Baseball season hasn’t officially started yet, but for fans eager to start watching their favorite teams warm up, the time is now here. The World Baseball classic runs from March 7 to March 21, 2023 — and MLB Spring Training runs through March 28.
Our team’s top pick for streaming the World Baseball Classic without cable is Sling TV.
But if Sling isn’t your thing, we’ve also rounded up the other options for streaming the event — which is happening again for the first time in six years.
Our pick: Stream the World Baseball Classic on Sling
There are several ways to watch the World Baseball Classic without cable, including DirectTV Stream, fuboTV, Hulu+ Live TV, and YouTube TV. But Sling is definitely the cheapest way to watch the World Baseball Classic if you don’t already have access to FOX.
Here’s why our team prefers Sling for watching the World Baseball Classic:
- Among all the other streaming options, Sling is available at the lowest monthly price point.
- Sling is available in every region of the United States. (Viewers outside the US can try to access Sling with a VPN, like ExpressVPN.)
- Sling carries FOX, FS1, and FS2, so you’re sure to have a way to watch every single WBC game if you have a Sling subscription.
You’ll have access to World Baseball Classic games on Sling whether you subscribe to the Blue or Orange package, since the Orange package includes Fox Sports 1 and the Blue package includes Fox Sports 1 and FOX.
If you like channels like Bloomberg, BBC America, and Cheddar Business, the Orange package might be for you. But if you like channels like NBC and MSNBC, the Blue package might be best for you. Sling also offers a Blue and Orange package with more channels at a slightly higher price. Read our Sling review to learn more. Or, take a look at our Sling TV guide to see what’s streaming now.
Which channel will air the World Baseball Classic?
FOX has exclusive rights to the World Baseball Classic in the United States. The games will be broadcast on FOX, FS1, FS2, and FOX Deportes. Below, find the channels that will carry each of the rounds. (Or take a look at the full list of channels Flixed covers.)
| Round | Starts on | Airing on |
|---|---|---|
| Group Stage | March 7, 2023 | FOX, FS1, FS2, FOX Deportes |
| Quarter-finals | March 15, 2023 | FOX, FS1, FS2, FOX Deportes |
| Semi-finals | March 19, 2023 | FS1, FOX Deportes |
| Championship | March 21, 2023 | FS1, FOX Deportes |
5 more options for watching the World Baseball Classic
1. Watch the World Baseball Classic in Spanish or English on DirecTV Stream
Sling might be the cheapest way to watch the World Baseball Classic from the United States without cable, but if you want to watch the games in Spanish, you’ll need access to FOX Deportes, which isn’t available on Sling.
FOX Deportes is, however, available on DirecTV Stream, our next pick for watching the World Baseball Classic without cable.
The best part is that DirecTV Stream also carries all of the other options for watching the World Baseball Classic: FOX, FS1, and FS2. So you’ll get all of the options for watching the Classic from start to finish.
The “Entertainment” package is the cheapest option for subscribing to DirecTV Stream. You’ll get access to 65 national channels on this plan, including FOX and FOX Deportes. Read the full list of channels available on DirecTV Stream.
At the Entertainment level, you’ll also get access to ESPN, TNT, and Nickelodeon. DirecTV Stream is compatible with just about every streaming device you could have, including Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV.
Read our DirecTV Stream review to learn more. Or, take a look at our DirecTV Stream TV guide to see what’s streaming now.
2. Watch the World Baseball Classic on fuboTV
fuboTV is another great option for watching the World Baseball Classic without cable. Fubo is basically a sports fan’s version of Sling, with 100+ channels and tons of sports coverage. It’s a bit pricier than Sling, but could be a good option if you’re a fan of multiple sports.
You should be able to watch all World Baseball Classic games on fuboTV. Read our fuboTV review to learn more about why we like fuboTV. Or, take a look at our fuboTV guide to see what’s streaming now.
3. Watch the World Baseball Classic on Hulu+ Live TV
Hulu+ Live TV might not be the cheapest streaming service for watching the world Baseball Classic, but it is a great one. The main reason you’d subscribe to Hulu over the other options on this list is if you want to be able to watch tons of on-demand movies and TV shows as well as live sports and national channels.
Hulu is made for more than sports fans — it’s a streaming service for the whole family. So even though the service sounds pricey per month, it’s a pretty great deal for the amount of live and on-demand streaming access you get. Take a look at the full channel lineup on Hulu.
Users also really enjoy the streaming quality and device availability of Hulu+ Live TV. Read our Hulu review. Or, take a look at our Hulu+ Live TV guide to see what’s streaming now.
4. Watch the World Baseball Classic on YouTube TV
YouTube TV has really been sneaking into our top five streaming services lists, lately. The platform now rivals legacy competitors like DirecTV Stream and Hulu with channel availability, but it’s still not competitive with Sling on pricing.
That said, YouTube TV is a great option for watching the World Baseball Classic without cable, especially if you’ll use the streaming service to watch other live TV channels. To learn more, read our YouTube TV review. Or, take a look at our YouTube TV guide to see what’s streaming now.
5. Watch the World Baseball Classic for free with an OTA antenna
Since the World Baseball Classic is airing on FOX, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention an OTA antenna as a great, free option for streaming the games without cable. With an OTA antenna, you can access over-the-air television from home — and you won’t run into the same blackout issues you can have with watching local sports games on a streaming platform like Hulu or Sling. Read our roundup of the best antennas to find the one that works best for you.
Our takeaway: there are 6 great options for watching the World Baseball Classic without cable
Our team’s top pick for watching the World Baseball Classic is definitely Sling, but we also found five other options for watching the games, including: Hulu+ Live TV, fuboTV, DirecTV Stream, YouTube TV, and an OTA antenna. Pick the option that works the best for you and then tune in to watch the whole world play ball!
Kelsey Reynolds • Author
Kelsey Reynolds is Flixed’s content lead. She is based in Minneapolis. Kelsey holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Minnesota, and has spent her career writing and editing content about marketing, education, emergency preparedness, science, cannabis, and entertainment. When she’s not at her computer, Kelsey can usually be found working in her garden or walking her two dogs in the park.