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Root Sports Northwest TV Channel: How to Watch For Every Need & Budget
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Written by Frank Moraes Senior Content Editor
As a sports enthusiast in the Pacific Northwest, Root Sports Northwest is essential for watching the Mariners, Trail Blazers, and Kraken games. Instead of traditional cable, I’ve found a few alternative ways to stream these local teams.
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In a hurry? There are two great streaming services that offer Root Sports Northwest that are also full cable replacements:
Our #1 Service to Watch ROOT Sports
DIRECTV is the go-to choice for MLB, NBA, and NHL fans. Its Choice plan includes every regional sports network plus 100+ other channels. New users can start with a 5-day free trial.
PRO TIP: Traveling? Use ExpressVPN to keep watching ROOT Sports anywhere in the world.
Sports fans based in the Northwest will most likely want to secure access to Root Sports Northwest, the only remaining regional sports network using the Root Sports name. That is if you are interested in the Seattle Mariners (MLB) or depending on where you are located, the Seattle Kraken (NHL) , Portland Trail Blazers (NBA), or Big Sky Conference sports.
This TV channel is available to cord-cutters located in its broadcast area and subscribed to Fubo ($91.98/month) or DIRECTV ($64.99/month).
How to Watch Root Sports Northwest
Root Sports Northwest is available through a select number of TV providers.
Streaming Options for Root Sports
Two streaming services offer Root Sports Northwest: Fubo and DIRECTV.
Fubo for Root Sports
Fubo (formerly FuboTV) provides access to Root Sports Northwest through its base plan for $91.98/month. (Note, in some areas like Idaho, where Fubo offers other RSNs, the price will be $94.98/month.)
Also available with a Fubo subscription are other channels that you can use to watch a wide variety of live sports. These include Fox, CBS, ABC, ESPN, and Fox Sports 1 (FS1).
If you are a fan of the Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars, Oregon Ducks, or Oregon State Beavers, note that Fubo offer the Pac-12 Network channels.
All Fubo plans come with at least unlimited cloud DVR and the ability to stream on up to 10 devices/TVs simultaneously. See our Fubo review for details.
Root Sports With DIRECTV
DIRECTV provides regional sports networks, such as Root Sports Northwest to those in the Northwest, in its Choice plan (or above) for $64.99/month.
The DIRECTV Choice plan offers 125+ channels including Fox, CBS, ABC, ESPN, TBS, TNT, and FS1.
DIRECTV comes with unlimited cloud DVR (online sign-up required) as well as the ability to watch on unlimited devices at once — making it a good service for large households. Read our DIRECTV review for more information.
Cable/Satellite Options for Root Sports
Sometimes you just can’t avoid the cable and satellite companies. If you can live with them, these providers will allow you to watch Root Sports Northwest:
- Alaska: DIRECTV Satellite is the only provider throughout the state; GCI Cable is available in and around Anchorage.
- Idaho: DIRECTV Satellite everywhere with Time Warner Cable, and PMT providing service in select locations. (Note that Sparklight Cable/Cable One has become streaming only.)
- Montana: DIRECTV Satellite is available in all locations with some locations covered by Spectrum, Cable Montana, and Mid-Rivers.
- Oregon: DIRECTV Satellite, CenturyLink, Evoca, Spectrum, and Xfinity/Comast.
- Washington: DIRECTV Satellite and Spectrum are widely available. Select areas are covered by Astound Broadband, CenturyLink, Evoca, iFIBER Communications, Northland Communications, and Xfinity/Comcast.
Viewing Options Beyond Root Sports
One other option is using a digital antenna to watch some of these sports events. However, the number of matches that these teams play on network television is small.
But the biggest games are on these outlets. For example, the World Series is on Fox in its entirety, the NBA Finals are on ABC in its entirety, and Stanley Cup Finals games are sometimes on ABC.
If you are not concerned with watching these teams play as often as possible, you could consider other streaming services, which provide national sports channels. These include Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.
Of course, if you are looking for access to the Mariners, Kraken, and Trail Blazers and are outside of those respective teams’ blackout regions, you can watch their out-of-market broadcasts through MLB.TV, NBA League Pass (available directly and through Fubo and Sling TV), and ESPN+ (Kraken).
Devices to Live Stream Root Sports Northwest
Fubo and DIRECTV both support the most popular streaming devices. These include:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android mobile devices
- Android TV smart TVs
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- iOS mobile devices (iPhone, iPad)
- Roku
- Samsung smart TVs
- Web browsers.
Fubo supports a few devices and TVs that DIRECTV doesn’t:
- Hisense smart TVs
- LG smart TVs
- Vizio SmartCast TVs
- Xbox One gaming systems.
What Is Root Sports Northwest?
Root Sports Northwest is a regional sports network (RSN) based in Bellevue, Washington. It is primarily owned by the Seattle Mariners (along with Warner Bros Discovery) and is primarily focused on that team. In fact, it is the only major league sports team that is available throughout this channel’s broadcast area.
All subscribers in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska get to watch Seattle Kraken (NHL) and Portland Trail Blazers (NBA) broadcasts. It’s in Idaho and Montana is where things change up some. For example, the Trail Blazers are not available anywhere in those two states. Meanwhile, the Kraken can be viewed in northern Idaho, the portion within the Spokane, Washington, metropolitan area. But those games are not available elsewhere in Idaho or anywhere in Montana.
Where Is Root Sports Northwest Available?
This channel is available everywhere in the Northwest, throughout the states of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, and Montana but not in any of the states adjacent to those.
What Is Root Sports Northwest’s Game Coverage?
Nearly all Seattle Mariners games are broadcast on Root Sports Northwest. Exceptions include any contests shown on Fox and games broadcast exclusively on ESPN. Root Sports, as with all RSNs, does not broadcast any playoff games but they do feature Spring Training events.
A significant percentage of Seattle Kraken and Portland Trail Blazers games are also broadcast on Root Sports Northwest. In these cases as well, this consists of all of those teams’ games minus ones that are broadcast on a national outlet, such as TNT. Note that Kraken contests not available on Root Sports Northwest can include ones exclusively shown online through ESPN+ ($11.99/month).
Another major aspect of Root Sports NW’s programming is the broadcast of Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball. The channel airs a significant number of men’s games are a few women’s games.
Non-game coverage of the Seattle Seahawks is also shown on Root Sports Northwest, including Seahawks Press Pass.
College sports events are sporadically broadcast on this channel as well. These tend to focus on Big Sky conference teams. One of its most-watched college football games is the Montana-Montana State rivalry match-up that is played on the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving. Other football games that this channel broadcast in 2021 included Cal Poly-Montana State, Idaho-Eastern Washington, and Southern Utah-Montana.
High school sports are also sometimes featured on Root.
Root Sports Plus
If multiple teams that Root Sports Northwest has the rights to show are playing at the same time, one of them will be broadcast on Root Sports Plus. With the Seattle Kraken aired on the channel, that increases these occurrences significantly over what was the case previously.
Root Sports Programming
The focus of Root Sports programming is the airing of live games from the Mariners, Trail Blazers, and Kraken. These include pregame and postgame shows featuring analysis and news.
There is also a fair amount of original programming. This includes shows like Mariners All Access and various news shows like Talkin’ Ducks. They also feature licensed sports and sports-oriented programming.
Mariners, Trail Blazers, and Kraken Game Commentators
Dave Sims and Mike Blowers describe the action on the diamond at Seattle Mariners games for Root Sports Northwest while Aaron Goldsmith splits his time between there and the team’s radio broadcasts. Also providing support are Brad Adam, Bill Krueger, Jen Mueller, Rick Rizzs, Ryan Rowland-Smith, and Dave Valle.
In the Rose City, Kevin Calabro acts as Portland Trail Blazers play-by-play announcer. He was the long-time voice of the Seattle SuperSonics before that team moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. Calabro is joined by Lamar Hurd (analyst) and Brooke Olzendam (courtside reporter) on Blazers broadcasts. Michael Holton is in the studio.
Above the rink in the Emerald City are John Forslund (play-by-play) and JT Brown (analyst); they commentate on Seattle Kraken games. Brown’s playing career included time with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, and Minnesota Wild. Eddie Olczyk also provides commentary. The crew is rounded out with Ross Fletcher, Alison Lukan, Nick Olczyk, and Piper Shaw.
Gonzaga Bulldogs broadcasts feature Greg Heister on play-by-play with Dan Dickau, Richard Fox, and Francis Williams.
Our Choice
Alright, so you’re a die-hard Mariners or Kraken fan, and you need your Root Sports fix. I’ve been there, trust me. After checking out all the options, Fubo is the way to go. It’s not the cheapest, but it’s a heck of a lot better value than DIRECTV, and they’ve got a wider range of sports channels overall. Streaming quality is top-notch, no complaints there, and the Fubo interface is clean and easy to use. If you’re serious about your Northwest sports, Fubo’s the one.
FAQs
What happened to NBC Sports Northwest?
NBC Sports Northwest went off the air on Sep 30, 2021. That was done in response to the Portland Trail Blazers moving to Root Sports Northwest. The remaining sports programming that was available for NBC Sports Northwest was small enough that its owners decided to shut it down.
Does Root Sports NW air Timbers matches?
Root Sports Northwest (along with FOX 12 PLUS) aired a significant number of Portland Timbers games through the 2022 MLS season but they do not anymore. The league has taken control of its own distribution. It has partnered with Apple TV+ to offer MLS Season Pass — a streaming service that offers access to all games regardless of where you live.
Does Root Sports air NFL games?
Although Root Sports does offer commentary about the Seattle Seahawks, NFL games are on a combination of ABC, CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC, NFL Network, and Amazon Prime. This has nothing to do with Root Sports Northwest. No RSNs have the broadcasting rights to NFL games. It just isn’t what they do.
Update history
This page was revised 9 times between November 2021 and March 2024.
Updated for the 2024 Seattle Mariners season.
Updated some sub-sections. Updated some section headings. Changes to some of the sections. Removed section. Cleaned up list. Deleted unneeded sub-section.
Added buttons for streaming services. Image changes. Additional links. Various changes to content.
Added buttons for streaming services. Added VPN info. Added sub-section. Updated some sub-sections. Updates to a section. Changed some content in main section.
Updated some sub-sections. More links.
Linking. Image changes. Pricing updates.
Added sub-section. Linking. Pricing updates. Small layout changes.
Added new section. Added sub-section. Pricing updates. Added some more links. Various content updates.
Changed some content in main section.
Frank was the Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com and an expert in sports streaming, specializing in out-of-market games and regional sports networks.
A passionate cord-cutter and longtime subscriber to numerous streaming services, Frank has first-hand experience navigating the complexities of sports streaming.
With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute and a professional background in early streaming technology, Frank combines deep technical insight with practical, real-world knowledge.
His mission at Hotdog.com was straightforward: help sports fans get hassle-free access to the games they love, at the best price, without frustration.
A passionate cord-cutter and longtime subscriber to numerous streaming services, Frank has first-hand experience navigating the complexities of sports streaming.
With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute and a professional background in early streaming technology, Frank combines deep technical insight with practical, real-world knowledge.
His mission at Hotdog.com was straightforward: help sports fans get hassle-free access to the games they love, at the best price, without frustration.
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