Want to watch LaMelo Ball and the Hornets this season? Most cord-cutters are out of luck

The Charlotte debuts of first-round draft pick LaMelo Ball and free-agent signing Gordon Hayward Preseason are set for Dec. 12 when the Hornets host the Raptors, and if you’re excited to watch, you may have a hard time doing so.

The Hornets are unable to host fans at Spectrum Center to start the NBA season (and preseason) due to state restrictions to help curb the spread of COVID-19, and for most cord-cutters, that means not being able to watch the Hornets, period.

The Fox Regional Sports Networks that broadcast games for the Hornets and the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes are no longer available on popular streaming services FuboTV, Hulu, SlingTV or YouTube TV.

In addition, NBA League Pass — a subscription streaming package to watch out-of-market games — blacks out games locally; although, using a VPN to trick the service into thinking you’re in a different location could potentially work.

Fans in the Charlotte region are able to watch the games one of four ways: AT&T TV, AT&T TV NOW, DIRECTV or Spectrum. The cable offering of Spectrum, the satellite required for DIRECTV and the two-year commitment for AT&T TV leaves just one streaming option for watching the Hornets and Hurricanes: AT&T TV NOW.

As of December 2020, Hulu’s live TV package was the most popular cord-cutting television service with more than 3.4 million subscribers, followed by YouTube TV (3 million) and Sling (2.46 million). AT&T TV Now has roughly 683,000 subscribers, according to the company’s September earnings call, down almost 1 million from September 2019.

There wasn’t always such a dearth of Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) on live streaming platforms. As recently as last season, Fox Sports South and Southeast were available through providers Fubo, Hulu and Sling, but the companies dropped the Fox RSNs over the past year and half amid carriage disputes with Sinclair, which acquired the networks in 2019.

Sinclair referred The Observer to its latest press releases on the subject when asked for comment and the Hornets declined comment through a team spokesman.

YouTube TV announced in February that it extended its carriage agreement with Sinclair through the end of the 2020 MLB, NHL and NBA seasons, but it stopped hosting the Fox RSNs in October. The full effect of the carriage disputes will be mostly deeply felt in the Charlotte area starting in December — when NBA preseason games roll around and Hornets fans are no longer able to access games through the most popular streaming services.

“This was a difficult decision made after months of negotiations,” a tweet from YouTube TV said. “We hope we can bring FOX RSNs back in the future.”

A statement from Sinclair’s president of network relations Barry Faber said Sinclair would remain in discussions with YouTube TV “in an effort to find a mutually acceptable path to returning the RSNs to YouTube TV.”

“We intend to keep the public informed as to the progress of these discussions so that YouTube TV subscribers can make informed decisions regarding how to view the extremely popular programming carried on these RSNs,” Faber’s statement said.

Fox Sports Southeast has been the Hornets’ television partner since 2008 and the team extended its media rights deal with the network in 2018, according to Charlotte Business Journal. It is possible that contracts between Sinclair and individual streaming providers are eventually renegotiated, but for now, only a few viewing options exist for Charlotte sports fans to start 2021.

Hornets on AT&T TV and DIRECTV

Both owned by AT&T, AT&T TV and DIRECTV are similar in that they also offer tons of channels, cost more than live streaming and require a two-year contract. DIRECTV requires a satellite dish, while AT&T is streamed over the internet.

Both providers carry Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast in Charlotte-area zip codes, which broadcasts games for the MLB’s Atlanta Braves and MLS’s Atlanta United FC, as well as the Hornets and Hurricanes. The catch is that there is an additional monthly fee tacked on to the RSN subscriptions ($8.49/mo. for AT&T TV and $9.99/mo. for DIRECTV).

Hornets on Spectrum

Cable TV with Spectrum is another way to watch regional games, but like AT&T TV and DIRECTV, there are fees associated with adding sports packages that offer NFL Redzone, NBA TV, NBA League Pass or the NHL Network, which focus on league-wide coverage and include coverage of Charlotte teams. More Hornets and Hurricanes games are broadcast under the RSNs available on Spectrum, but there is an additional monthly “Broadcast TV surcharge” on the cable bill of $16.45.

The pro for cord-cutters reconsidering more expensive cable? It’s the season for holiday deals.

Hornets on AT&T TV NOW

AT&T TV NOW is AT&T’s live streaming service that requires AT&T Internet and has been labeled in a review by Cabletv.com as “cable dressed in streaming clothes.” Although it does not require the same long-term contractual commitment as AT&T TV or cable, the lowest monthly subscription is still more than the monthly rates for streaming services like Youtube TV, Hulu + Live TV or Sling TV ($65/mo. For AT&T TV NOW).

This means cord-cutting Hornets and Hurricanes fans committed to other live streaming services will either have to forego watching certain games or find alternative ways to watch Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast broadcasts.

Fans are able to check which providers carry their local Fox RSN by zip code here. Coverage for local games is also available on the FOX Sports Go app (with television or streaming credentials required for login) and the WFNZ radio station (610 AM/102.5 FM).