Your Guide to Catching Every Cardinals Game This Season
You’re ready for another season of St. Louis Cardinals baseball, but the landscape for watching games has never been more complicated. Between blackout restrictions, shifting streaming rights, and a dizzying array of services, figuring out how to watch your favorite team can feel like a puzzle you need to solve before the first pitch.
Whether you’re a lifelong fan in the heart of Missouri or a displaced supporter cheering from across the country, this guide breaks down every legal option available for the 2025 season. We’ll cover local broadcasts, national TV schedules, streaming workarounds, and even how to listen to the iconic voice of the Cardinals on the radio.
Understanding the Broadcast Landscape for 2025
The primary home for most Cardinals regular-season games remains Bally Sports Midwest. This regional sports network (RSN) holds the local television rights. For 2025, the situation with Bally Sports and its parent company, Diamond Sports Group, appears more stable after their restructuring, but it’s always wise to confirm your access method as the season approaches.
National broadcasts are split among several partners. ESPN typically airs Sunday Night Baseball, Fox carries Saturday afternoon games, and TBS has a selection of Tuesday night matchups. These national games are not subject to local blackouts on the respective national network.
The critical concept every fan must understand is the MLB blackout rule. If you live within the Cardinals’ designated market area—which includes all of Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, and parts of Indiana, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Tennessee—you cannot watch Cardinals games live on MLB.TV or the MLB app. You must use a provider that has rights to Bally Sports Midwest.
Watching In-Market: The Local Fan’s Playbook
If you live within the Cardinals’ broadcast territory, your path to the game is through Bally Sports Midwest. Here are your primary avenues for access in 2025.
Traditional Cable and Satellite Providers
For decades, this has been the most straightforward method. If you subscribe to a cable or satellite TV package that includes Bally Sports Midwest, you’re all set. Major providers in the region like Spectrum, DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, and FuboTV carry the channel. Simply check your channel guide or the provider’s website to confirm Bally Sports Midwest is part of your specific package.
The advantage here is reliability and picture quality. The downside is the cost of a full TV bundle, which may include many channels you don’t watch.
Streaming Services with Live TV
Cord-cutters have several strong options. These services function like cable but are delivered over the internet. They require a monthly subscription.
– DirecTV Stream: This service includes Bally Sports Midwest in its Choice package and above. It’s one of the most consistent streaming options for RSNs.
– FuboTV: Fubo’s Pro plan includes Bally Sports Midwest. It’s a sports-focused service, making it a natural fit for baseball fans.
– Bally Sports+ Direct Subscription: The Bally Sports app offers a direct-to-consumer subscription. You can purchase access just to Bally Sports Midwest, likely for a monthly fee, without needing a cable or streaming TV bundle. This is often the most cost-effective method for fans who only want to watch the Cardinals and the other local teams on the network.
Always verify the current channel lineup on the service’s website before signing up, as carriage agreements can change.
Watching Out-of-Market: The Displaced Fan’s Solution
If you live outside the Cardinals’ blackout zone, you have one of the best and simplest options in sports streaming: MLB.TV.
MLB.TV Single Team Package
MLB.TV offers a “Single Team” subscription that gives you access to every Cardinals game that is not nationally televised. You get home and away broadcasts, often with a choice of announcers. You can watch on virtually any device—smart TV, phone, tablet, or computer.
The service includes features like condensed games, archives of full game replays, and the ability to pause or rewind live action. It is the definitive product for fans living away from St. Louis.
MLB.TV Full Subscription
For the baseball superfan, the full MLB.TV subscription provides access to every out-of-market game for all 30 teams. This is perfect if you follow the Cardinals but also want to keep tabs on other leagues or specific players around baseball.
Students, military personnel, and first responders often qualify for a significant discount on MLB.TV subscriptions, so be sure to check for those offers.
Never Miss a National Broadcast
Games selected for national television are a different beast. They are blacked out on MLB.TV and on local RSNs. To watch these, you need access to the specific national network.
– ESPN Sunday Night Baseball: Requires a TV package or streaming service that includes ESPN (like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV’s Orange plan, or the ones previously mentioned).
– Fox Saturday Baseball: Broadcast on your local Fox affiliate station. This is available over-the-air with a digital antenna, on most cable packages, and on live TV streaming services.
– TBS Tuesday Night Games: Requires a package with TBS, which is widely available on cable and streaming services like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV.
Mark these national dates on your calendar early in the season, as they will require you to switch your viewing method for that night.
Alternative Ways to Follow the Action
Sometimes you can’t be in front of a screen. Here are other reliable methods to stay connected to the game.
The Radio Broadcast: A St. Louis Tradition
Listening to the Cardinals on the radio is a cherished tradition. The flagship station remains KMOX 1120 AM, with John Rooney and Ricky Horton on the call. You can listen over the air, online via the KMOX website, or through the MLB app with an audio subscription, which is more affordable than MLB.TV.
An MLB Audio subscription gives you access to the home and away radio broadcasts for every game, all season long, for every team. It’s an excellent, low-cost option for following the daily grind of the season.
Following via Gamecast and Apps
The MLB app, ESPN app, and sports websites like CBS Sports offer detailed pitch-by-pitch game trackers. These “Gamecast” features provide a visual representation of the game with stats, making you feel close to the action even without video or audio.
Setting up score alerts on your phone for the Cardinals is another simple way to stay informed of key moments throughout the day.
Navigating Common Blackout and Access Issues
Even with the right service, you might hit a snag. Here’s how to troubleshoot.
The most common issue is a location error. Streaming services and MLB.TV use your IP address to determine your location. If you’re using a VPN, a smart DNS service, or even if your internet provider routes your connection through a server in a different city, it can trigger a blackout incorrectly.
First, ensure any VPN is completely disabled. Second, most streaming apps have a “location check” or “update location” setting in their menu. Run this to refresh your detected location. For MLB.TV, you can also try accessing the service from a different device on the same network to see if the problem persists.
If you believe you are being blacked out in error, customer support for your streaming service or MLB.TV is the next step. They can often manually verify your location.
A Note on VPNs and Location Spoofing
While technically possible to use a VPN to trick MLB.TV into thinking you’re outside the blackout zone, this violates the terms of service. The service actively detects and blocks known VPN IP addresses, leading to a frustrating cat-and-mouse game. Relying on this method is not recommended for a stable, season-long viewing experience.
Planning Your 2025 Viewing Strategy
With all the options laid out, your best approach is to build a personalized plan. Start by answering two questions: Where do I live? What is my budget?
If you’re in-market and want just the Cardinals, the Bally Sports+ direct app subscription is likely your most efficient choice. If you want a full cable replacement with news and entertainment channels, a live TV streaming service like DirecTV Stream or FuboTV is the answer.
If you’re out-of-market, MLB.TV is your clear, dedicated solution. Consider the single-team pass if you only care about the Cardinals, or spring for the full league pass if you’re a die-hard baseball fan.
Finally, factor in the national games. Ensure at least one of your chosen methods gives you access to ESPN, your local Fox station, and TBS, or be prepared to use a separate service like an antenna for Fox or a Sling TV subscription just for those specific game nights.
The key is to decide before Opening Day. Test your chosen service during spring training games to iron out any login or location issues. This ensures you won’t miss a single moment when the regular season begins and the Cardinals take the field, ready to chase another championship in 2025.
