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In 2023, the Chicago Cubs are looking to bounce back from a disappointing season last year when they finished fourth in the NL Central.
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Most Cubs games this season will be locally televised on Marquee Sports Network, while others may be nationally televised on MLB Network (those ones will also be on Marquee), ESPN, ESPN2, Fox or FS1. A couple may be untelevised and stream on YouTube, Apple TV+, Peacock TV or ESPN+.
If you don’t have cable and you live in the Cubs market, you can watch a live stream of every televised Cubs game on FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which both include Marquee Sports Network and come with a free trial.
Here’s a full rundown of those options, as well as some ways for out-of-market viewers to watch Cubs games live online without cable in 2023:
If You’re in the Cubs Market
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of Marquee Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, FS1, MLB Network and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV. You’ll need to include the “Sports Plus” add-on for MLB Network, but you can include any add-ons you want with your free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Cubs games live on the FuboTV app or FuboTV website.
Compatible devices for the FuboTV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN, ESPN2, Fox and FS1 are included in every one, while Marquee Sports Network and MLB Network are in “Choice” and up, but you can pick any package and any add-ons you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Cubs games live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
If You’re Out of the Cubs Market
Amazon Prime’s MLB.TV Channel
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch every out-of-market, non-nationally televised MLB game via Prime Channels.
The MLB.TV channel costs either $24.99 per month to watch every out-of-market game (“All Team Pass”) or $129.99 for the year to just watch out-of-market Cubs games (“Single Team Pass”), but either option comes with a free seven-day trial:
MLB.TV Amazon Prime Free Trial
Once you’re signed up for the Prime MLB.TV Channel, out-of-market viewers can watch Cubs games live on the Prime Video app or Amazon website.
Compatible devices for the Prime Video app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
MLB.TV
This is ultimately the same as the Amazon Prime option above, only you’ll watch games on MLB’s digital platforms instead of Amazon’s.
You can watch all out-of-market, non-nationally televised MLB games via MLB.TV. It costs $24.99 per month or $149.99 for the year to watch every out-of-market game, or $129.99 for the year to just watch out-of-market Cubs games. The monthly and yearly all-team options include a free seven-day trial (the single-team option does not):
Once signed up for MLB.TV, out-of-market viewers can watch Cubs games live on the MLB TV app or MLB.TV website.
Compatible devices for the MLB TV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, various Smart TV’s, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
ESPN+
This isn’t going to be an option to watch a lot of Cubs games, but if you’re looking for a cheap way to watch a random MLB game daily, ESPN+ includes at least one out-of-market game every day during the regular season:
In addition to one live MLB game every day, ESPN+ also has dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, out-of-market viewers can watch a daily MLB game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
Compatible devices for the ESPN app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Cubs Season Preview 2023
In 2022, the Chicago Cubs had one of the their worst seasons of the past 10 years. They finished in fourth place in the NL Central, 19 games out of first. They failed to make the playoffs for only the second time since 2014 and finished with a losing record for the first time in that same time span.
During the season, the team lost shortstop Javier Baez, third baseman Kris Bryant and first baseman Anthony Rizzo at the trade deadline on July 31, and then catcher Willson Contreras signed with the St. Louis Cardinals after the 2022 season ended.
The Cubs signed a new general manager in October 2021 when they announced that Carter Hawkins, assistant general manager of the Cleveland Guardians, would take over as GM of the club. They also re-signed manager David Ross to a three-year contract extension through 2024 with an option for 2025.
In an interview from spring training, Ross told 670 The Score that things are going well at camp and everyone is settling into their grooves.
“It’s a good vibe around camp. I think the expectations internally are always extremely high … we’ve got names and hardware and guys that have won awards, championship-caliber players that are proven on the biggest stage,” said Ross. “Definitely exciting. Good vibe around camp. Guys are into their routines, bringing good energy and understanding what it takes to get prepared for 162.”
Ross was also asked about the new rules that Major League Baseball has implemented in 2023, which include a 30-second clock between pitches, limiting pitchers to two disengagements (step-off or pickoff attempt) per plate appearance, a limit on defensive shifts where two infielders are required to be on either side of second base and be within the infield boundary, and larger bases, increasing the size from 15 square inches to 18 square inches.
Ross said of the new rules, “Yeah, I mean, we’re going over the new rules … just making sure we’re locked in on what the language of the rules are and what the intention is … we’re making sure that we’re calling guys out on if they’re not in the box on time … just finding that new rhythm of our game. I think the rhythm that we all play at, there’s a rhythm to what’s going on in our game that’s going to have to pick up just a little bit and guys are getting used to that.”
“I’m a big wait and see guy, ” he said of how the rules will change the game, adding, “I think we’ll see a lot of action. I actually love the no-shift stuff and letting the athletes play. There will be more hits go through, it’s going to elevate some of the defensive stuff we’ll see and I think that’s exciting for our game.”