How to watch Cubs games without cable: Full TV schedule, streams for 2023 Opening Day & more

Kevin Skiver

How to watch Cubs games without cable: Full TV schedule, streams for 2023 Opening Day & more image

Is this the year the Cubs come out of the rebuild?

Following two straight years of sub-.500 seasons — the first time since 2013 and 2014 -- the Cubs found themselves fairly active this offseason. The big signing was shortstop Dansby Swanson in a crazy winter for shortstop contracts, while they also filled in some role-playing spots as well.

Trey Mancini, Eric Hosmer, and Cody Bellinger all joined the Cubs this offseason, while Michael Fulmer is now in the bullpen after his rental period with the Twins. Kyle Hendricks is out to start the year as he recovers from a capsular tear, so Marcus Stroman is getting the Opening Day start against Corbin Burnes and the Brewers.

MORE: Watch Cubs games live with Fubo (free trial)

The NL Central is seemingly playing catchup to the Cardinals. Can the Cubs start to close the gap this year? Here's how watch the Cubs this year as they try to get back to the postseason.

How to watch Cubs games without cable

For those without cable, there are several options to stream Cubs games this year. Of course, MLB's blackout restrictions apply:

— If you're in market, Fubo carries Marquee Sports Network, the Cubs' dedicated channel, but blackout restrictions apply. Meaning, if you are within the market for Chicago, you can watch Cubs baseball via Fubo. But, for those out of market, you will not be able to watch Cubs games on the streaming service, since Fubo will not carry the out-of-market RSN.

— Inside of market, DirecTV Stream also carries Marquee and all of the networks which broadcast nationally televised games: Fox, ESPN, MLB Network, FS1 and MLB Network. These are all part of the service's "Choice" package for $99.99 monthly.

— If you live outside of the Cubs' TV market, you can watch games via MLB.tv.  For $149.99 for the season or $24.99 per month, you can catch every game from every team outside of your local market. You can also pick a single-team option for $129.99 for the season. Again, this is only if you are outside of the Cubs' TV market: If you are inside of the Cubs' market, games will be blacked out. Games will also be blacked out if you live outside of the Cubs' market, but inside of the market of teams the Cubs are visiting. 

Fubo is also carrying MLB.tv starting this year, for $25 per month on top of the Fubo subscription.

MORE: MLB blackout restrictions, explained

— For nationally televised games, there are a few options, with some exceptions: Fubo, SlingTV, and DirecTV Stream all carry ESPN, MLB Network and FS1. YoutubeTV and Hulu + Live TV carry ESPN and FS1, but they do not carry MLB Network in 2023.

You can check if games are blacked out in your area using MLB's blackout tool.

Cubs schedule 2023

Fans in the Chicago market will be able to catch most Cubs games on Marquee Sports Network, with a few games nationally televised on Fox and ESPN. You can also stream Cubs games live with Fubo, which offers a free trial.

Out of market (OOM) viewers will be able to catch a select number of games in April. All times are Eastern:

Date Opponent First pitch (ET) TV channel
Thursday, March 30 vs. Milwaukee Brewers 2:20 p.m. Marquee
Saturday, April 1 vs. Milwaukee Brewers 2:20 p.m. Marquee
Sunday, April 2 vs. Milwaukee Brewers 2:20 p.m. Marquee
Monday, April 3 at Cincinnati Reds 6:40 p.m. Marquee
Tuesday, April 4 at Cincinnati Reds 6:40 p.m. Marquee
Wednesday, April 5 at Cincinnati Reds 12:35 pm. MLBN (OOM), Marquee
Friday, April 7 vs. Texas Rangers 2:20 p.m. Apple TV+
Saturday, April 8 vs. Texas Rangers 4:05 p.m. MLBN (OOM), Marquee
Sunday, April 9 vs. Texas Rangers 2:20 p.m. Marquee
Monday, April 10 vs. Seattle Mariners 7:40 p.m. Marquee
Tuesday, April 11 vs. Seattle Mariners 7:40 p.m. Marquee
Wednesday, April 12 vs. Seattle Mariners 2:20 p.m. Marquee
Friday, April 14 at Los Angeles Dodgers 10:10 p.m. Marquee
Saturday, April 15 at Los Angeles Dodgers 9:10 p.m. Marquee
Sunday, April 16 at Los Angeles Dodgers 4:10 p.m. MLBN (OOM), Marquee
Monday, April 17 at Oakland Athletics 9:40 p.m. Marquee
Tuesday, April 18 at Oakland Athletics 11:10 p.m. Marquee
Wednesday, April 19 at Oakland Athletics 3:37 p.m. Marquee
Thursday, April 20 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 7:40 p.m. MLBN (OOM), Marquee
Friday, April 21 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 2:20 p.m. MLBN (OOM), Marquee
Saturday, April 22 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 2:20 p.m. Marquee
Sunday, April 23 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 2:20 p.m. Marquee
Tuesday, April 25 vs. San Diego Padres 7:40 p.m. MLBN (OOM), Marquee
Wednesday, April 26 vs. San Diego Padres 7:40 p.m. MLBN (OOM), Marquee
Thursday, April 27 vs. San Diego Padres 2:20 p.m. Marquee
Friday, April 28 at Miami Marlins 6:40 p.m. Marquee
Saturday, April 29 at Miami Marlins 4:05 p.m. Fox
Sunday, April 30 at Miami Marlins 12:05 p.m. Peacock

Kevin Skiver

Kevin Skiver Photo

Kevin Skiver has been a content producer at Sporting News since 2021. He previously worked at CBS Sports as a trending topics writer, and now writes various pieces on MLB, the NFL, the NBA, and college sports. He enjoys hiking and eating, not necessarily in that order.