The San Francisco Giants are one of the trickier MLB teams to watch because most of their games air on a regional sports network, not national TV. Here's the fast answer, then every option in detail.
The fastest answer: If you're in the Bay Area (or anywhere in the Giants' home territory), you need NBC Sports Bay Area — available through Comcast Xfinity, DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, and fubo. If you live outside Giants territory, the cheapest and simplest option is MLB.TV, which carries nearly every game for roughly the price of two months of a live-TV service.
Watching in the Bay Area: NBC Sports Bay Area
NBC Sports Bay Area is the Giants' local TV home and carries the large majority of the team's 162 games, with Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow, and the local broadcast crew. Ways to get it:
- Comcast Xfinity — the traditional cable route in most of the Bay Area. Check that your package includes the regional sports tier.
- DirecTV / DirecTV Stream — regional sports networks are generally included on the higher-tier packages (Choice and above on the streaming side, around $115/month).
- fubo — the most popular cord-cutter route for Giants fans. NBC regional sports networks are carried in-market; the Pro plan runs around $85/month.
Two big names are missing on purpose: YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV do not carry NBC's regional sports networks, so neither will show most Giants games. This trips up more fans than anything else — don't sign up for either expecting local Giants coverage.
Once you have a participating TV provider, you can also stream games in the NBC Sports app by logging in with your provider credentials, so you're not chained to the living room TV.
NBC Sports Bay Area has experimented with direct-to-consumer streaming options that don't require a full TV package. Availability and pricing change, so check the official NBC Sports Bay Area site for the current standalone offer before buying a bigger bundle than you need.
Watching from outside the Bay Area: MLB.TV
If you're a Giants fan in, say, Texas or New York, you're actually in luck. MLB.TV streams every out-of-market game live and on demand, with your choice of home or away broadcast feeds. It typically costs around $150 for the full season (a cheaper single-team plan is usually offered too), and it works on practically every device — smart TVs, streaming sticks, phones, and browsers.
The catch is the blackout rule: MLB.TV does not show games designated as in-market. If you live in the Giants' home territory, their games are blacked out on the standard MLB.TV package because the rights belong to NBC Sports Bay Area. Nationally televised games (Fox, and some exclusive national windows) can also be excluded. MLB has been expanding in-market streaming options for some clubs, so check MLB.com for the current rules in your zip code.
National broadcasts in 2026
MLB's national TV lineup was reshuffled starting with the 2026 season, and it now spans several networks:
- Fox and FS1 — Saturday games, plus the All-Star Game and World Series.
- NBC and Peacock — NBC took over the Sunday Night Baseball window; games air on NBC and stream on Peacock (around $11/month for the ad-supported plan).
- TBS — a weeknight national package and part of the postseason.
- Apple TV+ — Friday Night Baseball doubleheaders remain exclusive to Apple's service (around $13/month), so a couple of Giants games a year will only be available there.
- Netflix — picked up marquee one-off events such as the Home Run Derby.
Exact game assignments shift year to year, so check MLB.com's broadcast schedule for which network has a specific Giants game.
Cost breakdown
| Option | Typical price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| MLB.TV | ~$150/season | Fans outside the Bay Area |
| fubo (Pro) | ~$85/month | Bay Area cord-cutters who want local games |
| DirecTV Stream (Choice) | ~$115/month | Bay Area fans who also want a big channel lineup |
| Comcast Xfinity | varies by package | Traditional cable households |
| Peacock | ~$11/month | Sunday night national games |
| Apple TV+ | ~$13/month | Friday night exclusive games |
| Antenna | one-time ~$20–40 | Free national games on Fox and NBC |
Prices change frequently; treat these as ballpark figures and confirm on each service's official site.
Free and cheapest ways to watch
There's no fully free way to watch every Giants game legally, but you can see a surprising amount without a subscription:
- An over-the-air antenna picks up your local Fox and NBC affiliates for free, which covers the nationally televised Saturday and Sunday games plus much of the postseason. A one-time $20–40 purchase.
- MLB.TV's Free Game of the Day streams one game daily at no cost with a free MLB account — the Giants rotate through periodically.
- Free trials — fubo and other live-TV services usually offer short trials, useful for a big series (just set a cancellation reminder).
- Radio is completely free — every Giants game airs on KNBR, and the stream is available at no cost through KNBR's site and app. Not TV, but it's the classic budget option.
The cheapest full-season TV setup for an out-of-market fan is MLB.TV alone. For a Bay Area fan, it's typically fubo for the months of the season you care about, plus an antenna.
What's specific to the 2026 season
This section covers current-season details; everything above stays true year to year.
The Giants enter 2026 with Rafael Devers in the middle of the lineup after his blockbuster 2025 trade from Boston — his return series at Fenway Park is exactly the kind of matchup that lands in a national TV window, so check whether a marquee Giants series has moved to Fox, NBC/Peacock, or Apple TV+ before assuming it's on NBC Sports Bay Area. This is also the first season of MLB's new national rights deals (NBC/Peacock on Sunday nights, Netflix events), so some games are in different places than longtime fans expect.
FAQ
Can I watch the Giants without cable? Yes. In the Bay Area, fubo or DirecTV Stream carry NBC Sports Bay Area with no cable box required. Outside the Bay Area, MLB.TV covers nearly everything for one season-long fee.
Why are Giants games blacked out on my MLB.TV? You're inside the Giants' designated home territory, where local rights belong to NBC Sports Bay Area. You'll need a service that carries that channel (or a direct NBC Sports Bay Area streaming option, if offered) instead.
Does YouTube TV have Giants games? No — YouTube TV doesn't carry NBC Sports Bay Area, so it only shows the handful of Giants games on national networks like Fox and NBC. The same goes for Hulu + Live TV.