How to Watch San Francisco Giants Games Live

By Jim Kimble / Updated March 29, 2023

Here is how to watch San Francisco Giants games live without a cable TV or satellite package during the 2023 season.

But watching home games requires a subscription to a live TV streaming service that carries NBC Sports Bay Area.

Nationally televised games during the regular season in 2023 are on FOX, ESPN, FS1, TBS and MLB Network. A few post-season games air on ABC.

How to watch San Francisco Giants Games Live

The San Francisco Giants air their home games on NBC Sports Bay Area. The regional sports network has exclusive rights to in-market San Francisco Giants games.

NBC Sports Bay Area is currently on four live TV streaming services, DIRECTV STREAM, fubo, Hulu Live TV and YouTube TV.

You can watch every home game this season if you live in the home market of NBC Sports Bay Area. National broadcast games are on ESPN, FOX, FS1, and TNT.

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

NBC Sports Bay Area is available to pay-TV subscribers in six regions. San Francisco Bay Area, Northern California, Central California, Southern Oregon, Nevada and Hawaii are all within the home broadcast area. 

STREAMING SERVICENBC SPORTS BAY AREAESPN/FOX/FS1/TBS
DIRECTV STREAMYesYes
fuboYesNo TBS
Hulu Live TVYesYes
Sling TVNoYes
YouTube TVYesYes

Apple TV+ is streaming two live baseball games on Friday nights during the 2023 Major League Baseball season. The Friday night games are part of the National Broadcast schedule. 

NBC’s Peacock is streaming exclusive Sunday morning games.

You can watch these games on any Smart TV or streaming device that supports the two apps. This marks the second year in a row for Apple and Peacock streaming MLB games.

How to Stream San Francisco Giants Games

Watching live San Francisco Giants 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 Bay Area and the channels that carry national broadcast games
  2. 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 fubo or YouTube TV. Live TV streaming services have apps for Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast with Google TV.

These apps are available on Smart TVs, iPhones/iPads (iOS), and Android smartphones. You can watch live TV on a PC through a web browser. Gamers can watch on Xbox and PlayStation game consoles. 

(Photo illustration: Jim Kimble / The Cord Cutting Report)

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM has every channel needed to watch San Francisco Giants games in 2023. 

A subscription to the Choice package costs $99.99 per month for more than 105 channels. NBC Sports Bay Area, 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 MGM+ for free before the monthly rates kick in. You can watch live TV on unlimited screens within your home.

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.

fubo

Fubo (formerly fuboTV) has more than 152 channels in its Pro plan, including NBC Sports Bay Area.  

The Pro plan has a large roster of regional networks and national sports channels for MLB and NBA fans. Bally Sports, AT&T SportsNet and NESN are available to in-market subscribers. 

Pro plan subscribers get ESPN Networks, FS1, FOX, NBA TV, NFL Network, ACC Network and Big Ten Network.

A subscription costs $74.99 per month. You can watch TV or on-demand content on 10 screens at once. fubo adds a regional sports fee. It costs $10.99 per month for one regional network. It’s $13.99 per month if you have two RSNs in your area. 

You should look over the channel lineup for your area before signing up.

fubo has entertainment channels, including Discovery, Paramount Network, USA Network and Hallmark Channel. Subscribers get 1,000 hours of Cloud DVR for recordings, so you can watch replays of games whenever you like. 

Elite and Premier subscribers can watch some games on FS1 and FOX in upscaled 4K. There’s a huge on-demand library of movies and TV shows for when you don’t need live TV.

fubo works on Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV (tvOS) and Android TV. Samsung Smart TVs, Vizio SmartCast TVs, Hisense, and TVs running Google TV or Android TV are supported. Gamers can watch fubo on Xbox game consoles. 

You can get a 7-day free trial. There are no contracts or obligations. 

Hulu Live TV

Hulu Live TV has 75+ live TV channels, including ESPN, NBC Sports Bay Area, FOX, and CBS Sports Network.

You can watch live TV on up to two screens at once.

Hulu with Live TV comes with unlimited Cloud DVR storage so you can record sports, news, movies or whatever else you want. Hulu carries local ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC across the U.S.

A subscription costs $69.99 per month, and now includes Disney+ and ESPN+. With a Hulu Live TV subscription, you can activate the ESPN app and unlock all live sports on ESPN Plus.

So you’re getting more than just live TV channels to watch.

Hulu’s channel lineup has local NBC, ABC and FOX stations across the U.S. Hulu no longer offers a free trial for live TV, but you can look over the channel lineup before deciding whether to sign up.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV has 128 channels, including ESPN, NBC regional sports networks and local channels such as ABC and CBS.

A subscription costs $72.99 per month. You can watch live TV on three screens at once.

The YouTube TV base plan carries other key sports channels for fans such as TNT, TBS, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNU, FS1, and FS2. 

You’ll be able to watch CNN, Golf Channel and FX. Unlimited Cloud DVR is included with a subscription. And you can create up to 6 profiles for a household per account.

The service works with Chromecast, Roku, Fire TV, NVIDIA Shield TV, Apple TV and Chromecast. Try out YouTube TV free for a week.

MLB.tv (Out-of-Market)

MLB.tv live streams all out-of-market games for every team.

San Francisco Giants 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 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. You can add MLB.TV to your fubo subscription. The regular rate kicks in once the trial ends.

Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is delivering two weekly Friday night games during the 2023 MLB season.

Apple TV+ subscribers can watch MLB games along with a number of original movies and TV shows. A subscription costs $6.99 per month after a free 7-day trial.

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

Peacock

Peacock begins streaming Sunday morning MLB games on April 23.

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

Peacock works on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku. The service 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.

ESPN+

ESPN+ is streaming one live 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 which MLB games will be live streaming on its service. (Photo credit: Jim Kimble / The Cord Cutting Report)

You will need your local regional sports channel to watch home games. You can look over the MLB ESPN+ schedule for regular season games. 

Replays are made available after a live game streams on ESPN+. A subscription to ESPN+ costs $9.99 per month, and you can bundle ESPN+ with Hulu and Disney+.

How to Watch Giants games free with a TV antenna

A TV antenna is the best way to watch San Francisco Giants games that are carried on ABC and FOX for free.

Giants fans can watch FOX broadcasts throughout the regular season. ABC becomes a key channel for post-season games.

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

How to Watch San Francisco Giants FAQ

These are questions readers ask when searching for ways to watch or stream San Francisco Giants games without a pay TV provider.   

How can I watch the San Francisco Giants game today?

You have four choices to watch Giants games live when games are on NBC Sports Bay Area. DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo, Hulu Live TV and YouTube TV carry MLB games that air on NBC Sports Bay Area. fubo and Hulu Live TV currently are the best overall picks based on price and offerings.

  • fubo has 152 channels in the Pro plan, including ESPN, FS1 and local FOX stations. There is a regional sports fee. fubo has a free 7-day trial and plans run month to month. 
  • Hulu Live TV has 74 TV channels, including ESPN networks, local channels and access to Disney+ and ESPN+ for $69.99 per month. You can sign up for a subscription, and cancel whenever you like. 

Can I watch Giants games on Sling TV?

Sling Orange subscribers can watch the Giants when games are on ESPN and TBS. FS1 is on the Sling Blue plan. Sling TV does not carry any regional sports networks. 

Local FOX stations are in a limited number of markets. If you live in or around one of these cities, then you should be able to watch the Giants when games are on local FOX stations: 

  1. Atlanta
  2. Austin
  3. Chicago
  4. Dallas/Fort Worth
  5. Detroit
  6. Gainesville
  7. Houston
  8. Los Angeles
  9. Milwaukee
  10. Minneapolis/St. Paul
  11. New York
  12. Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne
  13. Philadelphia
  14. Phoenix
  15. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
  16. Seattle
  17. Tampa/St. Petersburg
  18. Washington, DC

What channel is the San Francisco Giants game on tonight?

San Francisco Giants games are typically on NBC Sports Bay Area. The schedule below breaks down what channel or streaming service has national broadcast games for the 2022 MLB season.

DAYGIANTS MLB NATIONAL BROADCAST SCHEDULE
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.

Note: This article was published on March 30, 2022, and has been updated with new streaming plans and pricing.

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.