaukee Brewers | Ch. 669 (FanDuel Sports Wisconsin)

Minnesota Twins | Ch. 668 (Team Channel)

New York Mets | Ch. 639 (SportsNet New York)

New York Yankees | Ch. 631 (YES Network)

Philadelphia Phillies | Not Available Through DirecTV

Pittsburgh Pirates | Ch. 659 (SportsNet Pittsburgh)

San Diego Padres | Ch. 694 (Team Channel)

San Francisco Giants | Ch. 696 (NBC Sports Bay Area)

Seattle Mariners | Ch. 687 (ROOT Sports Northwest)

St. Louis Cardinals | Ch. 671 (FanDuel Sports Midwest)

Tampa Bay Rays | Ch. 653 (FanDuel Sports Sun)

Texas Rangers | Ch. 677 (Team Channel)

Toronto Blue Jays | No Channel Listing

Washington Nationals | Ch. 640 (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network)

Let the SportsTV Guide Tell You Where to Find the Games Fast & Easy

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This includes every single MLB game on DirecTV, cable, local broadcast, and streaming. If it’s available to you through your TV entertainment and content providers, it’ll appear on your custom SportsTV Guide.

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