Regional Sports Networks may be in a state of disruption, but most NBA fans still need access to one to watch in-market games of their home team.
FanDuel Sports has secured rights to 13 NBA teams for the 2024-25 season, despite the recent financial woes of Diamond Sports Group and its ongoing Chapter 11 proceedings in bankruptcy court.
NBC Sports and other RSNs such as YES Network and MSG Network are still showing local in-market games for teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks.
No matter which team you root for, you will likely end up comparing Fubo vs DIRECTV STREAM for streaming sports like NBA games. DIRECTV STREAM has 33 RSNs.
Channels
DIRECTV STREAM and Fubo have been in a battle for the most RSNs over the last few years.
DIRECTV STREAM carries 33 RSN across three of its plans, Choice, Ultimate and Premier. Fubo has the same lineup of RSNs plus NBC Sports Philadelphia, which carries Philadelphia 76ers games.
Neither service is considered a budget-choice; however, both live TV services remain cheaper than a typical cable or satellite package.
For the 2024-25 NBA regular season, you need access to ABC, ESPN, NBA TV, TNT along with the RSN that serves your market for local basketball. If you’re an out-of-market fan, you can subscribe to NBA League Pass through Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM.
Fubo has local broadcast channels and access to RSNs across all its main channel bundles.
Regional FanDuel Sports, NBC Sports, MSG and YES Network are part of Fubo’s entry-level channel lineup, which costs $79.99 per month. An RSN fee of $11.99 is added if you have one RSN in your plan. The fee is $14.99 per month for two RSNs.
The entry-level Fubo Pro plan gives you access to ABC, ESPN, but there is no TNT.
To add NBA TV, you need to get the Sports Plus or Fubo Extra add-on. The Sports Plus add-on costs $10.99 per month, adding 26 channels such as NFL RedZone, NHL Network, MLB Network, ESPNU and SEC Network.
Fubo Extra has 72 entertainment and sports channels such as ESPNU, FXM, NickToons, and True Crime Now. It costs $7.99 per month.
DIRECTV STREAM carries RSNs across three of its plans, Choice, Ultimate and Premier. The Choice plan has ESPN networks, TNT, ABC and NBA TV. With DIRECTV STREAM, you don’t need an add-on for NBA TV or RSNs. Instead, you have to subscribe to a higher-priced main bundle.
Price
Fubo includes a RSN fee across all its packages. If you have one RSN in your channel lineup, the fee is $11.99 per month. For two RSNs, it’s $14.99 per month. So if you subscribe to Fubo Pro, your subscription will cost $91.98 or $94.98 per month.
DIRECTV STREAM has no RSN fee. But to get RSNs included in your subscription, the cheapest option is the Choice plan, which costs $108.99 per month.
4K Streaming
Fubo offers 4K streaming in the Elite plan or higher. DIRECTV STREAM does not offer 4K streaming. It’s important to note that these streams are not native 4K, but upgraded by the broadcasters.
Fubo regularly broadcasts select live sporting events in 4K on Fox, FS1 and regional NBC Sports networks. Fubo has decent support across mainstream 4K streaming devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, Google TV, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Smart TVs from Hisense, Sharp AQUOS and Sony Bravia support 4K streaming on Fubo as well.
Cloud DVR
Both Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM offered unlimited Cloud DVR. Fubo will keep recordings for 9 months before being erased. DIRECTV STREAM will remove recordings after 90 days.
However, you can delete recordings from your queue whenever you like.
Simultaneous Streams
Fubo lets customers stream on up to 10 devices simultaneously across all its channel lineups. DIRECTV STREAM allows for unlimited screens so long as you remain within your household, or in essence, your home Wi-Fi network.
Fubo does allow you to stream on mobile when you are away from home, but local blackout restrictions apply. So you shouldn’t expect to be able to watch an NBA game on a local RSN when you are traveling outside of your home TV market.
Conclusion
Overall, Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM almost identical channel lineups when it comes to its RSN coverage. The one exception is that Fubo carries NBC Sports Philadelphia, the home of in-market Philadelphia 76ers games.
Fubo slightly edges out DIRECTV STREAM on price, but lacks TNT – which will remain an important channel for the 2024-25 season. Next year, NBC and Amazon Prime will start airing games after TNT’s rights expire.
