Why You Can Trust CNET How to watch Houston Rockets games in 2019 without cable
Cord-cutting NBA fans have a number of options for streaming James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the Rockets this season.
After seven seasons apart, James Harden and Russell Westbrook are back on the same team.
Russell Westbrook and James Harden are back together again. The Houston Rockets traded for Westbrook in the offseason to reunite the two guards who previously played together in Oklahoma City at the beginning of the decade. It remains to be seen how these two ball-dominant guards will coexist in the same backcourt or how (if?) they'll contribute defensively. Perhaps the Rockets will just try to outscore their opponents. No matter the team's plan, it'll be fascinating to see how Harden and Westbrook fit in together this season.
Rockets fans have a number of ways to stream the team's games live without a cable or satellite TV subscription, but only one live TV streaming service carries the regional sports network that broadcasts the team's games in the Houston market. With Harden and Westbrook in the same backcourt again and the team rightly having title aspirations, however, the Rockets will be prominently featured on national NBA broadcasts, which are shown on ABC , ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. And there's also NBA League Pass to consider for diehard, out-of-market fans of the team.
Stream Rockets games live in Houston
In 2019, Rockets games will be shown on AT&T SportsNet Southwest, an RSN in the Houston market. Sadly for cord-cutting Rockets fan in Houston, Fubo is the only live TV streaming service that carries AT&T SportsNet Southwest. I've also included information for ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV for live national broadcasts. Not every service carries every local network, however, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries ABC in your area.
FuboTV costs $55 a month and includes AT&T SportsNet Southwest, TNT and NBA TV, but not ABC or ESPN. Click here to see if you live in a market that offers ABC.
YouTube TV costs $50 a month and includes ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see if a live feed of ABC is available in your area.
PlayStation Vue's basic $50-a-month Access plan includes ESPN, TNT and ABC. The $55-a-month Core plan adds NBA TV. You can see if a live feed of ABC is available in your area here. Note that Vue will shut down in January 2020, but in the meantime it's still available.
Sling TV's $25-a-month Sling Orange package includes ESPN and TNT. None of Sling TV's plans includes ABC, but you can get NBA TV with the $10-a-month Sports Extra add-on. (Sling TV is currently discounted by 40% for the first month.)
Hulu with Live TV costs $45 a month and includes ABC, ESPN and TNT. It does not offer NBA TV. Click the "View all channels in your area" link on its welcome page to see which live, local channels are offered in your ZIP code.
AT&T TV Now's $50-a-month Plus package includes ABC, ESPN and TNT. Neither of its plans features NBA TV. You can use its channel lookup tool to see if a live feed of ABC is available where you live. AT&T TV Now is raising its prices later this month, and its new base price will be $65 for the Plus package and $80 for Max.
All of the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our massive streaming services guide.
Out-of-market live streaming of Rockets games
If you outside the Houston market, then you can't get AT&T SportsNet Southwest -- even on Fubo. You can, however, stream Rockets games live with an NBA League Pass subscription. Or resign yourself to watching the team only when it's featured on a national NBA broadcast.
With NBA League Pass, your local team's games are blacked out along with nationally televised games. You can watch all out-of-market games (unless they're on ESPN, TNT or another national broadcast) for $250 for the season (or $40 a month) with no commercials, or $200 for the season (or $29 a month) with commercial breaks. You can sign up to watch only your favorite out-of-market team's games for $120 for the season (or $18 a month). Or you can get just NBA TV for the channel's coverage of the league and the live games it shows for $60 a year or $7 a month. NBA League Pass is supported on a number of devices.