Local area Pirates and Penguins fans will want SportsNet Pittsburgh. Below I explain all you need to know to watch without cable.
In a hurry? SportsNet Pittsburgh isn’t widely available but there are two excellent streaming choices:
- Fubo: Get SportsNet Pittsburgh with 150+ channels for $91.98/month after a free trial.
- DIRECTV STREAM: Get 125+ top channels along with SportsNet Pittsburgh for $114.99/month after a 5-day free trial.
Streaming SportsNet Pittsburgh
Those looking to watch SportsNet Pittsburgh and are in its broadcast area have two options.
Streaming Extras
Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM allow you to watch SportsNet Pittsburgh with pretty much all streaming devices in use today. These include the Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku. You can also watch on iOS and Android mobile devices and Android TV-based smart TVs. Fubo provides support for more devices including the Xbox One.
Both services allow you to stream on multiple devices at once. DIRECTV STREAM provides unlimited devices and Fubo offers up to 10. They also both include unlimited cloud DVR storage.
Other Options to Stream Pittsburgh Sports
If you want to follow the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Panthers without access to SportsNet Pittsburgh, consider these options.
Solely focusing on regional and national broadcasts is one. In other words, get a streaming service that provides access to channels such as ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, TBS, and TNT. A couple that do are Hulu + Live TV ($86.99/month) and Sling TV ($55.00/month).
Another option is to focus on over-the-air channels through the use of an antenna. Doing this grants you access to Pirates games on Fox, ABC, or NBC and Penguins matchups on ABC. However, keep in mind that these instances are relatively rare.
Out-of-Market Options
If you are located outside of either club’s blackout area, you can subscribe to an out-of-market league pass, such as, in the case of the Pirates and Penguins, MLB.TV ($24.99/month) or ESPN+ ($10.99/month).
What Is SportsNet Pittsburgh?
This channel was founded in 1986 and was initially focused on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Its name was, appropriately, the Pirates Cable Network.
However, it was quickly changed to the KBL Entertainment Network, indicating that it was going to show more than baseball. A later name used was Prime Sports KBL, which was followed by Fox Sports Pittsburgh, Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh, FSN Pittsburgh, Root Sports Pittsburgh, and AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh. In 2023, the channel dropped the “AT&T.”
Areas Covered by SportsNet Pittsburgh
This regional sports network’s coverage area covers the vast majority of Pennsylvania – all but the Philadelphia metropolitan area – as well as all of West Virginia and nearby portions of Maryland, Ohio, and New York. Its stretch into Ohio goes all the way to Columbus.
However, with that said, make sure to also take note of any blackouts that may occur. For example, Pirates fans in Columbus and Penguins fans in Buffalo, NY, will need to get an out-of-market package to watch those games as their broadcasts on SportsNet Pittsburgh will be blacked out where they are. The ones related to these clubs are MLB.TV ($24.99/month) and ESPN+ ($10.99/month).
Teams Covered by SportsNet Pittsburgh
The principal focuses for SportsNet Pittsburgh are:
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Pittsburgh Penguins.
Live game coverage of the Pirates is extensive including games at PNC Park and on the road. Generally, every Pirates contest not shown regionally or nationally on an outlet such as Fox, ESPN, and TBS, will be on SportsNet Pittsburgh.
Note that while SportsNet Pittsburgh features many Spring Training games, as with other RSNs, it does not broadcast any playoff games. But it does offer analysis.
SportsNet Pittsburgh carries local sports including a tremendous amount of programming related to the West Virginia Mountaineers. These are generally coaches shows featuring the school’s football, men’s basketball, and baseball head coaches and Mountaineer GameDay, which is related to the school’s football and men’s basketball games. However, WVU live game broadcasts are not common.
SportsNet Pittsburgh also features shows like In Depth with Graham Bensinger.
SportsNet Pittsburgh Subchannels
In some cases, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Penguins will be playing at the same time. This is most apt to occur in April. However, even in those situations, both contests receive thorough coverage with one of the games bumped to SportsNet Pittsburgh’s subchannel: Pittsburgh 2, also known as Pit2.
Our Choice
SportsNet Pittsburgh is the channel that you want if you are looking to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins or Pittsburgh Pirates play as often as possible. There are only two choices to stream it: Fubo ($91.98/month) and DIRECTV STREAM ($114.99/month).
FuboTV is my top choice for streaming SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
FAQs
Is SportsNet Pittsburgh available from Hulu?
Hulu + Live TV is a great streaming service that also includes Disney+ and ESPN+. However, it does not offer much in the way of RSNs. As a result, Hulu doesn’t offer any of the AT&T SportsNet channels. It does, assuming you are in the broadcast area, offer NBC Sports Philadelphia. The same goes for YouTube TV.
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My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.
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