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How to watch the 2017 MLB playoffs

Or, as Major League Baseball calls it, the Postseason.

Matt Elliott Senior Editor
Matt Elliott is a senior editor at CNET with a focus on laptops and streaming services. Matt has more than 20 years of experience testing and reviewing laptops. He has worked for CNET in New York and San Francisco and now lives in New Hampshire. When he's not writing about laptops, Matt likes to play and watch sports. He loves to play tennis and hates the number of streaming services he has to subscribe to in order to watch the various sports he wants to watch.
Expertise Laptops, desktops, all-in-one PCs, streaming devices, streaming platforms
Matt Elliott
4 min read
Major League Baseball

In the American League Championship Series, MLB's shortest player and MVP candidate (Jose Altuve at 5 feet 6 inches) leads the Houston Astros against the New York Yankees, who employ MLB's tallest player and MVP candidate (all rise for the 6 feet 7 inches tall Aaron Judge). Meanwhile, in the National League, baseball's best pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, and the Los Angeles Dodgers stand in the way of the Chicago Cubs returning to the World Series and a shot at a repeat title.

Much drama will unfold over baseball's next fortnight. The World Series begins on Tuesday, Oct. 24, but before we get there, teams must win their league championship series. Here's your guide to watching the MLB Postseason.

ALCS schedule

Date

Time

Place

TV

Fri, Oct. 13

8:08 p.m. ET

New York Yankees at Houston

FS1

Sat, Oct. 14

4:08 p.m. ET

New York Yankees at Houston

FS1

Mon, Oct. 16 

8:08 p.m. ET

Houston at New York Yankees 

FS1

Tue, Oct. 17

5:08 p.m. ET

Houston at New York Yankees 

Fox/FS1

Wed, Oct. 18*

5:08 p.m. ET

Houston at New York Yankees 

Fox/FS1

Fri, Oct. 20* 

8:08 p.m. ET

New York Yankees at Houston 

Fox/FS1

Sat, Oct. 21*

8:08 p.m. ET

New York Yankees at Houston 

Fox/FS1

NLCS schedule

Date

Time

Place

TV

Sat, Oct. 14

8:08 p.m. ET

Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers 

TBS

Sun, Oct. 15

7:38 p.m. ET

Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers 

TBS

Tue, Oct. 17 

9:01 p.m. ET

Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs

TBS

Wed, Oct. 18

TBA

Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs

TBS

Thu, Oct. 19*

TBA

Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs

TBS

Sat, Oct. 21*

TBA

Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers 

TBS

Sun, Oct. 22*

7:38 p.m. ET

Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers 

TBS

World Series schedule

Date

Time

Place

TV

Tue, Oct. 24

TBA

TBA

Fox

Wed, Oct. 25

TBA

TBA

Fox

Fri, Oct. 27 

TBA

TBA

Fox

Sat, Oct. 28

TBA

TBA

Fox

Sun, Oct. 29* 

TBA

TBA

Fox

Tue, Oct. 31* 

TBA

TBA

Fox

Wed, Nov. 1* 

TBA

TBA

Fox

* - if necessary

How to watch

The ALCS and World Series will be broadcast on Fox and FS1. The NLCS will be broadcast on TBS. You will need to find a streaming service with a live, local feed of these channels. Here's the breakdown:

Sling TV

Sling TV's cheap, $20-a-month Blue plan includes Fox and TBS, but you must live in a market where Sling TV offers a live, local feed of these channels as opposed to only on-demand content. Check out this Sling TV support page to see the available live channels in your area. Sling TV offers a free, 7-day trial.

Playstation Vue

Like Sling TV, PlayStation Vue is available nationwide, but live programming is still available only in select markets. The Access plan for $40 a month is the cheapest option that includes Fox and TBS. To sign up for PlayStation Vue, you no longer need a PlayStation 3 or a PlayStation 4 console. In addition to the PS3 and PS4, supported devices include Amazon Fire TV devices, Roku streaming devices and Google Chromecast devices. You can use its seven-day free trial to determine if you get live feeds of Fox or TBS.

DirectTV Now

Direct TV Now's $35-a-month Live a Little package includes Fox and TBS but the usual caveat applies: Check the channel lineup in your area to make sure you can watch your local TV stations live.

Hulu with Live TV

Hulu with Live TV costs $40 a month and includes Fox and TBS. The first month is free, but you'll need to check to see which live channels Hulu offers in your area.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV costs $35 a month and offers live, local feeds of the major networks. Sorry Cubs and Dodgers fans: YouTube TV includes Fox but not TBS. If you live in a market where you can get YouTube TV, then you likely get a live feed of Fox, but there are exceptions. Get the details about YouTube TV's available networks here.

MLB.com At Bat app

The MLB.com At Bat app (available for iOS , Android and Kindle Fire) is great for watching out-of-market baseball games during the regular season, but it's less useful for tuning into baseball's postseason because you not only need to prove you are a cable TV subscriber, but you must also be a subscriber to a participating pay TV provider. The list is short: Arvig, AT&T/DirecTV, Brighthouse, Buckeye, Cox, Dish, Fubo TV, Optimum, Suddenlink, TimeWarner, Verizon and Wide Open West aka WOW!

If you are a subscriber to one of the above pay TV providers, then you can proceed with the $24.99 Postseason Package. To sweeten the deal, the Postseason Package includes spring training games next year.

Fox Sports Go app

Another option if you are a cable subscriber is using the Fox Sports Go app for the ALCS and World Series. Unlike the MLB.com At Bat, you can watch the World Series for free -- well, for no more than you're already paying for cable. The Fox Sports Go app works with iOS devices, Android devices and the Amazon Kindle Fire as well as with Apple TV , Android TV , Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, Roku and Xbox. You can also access Fox Sports Go from a computer.

Watch TBS app

You can use the free Watch TBS app to watch the NLCS but you'll need to prove you pay for cable. The TBS app works with Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku. You can also access Watch TBS from a computer.