How to watch the Astros in 2026 on TV with and without cable: Full streaming guide

The Houston Astros find themselves at a real crossroads with their fans. While the team keeps talking about trying to contend this year and how much talent is on their roster, it feels like Astros fans just aren't buying it, and interest in the team as a whole in Houston is at a low point. However, the Astros should have ample opportunity to convince those fans otherwise, given that watching Astros games in 2026 is pretty straightforward.

While many teams around the league are having to scramble for last-minute TV deals, the Astros' TV situation is relatively stable heading into the 2026 season, although that doesn't mean there aren't some obstacles to watching games from home, depending on where you live and whether or not you have cable.

How to watch the 2026 Astros on cable

For cable subscribers, the only thing you have to figure out is whether or not your cable provider has the Space City Home Network (SCHN) in your package. If it does, you are covered in-market for 130+ Astros games this season with the usual broadcast team. SCHN is pretty widely available in-market, so those cable customers will largely be good to go once you find what channel it is in your area.

If you haven't cut the cord yet and don't live in-market, that is a little trickier. There are streaming options that will run you around $20 a month if you want to go with a hybrid cable/streaming approach, or you can add MLB TV's Extra Innings package, which will allow you to watch out-of-market games.

There are some Astros games that are going to be nationally televised. NBC/Peacock has the rights to Sunday baseball as a whole now, while ESPN (some weeknights), Fox (Saturday night), and TBS (Tuesday) all have limited national games this season. Those specific game schedules can be fluid during the course of the season, so just keep an eye out and make sure you have the channels you need.

How to stream Astros games in 2026 without cable

Streaming is quickly becoming the future of watching baseball from home, and at the moment, the number of options available to do so is pretty overwhelming. By far, the best bang for your buck in terms of the number of available games and being pretty straightforward is going to be an MLB.tv subscription. That will include the Space City broadcasts, for which you need to watch the vast majority of games.

If you don't want to go that route, SCHN does have a direct-to-consumer streaming option and app, which will cost you $19.99 a month or you could opt to get a subscription to fuboTV or DirecTV Stream. That choice just comes down to your own budget, as well as whether or not the broader streaming services like fuboTV have enough additional offerings to justify the cost.

As for the national games, you will be largely covered with a Peacock subscription for Sundays, the MLB Draft, and the Wild Card round of the playoffs. ESPN's streaming ecosystem should allow access to many of the national weeknight games, while you will need an Apple TV subscription for any potential Astros games on Friday Night Baseball.