Cord Cutter’s Online and Over-the-Air Guide to Watching the 2016 World Series
UPDATE: Game 2 will now air at 7:08 p.m. ET due to weather.
Do you love baseball but hate having to pay for cable? Good, because in today’s post we’re going to talk about how you can watch the World Series without having to pay a dime. Let’s go!
In the words of the late great Harry Caray, “holy cow!” The end of the MLB season has always been a dramatic spectacle, but rarely has the World Series ever seen such an electric match-up than the one we’re about to see.
On one side of the field we have the Chicago Cubs, known as the Lovable Losers, who haven’t won a World Series since 1908. On the other side of the field we have the Cleveland Indians, a team that hasn’t won a World Series since 1948.
Regardless of whether you’ve cut the cord, or are just thinking about doing it, you are going to want to watch this historic series; and for as cheaply as possible. That means no cable television, no pricey subscriptions, and no lengthy commitments. Here’s how you do it:
Watching the World Series with an Antenna in HD for Free
If you’re already a cord cutter, odds are you have everything you need to watch the World Series for free. The tool that will come in most handy when trying to watch the World Series without cable is a simple over-the-air (OTA) antenna. OTA antennas, like the Mohu Leaf, are great because they can pick up every major broadcast network in your area and deliver it to you in 1080i HD for free (minus the cost of the antenna of course).
That’s important to us because all seven games of the 2016 World Series will air on the Fox Broadcast Network. With a OTA antenna, you’ll be able to watch every single game of the 2016 World Series for free. No contracts needed.
And if you don’t have an OTA antenna, don’t worry because they’re pretty cheap and really easy to find. You can head on down to your local Best Buy, Walmart, or other retailer and get one in time for Game 1. Or you can even hop on to Amazon.com, sign up for Prime, get free two day shipping, and you will be good to go by Game Two or Three.
Either way, it’s still way cheaper than cable; and when the World Series is over, you’ll still have a great cord cutting tool that can give you thousands of hours of free entertainment for years to come.
2016 World Series Schedule (FOX)
Note: Times listed in Eastern Time Zone
- Tuesday, October 25 – 8:08 p.m. Cubs @ Indians
- Wednesday, October 26 – 7:08 p.m. Cubs @ Indians
- Friday, October 28 – 8:08 p.m. Indians @ Cubs
- Saturday, October 29 – 8:08 p.m. Indians @ Cubs
- Sunday, October 30* – 8:08 p.m. Indians @ Cubs
- Tuesday, November 1* – 8:08 p.m. Cubs @ Indians
- Wednesday, November 2* – 8:08 p.m. Cubs @ Indians
*If needed
Stream the World Series on Sling TV & PlayStation Vue
Live near a big city, but an Antenna won’t work for you for some reason or you just don’t have one yet? Then the simplest option just might be for you to go with either Sling TV or PlayStation Vue. For select cities, both PlayStation Vue and Sling TV offer OTA streaming options for local broadcast stations; Fox included.
Here are the cities where you can stream Fox and the World Series:
- Sling TV – Atlanta, Austin, Texas, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Gainesville, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Tampa, and Washington D.C.
- PlayStation Vue – Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Gainesville, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington DC.
As you may have noticed, most of the cities overlap. But for the ones that don’t, pick your streaming service accordingly. Now let’s talk about what package you’ll need.
For Sling TV, you’ll be looking for the Blue subscription; which costs $25 a month. For PlayStation Vue, you just need the Access subscription; which costs $30 a month. If you live in those select cities, and want to save a little money, sign up for the free 7-day trial and watch (almost) all of the 2016 World Series for free. If you happen to live in one of the cities that overlap each service, you could sign up for one service’s free trial to catch the first part of the series, and then sign up for the other to catch the rest of the series. Then if you like one of the services better than the other, you can keep on subscribing. Or, cancel them both. It’s great having control and flexibility.
Stream the World Series on MLB.TV
As a last resort, if you don’t have an OTA antenna and don’t live in those select areas, you can always sign up for MLB.TV. For $10, you’ll be able to live stream the World Series, as well as some Spring Training games down the road. It’s not free, but it’s a very small price to pay to watch the World Series; especially such a historic one.
Alright everyone, it’s time make your prediction. Who’s going to win the World Series: Cleveland Indians or Chicago Cubs? Let us know in the comments below or sound off on social media!
