Nearly a third of Americans say fall is their favorite season. Why? Maybe it’s the crisp autumn air and the pumpkin spice lattes. For many of us though, fall is our favorite for one reason: sports.
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Fall is the best time of year for sports. Football is back, college rivalries resume, MLB playoff races heat up and the NBA’s opening week is right around the corner.
Provided you’ve got the time for a season-long sports binge, there are quite a few TV packages out there that have all the sports you could want and then some. Here’s a look at some of the best channels and sports TV packages for fans this fall.
Best for NFL – NFL SUNDAY TICKET
Available with:
- DIRECTV
DIRECTV promotes its exclusive Nfl Sunday Ticket as the only sports package that brings you every live, out-of-market NFL game, every Sunday. It’s perfect for die-hard football fans and serious fantasy players, and it’s an absolute must-have for transplants whose favorite team isn’t the local team.
DIRECTV is the exclusive provider of NFL SUNDAY TICKET through 2020. The good news is DIRECTV is available basically everywhere, and new customers get a season of NFL SUNDAY TICKET included at no extra cost with certain packages.
Next best thing: NFL Network
If you don’t have DIRECTV and don’t plan to get it, you can get a little more NFL coverage with the NFL Network. While it doesn’t broadcast any live games on Sunday, the NFL Network does feature lots of preseason games and in-depth game and player analysis. It’s also the home to that special midweek game that helps NFL fans make it from Monday to Sunday — Thursday Night Football.
NFL Network is available from major TV providers including DISH, XFINITY, Cox, Spectrum, Frontier and Verizon. The channel is also available on DIRECTV.
Best for college sports – ESPN College Extra
Available with:
- AT&T U-verse
- DIRECTV
- Spectrum
- Verizon Fios
ESPN College Extra gives college sports fans a little bit of everything, including football, basketball and baseball from conferences across the U.S. It’s great for keeping up with a variety of sports and teams, especially ones that don’t always air on major networks.
Next best thing: Regional and conference-specific networks
Regional sports networks and conference-specific networks, such as the SEC Network, Longhorn Network and Big Ten Network, are available from most TV providers. Regional sports networks will give you more sports from that region, including select collegiate sporting events. Conference-specific networks are dedicated to sports in that conference and will get you big games, conference news, analysis and more.
Regional sports channels and conference-specific networks usually come with mid- or high-tiered TV packages or add-on sports packages.
Best for MLB playoffs – Fox, Fox Sports 1 and TBS
Available with:
- AT&T U-verse
- Cox
- DIRECTV
- DISH
- Frontier
- Spectrum
- Verizon Fios
- XFINITY
Fans of America’s pastime are in luck because they can catch most, if not all, MLB postseason action on some pretty standard channels. Fox and Fox Sports 1 broadcast the National League games, TBS broadcasts the American League games and Fox hosts the entire World Series.
Nearly every major TV provider includes these channels with their basic TV packages. Watch out for DIRECTV, though. You won’t get Fox Sports 1 with their lowest-tiered package.
Next best thing: MLB Network, MLB Extra Innings
It won’t give you much of the postseason, but for MLB coverage throughout the regular season, try MLB Network and MLB Extra Innings. MLB Network features highlights and analysis from around the league, and it broadcasts live games on occasion. MLB Extra Innings is an add-on sports package that runs a couple hundred bucks per season and offers up to 90 live, out-of-market games per week.
MLB Network and MLB Extra Innings are available from most major TV providers, including Cox, DIRECTV, DISH, Frontier, Spectrum, Verizon and XFINITY. While MLB Extra Innings will cost you a bit extra, MLB Network usually comes with mid-tier TV packages.
Best for NBA – NBA League Pass
Available with:
- AT&T U-verse
- Cox
- DIRECTV
- DISH
- Frontier
- Spectrum
- Verizon Fios
- XFINITY
Like NFL SUNDAY TICKET and MLB Extra Innings, NBA League Pass is a standalone sports package. The package offers up to 40 live, out-of-market regular season games per week. Package features include choosing home or away broadcast options and live game streaming on your mobile devices.
Next best thing: ESPN, TNT, NBA TV and regional sports networks
ESPN and TNT host most of the NBA playoffs and are included with nearly every basic TV package. NBA TV offers game recaps and highlights, plus live games on occasion, and it comes with most mid-tier TV packages. Regional sports networks are your best bet for watching the local team, and availability varies by TV provider.
Are you ready for the season?
Do you have the right TV and sports packages to catch all the games you want to see this season? If you’re not sure, check out available TV packages in your area with Allconnect®.
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