Padres' playoff energy should give hope that familiar woe could get resolved by 2025

Three things in life are certain: death, taxes and San Diego Padres fans' uncertainty as to how exactly they can watch their team on TV in a given season. Hopefully, though, a successful 2024 campaign can help change that.

Even after MLB took over production and distribution of locally broadcasted Padres games midseason last year when Bally Sports missed a rights fees payment, fans in the San Diego market have still been left without a single, streamlined way to watch games. The majority of in-market Padres games this season were broadcast by MLB and carried by DirectTV (channel 694-3), AT&T Uverse (channel 781), Cox (channel 4), and Spectrum (channel 305).

Those without a cable subscription have the option to watch in-market games with the Padres.TV streaming package, available for $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the entire season. This differs from a regular MLB TV subscription in that it lifts blackout restrictions for in-market fans and features only locally broadcast Padres games. In-market fans can also access games through a separate streaming option available on fuboTV.

For cord cutters and out-of-market Padres fans, the only option still available to consistently watch games is through an MLB TV subscription, as the team does not currently hold any agreements with streaming services like Hulu, Sling, or fuboTV. So, if Padres fans outside of San Diego want to watch their team consistently, they have to purchase the package that includes every other team's games.

Padres fans’ playoff energy should give hope that familiar woe could get resolved before 2025

While local Padres fans don't lack options to watch their team's games on TV, none of these options are ideal (or cost-effective). But perhaps the Padres can turn fans' excitement from a record-setting 2024 season – and a lengthy postseason run – into a lucrative TV rights deal (or maybe even a direct-to-consumer service) next season.

The Padres established a single-season franchise attendance record in 2024, drawing 3,314,593 fans to Petco Park over 80 games. The team also had 56 sellouts this year and ranked fourth in average attendance (41,066), according to Sports Business Journal.

While millions of fans are flocking to Petco Park, millions more are itching to tune in and watch the Padres compete every night. Hopefully, this will be taken into consideration and the fans will be given what they deserve next year.

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