How to Watch Oakland Athletics Games Live

watch-oakland-athletics-without-cable

by Jim Kimble / Published April 11, 2022

There are a few ways to watch Oakland Athletics games live without a cable TV or satellite package. Most games are on NBC Sports California. 

Nationally televised games during the regular season in 2022 are on FOX, ESPN, FS1, TBS and MLB Network. A few post-season games air on ABC.

Table of Contents

New, free ways to watch Oakland Athletics

Apple TV+ has two live baseball games on Friday nights during the 2022 MLB season. The Friday night doubleheaders on Apple TV+ will be free.

NBC’s Peacock is streaming games in a new Sunday morning time slot. (Schedule below.)

Keep in mind that streaming MLB games isn’t your only option. 

Cord-cutters can watch some national broadcast games for free using a TV antenna.

I started streaming MLB games in 2016 back when PlayStation Vue began carrying NESN in its channel lineup.

This guide aims to give you a comprehensive look at how to watch Oakland Athletics games without cable TV for the 2022 season. 

Live Streaming Oakland Athletics Games

The Oakland Athletics broadcast most of their games on NBC Sports California. The regional sports channel has exclusive rights to in-market Oakland Athletics games. 

NBC Sports California is carried by DIRECTV STREAM, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV.

Where can I watch NBC Sports California?

NBC Sports California is available in the Greater Los Angeles area, San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, San Diego, northern California, parts of Oregon and western Nevada.

Stream Oakland Athletics Games on Roku, Fire TV Stick

Watching live Oakland Athletics games without cable TV is pretty simple. You just need a few things to start streaming MLB games on your TV. 

  1. A streaming service that carries NBC Sports California and the channels that carry national broadcast Oakland Athletics games
  2. An Internet connection
  3. A Smart TV or streaming device such as a Roku connected to your TV

You can watch live TV channels through the app of streaming services such as DIRECTV STREAM. Live TV streaming services have apps for Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast with Google TV. 

These apps are also available on Smart TVs, iPhones, iPads  and Android smartphones. You can watch live TV on a PC through a web browser.

DIRECTV STREAM

watch-oakland-athletics-without-cable
(Photo illustration: The Cord Cutting Report)

DIRECTV STREAM has every channel needed to watch Oakland Athletics games in 2022. 

A subscription costs $89.99 per month for 90+ channels. NBC Sports California, ESPN, MLB Network, FS1, and local channels such as ABC and FOX are included in the Choice lineup. 

Subscribers can get three months of HBO Max, Showtime, Cinemax and EPIX for free before the monthly rates kick in. You can watch live TV on up to 20 screens at once.

You can sign up for a free 5-day trial without any obligations. Every plan includes unlimited Cloud DVR and a robust library of on-demand movies and shows.

There are no contracts. There are no additional regional sports fees.You can subscribe month to month and cancel whenever you want. 

DIRECTV STREAM works on Roku, Android TV, Fire TV devices, Apple TV and smartphones and tablets. 

You can look over the different channel lineups before making any decisions.

Hulu with Live TV

Hulu with Live TV has ESPN, NBC Sports California, FS1 and local channels such as FOX. 

The live TV package has 75+ channels total including local NBC, CBS and ABC stations. And there are news channels including CNN and MSNBC. 

Subscribers get unlimited Cloud DVR to record shows and sporting events from live TV. A live TV subscription costs $69.99 per month and now includes Disney+ and ESPN+. 

You can watch live TV on two screens at once. You can look over the Hulu + Live TV channel lineup before deciding whether to sign up.

fuboTV

fuboTV has roughly 130 channels in its entry-level bundle, including NBC Sports California, ESPN and FS1.

Local FOX, ABC, CBS and NBC stations are available in most of the U.S.

A subscription costs $69.99 per month. You can start off with a free 7-day trial to see if the service is a good fit. You’ll be able to record games using 250 hours of Cloud DVR. 

fuboTV has apps for pretty much every device, including Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Fire Stick and NVIDIA Shield TV.

Look over the channel lineup to see what locals and regional sports networks you’d get before deciding whether to try out fuboTV. 

YouTube TV

YouTube TV has a long roster of regional sports networks. A subscription will cost $64.99 per month for roughly 85+ channels. 

Regional NBC Sports networks, ESPN, FOX, FX and IFC are part of the channel lineup. 

Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast and Xbox One are among the supported devices. You can try out YouTube TV free for 7 days.

Streaming Oakland Athletics on ESPN and cable channels

If you’re trying to narrow your focus to a specific cable TV network, no worries. You can read my guides on how to watch ABC, FOX, ESPN, FS1, TBS and MLB Network without cable.

Watch Oakland Athletics on MLB.tv

The MLB also has MLB.tv which live streams all out-of-market games for every team.  

Oakland Athletics games are blacked out for fans living in the team’s home broadcast region. The service allows subscribers who live in an out-of-market area to watch Oakland Athletics games.

A subscription to MLB.tv costs $24.99 per month. Amazon Prime members can get a free 7-day trial of MLB.tv through Amazon Channels. The regular rate kicks in once the trial ends.

Athletics games on Apple TV+ and Peacock

Apple TV+ is delivering a weekly Friday night doubleheader during the 2022 MLB season.

The first leg of doubleheader MLB games will be free to anyone with internet access, according to Apple. The company released its schedule of games that begin on April 8.

Apple TV+ works on most major streaming devices including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast with Google TV. Smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, Vizio, Panasonic and Hisense are also supported.

Peacock begins streaming Sunday morning MLB games on May 8.

Games are available on the Premium plan. Peacock Premium costs $4.99 per month. There is a free 7-day trial for Peacock Premium.

DATETIMEMATCHUP
May 811:30 a.m. ETChicago White Sox at Boston Red Sox
May 1511:30 a.m. ETSan Diego Padres at Atlanta Braves
May 2211:30 a.m. ETSt. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates
May 2911:30 a.m. ETSan Francisco Giants at Cincinnati Reds
June 511:30 a.m. ETDetroit Tigers at New York Yankees
June 1211:30 a.m. ETOakland Athletics at Cleveland Guardians
June 19Noon ETPhiladelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals
June 26Noon ETNew York Mets at Miami Marlins
July 3Noon ETKansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers
July 10Noon ETLos Angeles Angels at Baltimore Orioles
July 17Noon ETKansas City Royals at Toronto Blue Jays
July 24Noon ETChicago Cubs at Philadelphia Phillies
July 31Noon ETDetroit Tigers at Toronto Blue Jays
August 7Noon ETHouston Astros at Cleveland Guardians
August 14Noon ETSan Diego Padres at Washington Nationals
August 21Noon ETChicago White Sox at Cleveland Guardians
August 28Noon ETLos Angeles Dodgers at Miami Marlins
September 4Noon ETToronto Blue Jays at Pittsburgh Pirates

Peacock works on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku. The service also has apps for a wide variety of Android TV-enabled Smart TVs, including Sony. Smart TVs by LG, Samsung, Vizio and Hisense are supported as well.

You can sign up for a free 7-day trial for Peacock Premium.

Are Oakland Athletics on ESPN+ in 2022?

Yes. ESPN+ is once again streaming one MLB game per day that is part of the national broadcast schedule. 

Out-of-market games are still governed by local blackout restrictions. 

ESPN+ is showing upcoming MLB games streaming on its service. (Photo credit: Jim Kimble / The Cord Cutting Report)

In other words, you will need your local regional sports channel to watch home games.

Each MLB team will be on ESPN+ at least 10 times by the end of the season. Replays are made available after a live game streams on ESPN+.

A subscription to ESPN+ costs $6.99 per month. You can sign up for ESPN+ and start watching live MLB games. You can check the upcoming lineup of MLB games before signing up.

How to Watch Athletics games free with a TV antenna

A TV antenna is the best way to watch Oakland Athletics games that are carried on FOX for free. 

If you have a TV antenna handy, but haven’t used it in a while, plug it into your television’s coax port and scan for channels.

FOX broadcasts games throughout the regular season. ABC becomes a key channel for post-season games. You’ll be able to watch those games for free as well if your TV antenna can pick up a local ABC station.

If you are new to TV antennas, here is a list of resources that I have written to get you started.

What channel is the Oakland Athletics game on tonight?

Oakland Athletics games are typically on NBC Sports California. The schedule below breaks down what channel or streaming service has national broadcast games for the 2022 MLB season.

DAYOAKLAND ATHLETICS MLB NATIONAL BROADCAST
Sunday morningPeacock
Sunday afternoonTBS
Sunday nightESPN or ESPN2
Monday nightESPN or FS1
Tuesday nightTBS
Wednesday NightESPN, FS1, MLB Network
Thursday NightESPN, FOX and MLB Network
Friday NightApple TV+
Saturday AfternoonFOX
Saturday NightFOX, FS1

For more news on streaming, how-to guides and reviews, head over to the main page of The Cord Cutting Report or follow the CCR on Google News.

Photo of author

James A. Kimble

Jim Kimble is a seasoned industry expert with over two decades of journalism experience. He has been at the forefront of the cord-cutting movement since 2016, testing and writing about TV-related products and services. He founded The Cord Cutting Report in 2016, and serves as the editor.

Major publications, including MarketWatch, Forbes, and South Florida Sun Sentinel, have interviewed Kimble for his years of expertise. He gives advice on the complexities consumers are navigating with streaming options, and over-the-air TV. Kimble has been a staff writer or correspondent for several award-winning, daily newspapers, including The Boston Globe.