How to Watch NBA, MLB & NHL Without Cable in 2026

Football gets all the attention, but basketball, baseball and hockey fans face a trickier cord-cutting maze — one built around regional sports networks and blackouts. Here's how to follow all three cable-free in 2026.

NBA

National games are spread across ESPN, ABC, and the league's newer broadcast partners, with NBA League Pass covering out-of-market matchups. The snag is your local team: home games are often tied to a regional sports network (RSN) and blacked out on League Pass.

MLB

MLB.TV is great for out-of-market games, but your home team is usually blacked out locally — again because of the RSN that holds those rights. Apple TV and other partners carry select exclusive games each week.

NHL

Hockey lives mainly on ESPN and TNT nationally, with local team broadcasts back on the regional networks. If you're noticing a pattern, you're not wrong.

The real problem: regional blackouts

For NBA, MLB and NHL, the single biggest cord-cutting headache isn't finding a national game — it's watching your own home team without the regional sports network. That's exactly where a service carrying regional feeds directly helps. LemoTV's sports channels include regional and out-of-market feeds, so your home broadcast is actually available instead of blacked out. One honest caveat: check the lineup for your specific team and market before you rely on it.

What you need

• Any streaming device — Fire Stick, Android box, smart TV, phone
• About 25 Mbps for HD, 50 Mbps+ for 4K
• A single player app instead of three league apps

Bottom line

Stitching together League Pass, MLB.TV and RSN workarounds gets expensive and still blacks out the games you most want. One IPTV subscription with regional feeds is simpler and cheaper for a multi-sport household. See the LemoTV plans or start with a $4.99 starter month.