Is DIRECTV or YouTube TV Better for Watching Local Sports?

Choosing a TV service for watching your favorite local sports and teams starts with three questions: Does the service carry your teams? Can you follow multiple games at once? And how much will it cost you?

DIRECTV and YouTube TV are two of the leaders in live sports streaming and both offer strong, sports-focused plans for around the same price. Both include major national sports channels, local broadcast networks where available and ESPN Unlimited Plan, but access to the regional sports networks (RSNs) and league channels where you can watch your favorite local teams are where they diverge most significantly – and in most cases, DIRECTV has the edge here.

DIRECTV offers the most regional sports network access of any provider on the market, plus league networks such as MLB Network® and NHL Network. YouTube TV, on the other hand, has a much more limited selection of regional sports networks, primarily NBC Sports RSNs. Instead, it caters more to football fans by exclusively offering NFL Sunday Ticket as a paid add-on with special subscriber pricing.

Interested in a service that lets you access live sports, and only live sports? Check out DIRECTV’s MySports® Genre Pack® today.

Stuck between these two options with your favorite sports’ seasons just around the bend? This article is designed to give you a detailed comparison between DIRECTV and YouTube TV for watching live streaming local sports, so you can decide which provider best suits your sports-watching needs.

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DIRECTV vs. YouTube TV for Regional Sports Networks

DIRECTV remains one of the best options for sports fans who want the most access to the regional sports networks that carry their local teams. It has one of the broadest selections of regional sports networks and team channels available, including MSG, NESN, YES Network, Marquee Sports Network, Spectrum SportsNet, SportsNet LA and others, depending on location and subscription. YouTube TV does not carry any of those networks in its standard lineup.

DIRECTV’s CHOICE and higher Signature packages also include qualifying in-market regional sports networks, and customers who opt for the MySports Genre Pack can add the MyHome Team mini-pack for $19.99/month to access eligible local coverage plus six pre-selected out of market RSNs.

MySports Mini Packs: DIRECTV offers two MySports Mini Packs: MySports Extra and MyHome Team. MySports Extra costs $13.99/month and MyHome Team costs $19.99/month. Both require a compatible MySports subscription. They are distinct from DIRECTV Sports Pack, which is available with eligible Signature packages and cannot be added to Genre Packs.

YouTube TV carries fewer regional networks in their home markets, though it does offer NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports California, and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Some teams use local broadcast stations, team channels or direct subscriptions instead of a traditional RSN. DIRECTV carries most of these channels. Check the team’s current broadcaster and each provider’s ZIP-code lineup to see which you can get.

DIRECTV vs. YouTube TV: RSN Offerings

Here’s a breakdown of the RSNs available through DIRECTV and YouTube TV.

DIRECTV vs. YouTube TV: Which is Best for Watching Baseball, Basketball & Hockey?

Looking to evaluate DIRECTV vs. YouTube TV for watching a specific sport? Here’s a league-by-league look at regional sports network availability between DIRECTV and YouTube TV:

MLB

DIRECTV is one of the best options for fans who want to watch Major League Baseball. Its broad regional coverage offers access to 20+ RSNs and local team channels, the most of any streaming provider, and the MySports Genre Pack includes MLB Network®. The MySports Extra mini pack adds MLB Strike Zone™. Customers can also connect their MLB.TV® subscription to DIRECTV to watch eliigible out-of-market regular-season games, subject to local and national blackout restrictions. 

YouTube TV does not carry MLB Network® or MLB Strike Zone™ in its live TV lineup, and its selection of RSNs is much more limited.

NBA

For NBA fans, you’ll need to compare your NBA team’s local broadcaster, national TV coverage and streaming-exclusive games separately.

DIRECTV’s broader regional coverage is the better pick for fans whose local team network is unavailable on YouTube TV. YouTube TV does, however, carry NBC Sports RSNs, so if your team has lots of games airing there, that could be an important factor in your decision.

NHL

DIRECTV is likely the superior choice for fans looking to watch pro hockey games. The MySports Genre Pack carries more RSNs than YouTube TV, and it includes NHL Network, which YouTube TV doesn’t offer at all. That means YouTube TV subscribers won’t be able to watch any of their team’s NHL Network-exclusive matchups.

Both providers include ESPN Unlimited Plan with their ESPN-carrying plans, which provides access to out-of-market NHL programming via NHL Power Play, though some out-of-market NHL games will still fall under local and national blackout restrictions.

Out-of-market RSNs and live-game restrictions

DIRECTV offers eligible out-of-market regional sports programming through qualifying subscriptions. Its DIRECTV Sports Pack with CHOICE or MÁS ULTRA and above offers out-of-market regional sports access, with networks varying by location and package.

An out-of-market RSN subscription does not automatically unlock its live MLB, NBA or NHL games. League blackouts still apply. To watch out-of-market professional games, you may need MLB.TV, NBA League Pass or ESPN Unlimited Plan for NHL coverage. Those services have their own blackout and national-exclusivity restrictions.

National Sports Coverage and League Networks

Looking to make sure you can catch all of your favorite teams’ nationally televised games, too?

Both sports plans cover many of the same national broadcasts through ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, NFL Network, TNT, TBS and truTV. Both also offer college sports networks and local ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and NBC affiliates where available. Those shared channels cover many major events, but individual league networks and exclusive streaming rights create some important gaps.

Here’s a look at what national and league networks the DIRECTV MySports Genre Pack and YouTube TV Sports offer:

Watch Your Favorite Teams on DIRECTV

If you care about watching as many of your local team’s games as possible, DIRECTV is likely to be the stronger pick. Same if you want to watch sports in 4K and enjoy unlimited in-home streaming. MySports with eligible Mini-Packs lets you customize your plan around local and national sports, and the Sports Central feature adds convenient cross-app discovery on Gemini, so you’ll always know when and where to watch games.

DIRECTV also offers a five-day free trial for eligible new customers. YouTube TV trial lengths vary by plan and offer.

You can keep up with your teams’ seasons year-round with DIRECTV. Get started today!