Editor’s Pick
Fubo gives you 185+ sports-focused live channels.
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I’ll need NBC Sports Boston to watch regular season Celtics games since I’ve cut the cord, but there are several streaming options available to me.
Seeing “not available in your area” or a blackout? Connect to another US location to unlock regional sports, news, and shows you already pay for. A streaming subscription is still required.
VPNs are also handy when you travel abroad and want to watch your usual US streaming content. New to VPNs? Learn how they work….
In a hurry? Only a handful of streaming services offer NBC Sports Boston. These services are all great choices:
Editor’s Pick
Fubo gives you 185+ sports-focused live channels.
DIRECTV includes every regional sports network in its Choice plan, plus 90+ other channels.
Hulu + Live TV gets you 95+ live channels, plus the Disney+ and ESPN+ bundle.
Start Hulu + Live TV Free Trial ↗︎
PRO TIP: Traveling? Use ExpressVPN to keep watching anywhere in the world.
Many Boston Celtics fans based in this region of the country head to NBC Sports Boston on a regular basis as in-market broadcasts of those teams are shown on that channel.
How can you get it if you live there? Subscribe to FuboTV ($79.99/month), Hulu + Live TV ($82.99/month), or DIRECTV ($64.99/month).
Due to various contract disputes over the past several years, the number of streaming services that offer NBC Sports Boston to those located in its viewing area has dwindled to just a few.
Fubo (formerly FuboTV) ($94.98/month) is a great option if you are looking to get access to not only NBC Sports Boston but also NESN.
With that said, it does offer over 150 live TV channels including all of the networks — CBS, ABC, Fox, and NBC — as well as CBS Sports Network (CBSSN), Fox Sports 1 (FS1), Fox Sports 2 (FS2), ESPN, and ESPN2. In addition, its inclusion of ABC and ESPN ensures that you can watch all non-TNT-broadcast Celtics games.
See our Fubo review for more details.
NBC Sports Boston is available to those who subscribe to DIRECTV’s Choice plan. Those doing so will also garner access to ABC, Fox, ESPN, FS1, and TNT. DIRECTV also offers NESN to its Choice plan subscribers. It’s really the perfect service for local fans. The only downside is its price, which is $64.99/month. But that may well be worth it.
Our DIRECTV review has more information.
Hulu + Live TV ($82.99/month) is another streaming service that provides NBC Sports Boston to subscribers in the New England area. Also of note, you can watch ABC, Fox, ESPN, FS1, and TNT, ensuring that you can see all Celtics games that are not shown on NBC Sports Boston. This includes live coverage of any postseason runs that they go on.
Start Hulu + Live TV Free Trial ↗︎
However, a significant con to note is that Hulu + Live TV does not offer NESN. For more information, see our Hulu + Live TV review. You might also check out YouTube TV. It offers a very similar plan with the same advantages and disadvantages for New England area fans.
If you want to not only ditch cable but also not have a streaming service bill, you can simply go with an antenna, which provides you with more options than you may at first realize.
For example, during the Celtics’ 2021-22 campaign, going this route would allow you to watch four of the team’s contests. Plus, if the Celtics advance to the NBA Finals, all of those games would be shown on ABC.
You could also decide to go with a different streaming service and focus on national coverage of the Celtics, including broadcasts on cable channels. For example, with Sling TV’s Orange+Blue plan ($60.99/month), you will get ESPN, FS1, and TNT. However, you will not be able to receive Fox or ABC.
Out-of-market fans can watch Celtics games through NBA League Pass ($14.99/mo).
The streaming services we’ve discussed support most of the devices in use:
Fubo and Hulu + Live TV support a number of other devices:
Fubo supports Hisense smart TVs. And for the gamers out there, Hulu supports the PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
NBC Sports Boston is a regional sports network (RSN) that has broadcast New England sports events to those located there since its launch in 1981. This channel got its start as PRISM New England and has had SportsChannel-, Fox Sports-, and Comcast-related names. It adopted its current moniker in 2017.
This network has covered various sports teams over the years. Other than its current two, the most notable of those is the Hartford Whalers, a former NHL franchise that joined that league in 1979, started being broadcast by this network two years later, and moved to North Carolina in 1997 to become the Carolina Hurricanes.
NBC Sports Boston may be accessed anywhere in the six New England states — Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut — with the exception of southwestern Connecticut. For example, it is available in Hartford and Waterbury but not in New Haven.
Most of NBC Sports Boston’s live game broadcasts are Boston Celtics contests. For example, 72 of the team’s 82 regular-season games in the 2021-22 season — 88% — were slated for coverage on that channel.
NBC Sports Boston is a regular destination for New England Patriots fans as well. It doesn’t air games. But it does air related shows such as Tom Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast as well as Pre-game Live and Post-game Live immediately before and after the team’s games are shown on different networks.
What about the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins? They are shown on NESN, which is available from Fubo and DIRECTV.
NBC Sports Boston does discuss and report on all five of New England’s major league sports franchises on various shows that it airs, such as Boston Sports Tonight and Hockey Night in New England.
NBC Sports Boston airs a lot of original content for local fans beyond pre- and post-game shows. Of most note is the nightly Boston Sports Tonight. Other shows are season dependent. But in general, the station presents a lively lineup and not the hours-long blocks of paid programming so common of RSNs when games aren’t happening.
Note that there is no NBC Sports Boston Plus but it isn’t necessary. Even when NBC Sports Boston aired Revolution games, game conflicts were resolved with the help of My38, WSBK.
Mike Gorman and Brian Scalabrine team up to commentate on Boston Celtics broadcasts. Gorman has been the team’s play-by-play announcer since 1981 while Scalabrine, a former Celtics player (2005-10), started his role as analyst in 2014.
I tried out a bunch of streaming services, and Fubo really nailed it for NBC Sports Boston. It’s got all the essentials for catching Celtics games – ABC, ESPN, NBC Sports Boston – plus over 150 other live channels to keep things interesting. It’s super simple to use, works on pretty much any device, and feels built for sports fans. Hulu + Live TV and DIRECTV are solid too, but Fubo’s combination of great sports coverage, an easy setup, and lots of variety made it the clear winner for me. It’s a great all-around pick for Boston sports fans.
Both Hulu + Live TV offers NBC Sports Boston and numerous other channels for $82.99/month. But take into account that Hulu + Live TV does not offer NESN. You can get both of those with Fubo ($94.98/month) or DIRECTV ($64.99/month).
It has been some time since the New England Revolution were shown on NBC Sports Boston. But even if that were not the case, all MLS teams left the world of local broadcasting starting in 2023. Now if you want to watch, you can sign up for MLS Season Pass $14.99/mo.
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