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How to watch Milwaukee Bucks games in 2019 without cable

Cord-cutting Bucks fans have a number of options for streaming league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks this season.

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
3 min read
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo looks to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA Finals for the team's first time in 45 years.

Getty Images

After winning the NBA MVP award and leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a league-best 60 wins last season, the next step in the continuing evolution of Giannis Antetokounmpo is getting the Bucks to the NBA Finals. The Bucks haven't reached the Finals since 1974, but are the favorites in the East this year behind their 24-year-old, 6 feet, 11-inch star.

Bucks fans who also happen to be cable TV cord cutters have a number of ways to stream the team's games live without a cable or satellite TV subscription. Most live TV streaming services carry the regional sports network that broadcasts the team's games in the Milwaukee market. Out-of-market fans can subscribe to NBA League Pass to watch the team's games live. And you can also catch the Bucks on national NBA broadcasts, which are shown on ABC , ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. 

Watch this: Top 5 streaming services for live TV

Stream Bucks games live in Milwaukee

In 2019, Bucks games are shown on Fox Sports Wisconsin, an RSN available only in the Milwaukee market. Sling TV is the only major live TV streaming service that does not not carry the Buck's RSN. Check out your cord-cutting options below for the packages that carry Fox Sports Wisconsin. 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 and Fox Sports Wisconsin in your area.

YouTube TV costs $50 a month and includes everything a Bucks fan needs: Fox Sports Wisconsin, 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. 

Hulu with Live TV costs $45 a month and includes Fox Sports Wisconsin, 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 local channels are offered in your ZIP code. Hulu with Live TV is raising its prices next month to $55 a month.

FuboTV costs $55 a month and includes Fox Sports Wisconsin, TNT and NBA TV, but not ABC or ESPN. Click here to see which local channels you get.

AT&T TV Now's $65-a-month Plus package includes ABC, ESPN and TNT. Its $80-a-month Max package adds Fox Sports Wisconsin. Neither plan features NBA TV. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live.

PlayStation Vue's basic $50-a-month Access plan includes ESPN, TNT and ABC. The $55-a-month Core plan adds Fox Sports Wisconsin and NBA TV. You can see which local channels are 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 or Fox Sports Wisconsin, 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.) 

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 livestreaming of Bucks games

If you're not in Milwaukee, then you can't get Fox Sports Wisconsin. You can, however, stream Bucks 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.