Houston fans of the Astros and Rockets definitely want access to Space City Home Network. It’s the only channel for regional fans who want to watch all their games live. Read on to find out how to get it.
In a hurry? If you already know you absolutely must have Space City Home Network, there are only two ways to get it without a cable or satellite contract:
- Fubo: Get over 150 channels including a great selection of RSNs starting at $85.98/mo. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
- DIRECTV STREAM: Sets you up with every regional channel in your area and 100+ others for $99.99/mo. A 5-day free trial is now available for DIRECTV STREAM.
If you can’t watch your favorite sports because of your location, get ExpressVPN to access the content you deserve.
Table Of Contents
If you are located in or near Texas and want to watch coverage of the Houston Astros, Space City Home Network is a must-have channel for you. This is also true for those in and near the Houston metropolitan area and in many other areas of Texas who want to catch Houston Rockets games as often as possible.
Watch the Astros shoot for the (World Series) stars again! The MLB Playoffs start October 3 — watch every round on Sling TV!
If either of those descriptions fits you and you want to secure online access to this channel, you have two options available: FuboTV ($88.98/mo) and DIRECTV STREAM ($108.99/mo).
Unblock Your Favorite Movies and Shows With a VPN
If you can’t watch your favorite movies and shows because of your location, a VPN will allow you to get the access you are entitled to, plus extra security and unequalled privacy. Check out our VPN Guide for everything you need to know, including our top pick ExpressVPN.
Other brands worth checking out include Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost.
Stream Space City Home Network
There are currently only two options for streaming Space City Home Network, but they are good ones.
FuboTV
The most affordable streaming service option for Space City Home Network is FuboTV, which costs $88.98/mo. It is also our favorite streaming service for sports fans. Of its 130+ channels, over a third of them are sports-oriented. You get FS1, FS2, CBS Sports Network, Big Ten Network, SEC Network, ESPN, ESPN2, beIN Sports, and TUDN.
In addition, you can pay $7.99/mo more for its Fubo Extra add-on and access channels such as MLB Network, NBA TV, and NHL Network (and 45 others). Another option is getting its Sports Plus with NFL RedZone add-on for $10.99/mo to get those three additional channels as well as channels such as ESPNU, Pac-12 Network, and Stadium.
Several of those channels will also be of value to college sports fans. For example, the SEC Network is a must-have for Texas A&M Aggies fans while the Houston Cougars, Rice Owls, Texas Southern Tigers, and Houston Baptist Huskies are sometimes shown on those aforementioned channels.
All FuboTV plans come with 1000 hours of cloud DVR and the ability to stream on up to 10 devices at once. For all the details, see our FuboTV review.
DIRECTV STREAM
Another option for gaining streaming-only access to Space City Home Network is DIRECTV STREAM. To receive this channel, you need to at least subscribe to its Choice plan, which costs $108.99/mo.
This comes with roughly 100 channels, which include ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FS1, MLB Network, NBA TV, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, and SEC Network. An upgrade to its Ultimate plan ($119.99/mo) will also get you channels such as FS2, CBS Sports Network, and NHL Network.
Most who receive Space City Home Network through DIRECTV STREAM also get Bally Sports Southwest and Bally Sports Oklahoma. One of the rare exceptions occurs in Las Cruces, NM. Those there will instead get Bally Sports Arizona and Bally Sports San Diego. However, that does mean that those in Las Cruces can watch locally produced Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, and San Diego Padres games.
One important point that Texas Rangers fans should note is that they must subscribe to DIRECTV STREAM to receive online-only access to in-market locally produced broadcasts of that team’s games, which are shown only on Bally Sports Southwest.
For more information about what they offer, see our DIRECTV STREAM review.
Get DIRECTV STREAM Free for 5 Days
Alternatives to FuboTV and DIRECTV STREAM
If you are looking for online-only access to Space City Home Network, you do not have any other options; you must subscribe to FuboTV or DIRECTV STREAM.
Now, if you are content with watching Houston Astros or Houston Rockets games on a sporadic basis (eg, focusing on their playoff games) you could instead subscribe to a different streaming service, such as Hulu + Live TV or Sling TV. Also, some playoff games, such as the World Series and NBA Finals, are on over-the-air channels and can simply be accessed with an antenna.
Conversely, if you are situated outside of the blackout area of the Houston Astros or Houston Rockets, you could subscribe to MLB.TV ($24.99/mo) or NBA League Pass ($28.99/mo).
However, note that the Astros’ blackout area is extensive, essentially covering all of Space City Home Network’s coverage area – all of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, and part of New Mexico. With that said, the Houston Rockets’ blackout area is much smaller and does not include the metropolitan areas surrounding other NBA teams.
Watching Space City Home Network With TVs and Streaming Devices
Both FuboTV and DIRECTV STREAM support most streaming devices that are currently in use. For example, they support recent Samsung smart TVs.
Also, they both support all the TV “stick” devices like Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku.
And you can watch Space City Home Network on your smartphones and other devices running iOS and Android. You can also cast from them to your TV using Chromecast.
You can also stream on most web browsers and attach devices directly to your TV.
The only device DIRECTV STREAM offers that FuboTV doesn’t is the DirecTV device itself, which you can get for $120 or $5/mo.
FuboTV, on the other hand, supports a number of devices that DIRECTV STREAM does not:
- Android TV/Google TV devices
- Hisense smart TVs
- LG TVs
- Vizio SmartCast TV
- Xbox One gaming consoles.
What Is Space City Home Network?
Space City Home Network is a regional sports network (RSN) that is headquartered in Houston and focuses on sports teams located in and near that city. Its prime focuses are the Houston Astros and the Houston Rockets although it does also feature plenty of programming related to other regional teams.
This channel was created in 2012 with that double focus, replacing Fox Sports Southwest. At the time of its founding, it was named Comcast SportsNet Houston. That name changed to ROOT Sports Southwest in 2014, then to AT&T SportsNet Southwest in 2017, and finally to Space City Home Network in 2023.
Where Is Space City Home Network Available?
Space City Home Network is available throughout a vast area, including all of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, and part of New Mexico. However, note that its coverage of the Houston Rockets is blacked out for part of this region.
Also keep in mind that other RSNs are sometimes available in these areas, particularly for DIRECTV STREAM subscribers. Which ones depend on where you are. For example, most who subscribe to DIRECTV STREAM will also get Bally Sports Southwest and Bally Sports Oklahoma.
This is an important detail to note if you want to watch Texas Rangers games on Bally Sports Southwest as well as Astros ones on Space City Home Network.
What Sports Teams Does Space City Home Network Cover?
One of the sports teams that Space City Home Network covers is the Houston Astros, showing around 97% of their games to a regional audience. The only exceptions are contests that are either shown nationally or regionally on Fox or that are shown to a nationally exclusive audience on ESPN, such as is the case for all of its Sunday Night Baseball games.
The channel’s coverage of the Houston Rockets is even more extensive, at least for the 2021-22 campaign as 100% of the team’s games this season have been slated for Space City Home Network coverage. This may change in the coming years if the team’s fortunes change and national television outlets start wanting exclusive coverage of some of its games.
All the Astros and Rockets games and sandwiched between pregame and postgame shows with news and analysis. And during their seasons, there are weekly TV shows Astros Bases Loaded and Rockets All Access.
Games played by other Houston- and Texas-based sports teams are not regularly shown on this channel although other types of programming related to several of them are.
Examples of the latter include TV shows like Texas Sports Nation In-Depth, Rice Owls Sports Show, Inside Cougar Athletics (related to the Houston Cougars), The Pulse: Texas A&M Football, and TSU Sports Show (related to the Texas Southern Tigers).
Local games that are broadcast on Space City Home Network include some Texas Southern football games. There is also a selection of high school sports played by schools in the Houston area.
Programming unrelated to local teams is also broadcast on Space City Home Network, including shows that feature boxing, mixed martial arts, fishing, hunting, pickleball, and poker.
Space City Home Network Plus
To handle situations in which the Houston Astros and Houston Rockets play at the same time, which is most apt to occur in April, Space City Home Network Plus was created.
Space City Home Network Commentators
Todd Kalas has been describing the action as play-by-play announcer for the Houston Astros since taking that role in 2017. Geoff Blum, who played for the team from 2002-03 and from 2008-10, serves as the team’s color analyst.
Craig Ackerman’s first campaign as lead play-by-play announcer for the Houston Rockets was the 2021-22 season. He had previously performed in that position in a part-time role as well as acted as its radio play-by-play announcer. Ryan Hollins is the color commentator for Rockets broadcasts while Mario Elie joins the crew on occasion as well.
Superpower Your Live TV Streaming With a VPN
You can’t beat a VPN for privacy, security, and access. We have used them for years as an important part of our streaming toolkit and we recommend ExpressVPN. Other brands worth checking out include Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost.
| i | See our VPN Buyer’s Guide for complete information on how to choose the best VPN for your needs. |
Wrapping Up
Your streaming options for Space City Home Network are DIRECTV STREAM and FuboTV. Both also provide Bally Sports Southwest, home of the Texas Rangers.
Our top choice of FuboTV. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
FAQs
How can I watch the Astros’ divisional rivals?
These articles provide information on streaming other American League West teams:
- Oakland Athletics — NBC Sports California
- Los Angeles Angels — Bally Sports West
- Seattle Mariners — Root Sports Northwest
- Texas Rangers — Bally Sports Southwest
How can I watch the Rockets’ divisional rivals?
These articles provide information on streaming other SouthWest Division teams:
- Dallas Mavericks — Bally Sports Southwest
- Memphis Grizzlies — Bally Sports Southeast
- New Orleans Pelicans — Bally Sports New Orleans
- San Antonio Spurs — Bally Sports Southwest
Are Houston Dynamo FC matches on Space City Home Network?
Houston Dynamo matches are no longer broadcast on local channels. Instead, they are streamed live with MLS Season Pass. It costs $14.99/mo and features all the matches over every team in the MLS. Fans may be better off signing up for a year for $99.99.
Ditch “Big Cable” Now – 3 Simple Steps to Cut the Cord
- Pick the right streaming service
- Get the content you deserve with the best VPN.
- Supercharge your internet provider
That’s it — you’ll save money, take back control, and enjoy TV more!
Page Updates ▼▲
-
Mentioned channel info. Updated some sub-sections. Updated some section headings. Additional links. Removed section. Cleaned up list.
-
Added buttons for streaming services. Additional links. Image changes. Reworded some things.
-
Added VPN info. Cross linking. Various changes.
-
Added buttons for streaming services. More links. Pricing updates. Misc content updates.
-
Image changes. Pricing updates. Added useful links.
-
Added FAQ section. Added sub-section.
-
Added links to streaming services. Added streaming info. Updated one section. Added a few links. Changes to some sections.
-
Reworked one section.
-
States That Have Produced the Best Actors and Actresses - 09/06/2022 -
Exclusive Sports on Hulu + Live TV - 07/24/2022 -
Just How Good Is Hulu + Live TV’s Local TV Coverage? - 07/03/2022