The Oakland Athletics have finished last in their division for three years in a row for the first time since moving out west in 1968. However, last season the team took a step in the right direction by breaking the 70-win threshold and advancing a number of players that could be part of this season's winning team. Will the Athletics make the most of their new players and end this season with even more wins than last year?
If you're an Athletics fan living in Oakland, then you know how tough it can be to catch every game without a premium cable TV subscription. Even then you'll still miss out on home games thanks to MLB network restrictions.
Don't worry though as we'll show you how to live stream the Athletics in Oakland or anywhere else in the world for that matter with our guide to watch MLB online.
How to stream the Athletics live online
When it comes to streaming baseball online, your first choice has to be MLB.TV. Not only does it have the most extensive game coverage, but the devices it supports are really varied, too.
You can watch every out-of-market regular season game live on MLB.TV. Or if you prefer to see the games in HD you can view them on demand. MLB.TV’s out-of-market yearly packages are the best for value and you can choose whether you want to watch all the teams in the league for $115.99 a year or just follow a single team for $89.99 a year.
MLB.TV works on all of the most popular streaming devices including Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and many others so you’ll never miss a game no matter where you are.
Stream the Athletics in Oakland, during blackout games and outside the US
If there is no official broadcast option in your country or a game is not playing locally on MLB.TV due to an MLB blackout, you'll need to use a VPN to dial in to a location in the US that does have coverage. A VPN is perfect for this as it allows you to change your IP address so you appear to be in a completely different location. We've tested hundreds of VPNs and can recommend these as the best three VPNs currently available:
If you live in Oakland and don't want to pay for local cable television just to watch some baseball, catching the Athletics live is made very difficult for you. Because the MLB agrees exclusive rights for those stations, MLB.TV can't broadcast as the action happens. You have to settle to watch the game 90 minutes after it ends.
But using a VPN is a handy -and legal - way around this. Once you've signed up to an MLB subscription, grab one of our recommended VPNs and log in. Then use a server in another state and watch the Athletics go for glory.
Other ways to watch the Oakland Athletics online
MLB.TV won't be for everyone. If you want a paid option that includes other television and sports, then going for a more all-encompassing plan might be better for you. Below are some other options to consider.
But remember that the same applies if you're trying to watch the Athletics within Oakland or are trying to watch a blackout game - you'll need a VPN to do so, so check out how to do that above.
Thanks to a deal between Facebook and Major League Baseball, you can stream 25 afternoon games in the US for free right from the social network. All of the games will take place on weekday afternoons (primarily on Wednesdays) at the MLB Facebook page, but this is a free option that gives you a taste of what it’s like to be able to stream MLB games from your browser.
Following in Facebook's footsteps, Twitter has the right to live stream an MLB game every week during the regular season. You can watch all the action live at live.twitter.com/MLB.
ESPN+
ESPN+ offers fans a dynamic lineup of live sports, high-quality original shows and films, exclusive studio programs and an unmatched on-demand library. And it's really cheap, costing only $4.99 per month.
When it comes to MLB, ESPN+ is featuring one MLB game each day, seven days per week throughout the MLB regular season. That means won't be the comprehensive option for Athletics super fans. But if you’re interested in following the MLB as a whole and want to catch up with other big games, than this service could be a good fit.
The best of the rest for streaming the Athletics:
- DIRECTV NOW $50 per month - DIRECTV NOW gives users all the channels needed to watch MLB online and also comes with some extra channels as well. If you want a lot of content to choose from and don’t mind watching the games live as the service doesn’t include cloud DVR, then DIRECTV NOW’s 7-day trial will let you test out the platform.
- Sling TV $40 per month - Sling TV is an inexpensive way to watch baseball though you’ll be missing out on games shown on the MLB Network. The service splits its content into two different TV packages which does make things cheaper though to stream MLB you’ll need to sign up for both. Sling TV is compatible with Apple TV, Roku, Xbox One, Chromecast as well as lots of other devices and its easy to get started with a 7-day free trial.
- fuboTV $19.99 for the first month - fuboTV has a low introductory price though after that the price goes up to $44.99 a month and includes 70 channels. Unfortunately it does not have ESPN, MLB Network or TBS though it does offer strong local coverage and 30 hours of cloud DVR storage. fuboTV does has a 7-day trial available so you can test out its functionality for yourself.
