How much does it cost to watch sports in 2026?

Most US fans now need more than one service to keep up with their teams. A simple one-team setup lands around $75/month. A multi-sport household in a pricey market clears $200/month. Spot shows the price for your teams in your ZIP code.

Why do most fans need 5+ streaming services?

Local games run on a regional sports network (RSN) tied to your media market. National windows live on ESPN, FOX, TBS, NBC, ABC, or Amazon depending on the league. Exclusive games migrate to Apple TV+, Netflix, Peacock, and Prime Video. No single subscription covers all of them, so most fans assemble a stack.

How does the Spot Sports calculator decide which services you need?

Your ZIP tells us the TV market you live in. From there we match your teams to local channels, blackouts, national games, and streaming-only nights, then find the lowest official setup that covers the schedule.

Is this calculator free?

Yes. You can run unlimited cost checks without an account. A free account saves your teams, tracks price changes, and gets you early access to Jerry, our upcoming AI sports agent.

How often are the prices updated?

Pricing is reviewed monthly and after every major rights or service change. Each team and league guide shows a 'Last reviewed' date.

What is a regional sports network (RSN)?

An RSN is a TV network that carries live local games for the teams in its broadcast footprint. YES carries the Yankees and Nets. NBC Sports Bay Area carries the Warriors, A's, and Giants. MSG carries the Knicks and Rangers. Most MLB, NBA, and NHL home-market games are still RSN-exclusive in 2026, which is why your local cable or streaming choice matters more than the national rights for those leagues.

What is a DMA and why does it affect my watch cost?

A DMA, or Designated Market Area, is a Nielsen-defined US TV market made up of the ZIP codes that share the same TV stations. There are 210 DMAs total covering 41,000+ ZIPs. Your DMA decides which RSN counts as 'local', which league apps black out your home team, and which over-the-air channels you pull with an antenna. Two fans of the same team in different DMAs see wildly different watch costs.

Why does MLB.tv black out my favorite team?

MLB.tv is sold as an out-of-market product. If your ZIP is inside the DMA where your team plays, MLB.tv blacks those games out. The league protects the local RSN's exclusive rights. The same logic applies to NBA League Pass and NHL Center Ice. If you're in-market for the team you love, you need the RSN (via cable, a vMVPD that carries it, or the RSN's direct-to-consumer app), not the league pass.

What's the difference between a vMVPD and a streaming service?

A vMVPD (virtual multi-channel video programming distributor) replaces cable. Examples include YouTube TV, Hulu + Live, Fubo, Sling, and DirecTV Stream. They deliver live linear channels including local broadcast, RSNs, and cable networks, billed monthly with no contract. A streaming service like Netflix, Peacock, or Apple TV+ delivers on-demand and exclusive live windows, but not the full local cable bundle. Sports fans usually need at least one vMVPD or RSN app, plus selected streamers for exclusive games.

Has the cheapest stack to watch sports changed in 2026?

Yes. The 2026 NBA rights deal moved Tuesday and Saturday national games from TNT to NBC/Peacock and added an Amazon Prime Video package. Apple TV+ continues to hold every MLS game. Netflix added a Christmas Day NFL slate and a few Friday-night MLB events. RSN carriage on YouTube TV and Fubo continues to shift contract-by-contract. Spot Sports re-prices every team's stack monthly, so the answer for your specific teams updates as rights move.

Tonight in Columbus, Oh · 5 games · first start 4:05 pm EDT

Tonight on SPOT.

Channel for every game, dialed in for Columbus, Oh.

On BRAVESVISION (different channel)

Also on MLBTV

Also on MLBTV

Also on MLBTV

Price your stack

Most fans pay around$82/moto watch their teams.

Yours depends on your teams, your ZIP, and which services you already have. Spot does the math the second you tell it.

Run the calculator

Pick your teams. Spot does the math.

By league

What it costs to watch each league

A rough monthly cost range per league for the cheapest legal stack that covers a single team. Multi-team or multi-league households layer services and pay the union of the ranges below.

NFL: Most NFL games air on broadcast networks (CBS, FOX, NBC) and are free with a $30 antenna. Monday Night Football needs ESPN access, Thursday Night Football needs Amazon Prime Video, Christmas Day games run on Netflix, and Sunday Ticket out-of-market games are a YouTube TV add-on. A cord-cut NFL fan spends as little as $15/month if they already have Prime. A Sunday Ticket subscriber clears $110/month seasonally.
NBA: Starting in 2025-26 the national NBA package splits between ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video. Local games are still RSN-exclusive. NBA League Pass covers out-of-market games but blacks out your home team. A one-team fan whose RSN is on YouTube TV pays the vMVPD price. Out-of-market fans drop to a $15/month League Pass and skip the cable replacement entirely.
MLB: MLB has the most fragmented rights of any league. Apple TV+ holds Friday Night Baseball ($9.99/mo), Peacock owns Sunday morning windows, ESPN has Sunday Night Baseball, FOX takes Saturdays, and your RSN runs almost every other home-market game. Out-of-market fans add MLB.tv ($24.99/mo, blacked out for your home team). Worst-case multi-team setups in major DMAs clear $170/month.
NHL: ESPN, ABC, and TNT split the national windows. ESPN+ holds the bulk of out-of-market games. Local games run on the team's RSN. A vMVPD that carries ESPN, TNT, and your RSN covers nearly everything. Out-of-market fans use ESPN+ as a near-complete package since the home-market blackout is the only major gap.
MLS: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+ holds every game, every match, every team. $14.99/month or $99/season, free for Apple TV+ subscribers when bundled. The cleanest single-purchase situation in US sports right now. Cable adds zero MLS value.
EPL: Premier League games run on Peacock and the NBC Sports family of networks. Peacock Premium ($7.99/mo) carries the bulk of the schedule. Saturday morning marquee games sometimes simulcast on USA Network or NBC over-the-air. A standalone Peacock subscription is the cheapest path. No vMVPD required if EPL is your only need.

Background

Why regional sports networks decide your bill

A regional sports network, usually called an RSN, is a cable channel licensed to broadcast a specific set of professional teams in a defined geographic footprint. Most MLB, NBA, and NHL home-market games still flow through an RSN in 2026, even as the national rights fragment across streamers.

Each team has one RSN tied to it. The Yankees are on YES. The Warriors, Giants, and A's are on NBC Sports Bay Area. The Knicks and Rangers are on MSG. The Phillies are on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Most NBA, NHL, and several MLB teams are on the FanDuel Sports Network family (formerly Bally Sports). Whether the cheapest stack for your team uses a vMVPD, the RSN's direct-to-consumer app, or your local cable provider depends entirely on which RSN carries it and which distributor currently has a carriage deal in your DMA.

The complication is that carriage deals change every contract cycle. YouTube TV drops or re-adds RSNs every year. Fubo has different RSN coverage than Hulu Live in the same market. Some RSNs have shipped their own DTC apps to bypass cable entirely. Examples include MSG+, Bally Sports+ (now FanDuel Sports Network+), and NESN 360. The right answer for your team this month might be wrong by the next contract anniversary.

That's why Spot Sports re-runs the RSN-carriage map monthly and flags every change for the teams you follow. The DMA-to-RSN map shows the current footprint for every US ZIP.

Background

Why your ZIP, not your team, sets your watch cost

Nielsen divides the United States into 210 designated market areas, or DMAs. A DMA is a contiguous cluster of counties that share the same TV stations. The New York DMA spans parts of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The Los Angeles DMA includes much of southern California and parts of Nevada. The Glendive, Montana DMA covers fewer than 4,000 households.

Every TV rights deal references DMA boundaries: broadcast, cable, RSN, streaming-app blackouts. MLB.tv blackouts are drawn at the DMA level. The local Fox affiliate that carries NFL Sunday afternoons is set by your DMA. Whether your RSN counts as "in-market" or whether you need an out-of-market workaround is set by your DMA.

Two fans of the same team can have radically different watch costs. A Yankees fan in the Bronx (New York DMA) has YES on YouTube TV and a straightforward stack. A Yankees fan in Albany (Albany DMA) is technically out-of-market. MLB.tv works, no RSN needed, total cost drops by half. The Spot Sports calculator resolves your ZIP into a DMA in milliseconds so the answer reflects your actual TV market.

Process

How Spot finds your watch price

01
Pick your teams
Mix teams from NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, EPL, college, and motorsports. Most fans start with 2 to 4.
02
Add your ZIP
Your ZIP tells us which local channels, blackouts, and national windows matter where you live.
03
See the cleanest path
We return the lowest-cost official setup that covers your teams, including live TV, RSN apps, and streaming-only games.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to watch sports in 2026?: Most US fans now need more than one service to keep up with their teams. A simple one-team setup lands around $75/month. A multi-sport household in a pricey market clears $200/month. Spot shows the price for your teams in your ZIP code.
Why do most fans need 5+ streaming services?: Local games run on a regional sports network (RSN) tied to your media market. National windows live on ESPN, FOX, TBS, NBC, ABC, or Amazon depending on the league. Exclusive games migrate to Apple TV+, Netflix, Peacock, and Prime Video. No single subscription covers all of them, so most fans assemble a stack.
How does the Spot Sports calculator decide which services you need?: Your ZIP tells us the TV market you live in. From there we match your teams to local channels, blackouts, national games, and streaming-only nights, then find the lowest official setup that covers the schedule.
Is this calculator free?: Yes. You can run unlimited cost checks without an account. A free account saves your teams, tracks price changes, and gets you early access to Jerry, our upcoming AI sports agent.
How often are the prices updated?: Pricing is reviewed monthly and after every major rights or service change. Each team and league guide shows a 'Last reviewed' date.
What is a regional sports network (RSN)?: An RSN is a TV network that carries live local games for the teams in its broadcast footprint. YES carries the Yankees and Nets. NBC Sports Bay Area carries the Warriors, A's, and Giants. MSG carries the Knicks and Rangers. Most MLB, NBA, and NHL home-market games are still RSN-exclusive in 2026, which is why your local cable or streaming choice matters more than the national rights for those leagues.
What is a DMA and why does it affect my watch cost?: A DMA, or Designated Market Area, is a Nielsen-defined US TV market made up of the ZIP codes that share the same TV stations. There are 210 DMAs total covering 41,000+ ZIPs. Your DMA decides which RSN counts as 'local', which league apps black out your home team, and which over-the-air channels you pull with an antenna. Two fans of the same team in different DMAs see wildly different watch costs.
Why does MLB.tv black out my favorite team?: MLB.tv is sold as an out-of-market product. If your ZIP is inside the DMA where your team plays, MLB.tv blacks those games out. The league protects the local RSN's exclusive rights. The same logic applies to NBA League Pass and NHL Center Ice. If you're in-market for the team you love, you need the RSN (via cable, a vMVPD that carries it, or the RSN's direct-to-consumer app), not the league pass.
What's the difference between a vMVPD and a streaming service?: A vMVPD (virtual multi-channel video programming distributor) replaces cable. Examples include YouTube TV, Hulu + Live, Fubo, Sling, and DirecTV Stream. They deliver live linear channels including local broadcast, RSNs, and cable networks, billed monthly with no contract. A streaming service like Netflix, Peacock, or Apple TV+ delivers on-demand and exclusive live windows, but not the full local cable bundle. Sports fans usually need at least one vMVPD or RSN app, plus selected streamers for exclusive games.
Has the cheapest stack to watch sports changed in 2026?: Yes. The 2026 NBA rights deal moved Tuesday and Saturday national games from TNT to NBC/Peacock and added an Amazon Prime Video package. Apple TV+ continues to hold every MLS game. Netflix added a Christmas Day NFL slate and a few Friday-night MLB events. RSN carriage on YouTube TV and Fubo continues to shift contract-by-contract. Spot Sports re-prices every team's stack monthly, so the answer for your specific teams updates as rights move.

Guides

By team

Watch-cost breakdowns for popular teams

Each page lists the cheapest legal stack for that team's in-market and out-of-market fans, with RSN routing and national-window breakdowns.

Or browse by sport: football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer.

Methodology

Here's how we figured it out

US ZIP codes mapped: 41,000+
Nielsen DMAs: 210
Leagues priced: 5
Refresh cadence: Monthly

Spot reconciles your ZIP, your teams, and the current state of local channel rights, league streaming windows, and blackout policy. Out the other side: the lowest official setup that covers your schedule.

Pricing is reviewed monthly, and after every major rights or packaging change. The math is ours. The result is yours.

Tonight on SPOT.

Most fans pay around$82/moto watch their teams.

What it costs to watch each league

Why regional sports networks decide your bill

Why your ZIP, not your team, sets your watch cost

How Spot finds your watch price

Frequently asked questions

Deep dives on each piece of your stack

Watch-cost breakdowns for popular teams

Here's how we figured it out