Streaming news roundup: Wild Card Game 2 today, Division Series next, and NHL local TV is live

Wild Card Game 2 is today on NBC, Peacock and NBCSN. Here's how the Division Series splits next week, plus a clear look at where NHL local games live as the season opens.

StreamCaddy · Wednesday, September 30, 2026

The gist: MLB Wild Card Game 2 is on today — same networks as Game 1 — and FOX Sports has now posted the Division Series viewing map for next week. The NHL season also opened Tuesday. Local hockey looks different almost everywhere after last year's RSN shake-up. On the corporate side, Paramount and the states answered Sen. Cory Booker's questions about their Warner Bros. Discovery settlement, and a judge still has to rule before that deal can close.

National

MLB Wild Card Game 2 today; Division Series starts Saturday

All four Wild Card Series play Game 2 today on the same platforms as Game 1, per NBC Sports and FOX Sports:

• On NBC and Peacock: Phillies at Braves (2 p.m. ET) and Red Sox at Yankees (8 p.m. ET). Every NBC game also streams on Peacock.
• On Peacock and NBCSN: White Sox at Astros (5 p.m. ET) and Cubs at Padres (10 p.m. ET).

How to get each (same as Monday's roundup): Peacock needs a plan with live sports. NBCSN is on YouTube TV, Fubo, and Xfinity; the Chicago Sun-Times reports it is missing from DirecTV and Astound/RCN, so those customers should plan on Peacock for the White Sox and Cubs series.

If a series needs a Game 3 on Thursday, October 1, its network and start time depend on which other series are still going. FOX Sports lays out the scenarios; check after tonight's games rather than assuming.

Division Series next: Winners move to best-of-five series starting Saturday, October 3. Per FOX Sports (updated September 29):

• American League Division Series: TBS (USA Today also lists truTV and HBO Max for the AL slate).
• National League Division Series: FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes, and FOX One. Note: FOX (over the air / broadcast) and FS1 (cable) are different networks carrying different games.
• World Series: FOX and FOX One, starting Friday, October 23.

Our round-by-round MLB playoffs guide covers who carries what after the Wild Card.

NHL season is underway — local TV looks different almost everywhere

The 2026-27 NHL season opened Tuesday with an ESPN tripleheader (Panthers at Hurricanes, Rangers at Bruins, Blackhawks at Golden Knights), per ESPN. National games stay on the familiar mix of ABC, ESPN, ESPN+, and TNT. Local games are the harder part: after Main Street Sports / FanDuel Sports Network and Victory+ wind-downs, teams landed in several different homes. Sports Media Watch published a full team-by-team FAQ on September 29. High-level patterns for fans:

• Six clubs under NHL Productions this season: Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and St. Louis Blues. Linear carriage and streaming vary by team — Spectrum and Fubo for several of them, with team-branded networks (Blue Note+, Wild+, Hurricanes Hockey Network, Blue Jackets Hockey Network) and Prime Video as a direct path. We covered the Blues' Blue Note+ options, including Fubo, yesterday and in Monday's roundup; nothing new on that path since then.
• Prime Video is not one product. Some teams (for example the Ducks, Stars, and Kraken, per Sports Media Watch) stream local games with a standard Amazon Prime membership. Others (including the Blues, Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, and Wild) sell a separate paid add-on. Check your team's page before assuming Prime alone is enough.
• Other common homes this year: regional sports networks that survived (NESN for the Bruins, Chicago Sports Network for the Blackhawks, Monumental for the Capitals, NBC Sports Philly / California for the Flyers and Sharks); DAZN for several MSG-area clubs and the Kings; Scripps "The Spot" stations for Florida, Nashville, Tampa Bay, Utah, and Vegas; and Detroit SportsNet (via the MLB App) for the Red Wings.

Out-of-market U.S. fans still use ESPN+ (NHL Power Play) for non-national games outside their home team's territory — those packages black out local games. Nothing in this section claims we have every team measured; treat it as a map of where the market moved, then confirm your ZIP and provider.

Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery: responses filed, still waiting on a judge

On Monday, September 28, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, and 12 state attorneys general filed responses to Sen. Cory Booker's letter about their antitrust settlement, per the Los Angeles Times and Variety. They asked the court to approve the consent decree without the deeper "public-interest review" Booker requested, and they defended the five-year term and penalties as a negotiated compromise.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín has not ruled. She said last week she would decide "in due course." Paramount CEO David Ellison has said the deal would close within about two weeks of the settlement, which would put closing in early October — but an SEC filing noted that closing timing is "not yet certain" and remains subject to further conditions, per The Wrap.

Why fans should care: if the deal closes, TNT Sports (AL playoffs on TBS / truTV / HBO Max, plus NHL and other rights) would share an owner with CBS Sports and Paramount+. Status: settlement pending court approval. Fan bottom line: no changes to where games air or what they cost have been announced. Nothing to do today.

Around the Markets

Chicago

White Sox–Astros Game 2 is 4 p.m. CT and Cubs–Padres Game 2 is 9 p.m. CT today, both on Peacock and NBCSN. Blackhawks local games remain on Chicago Sports Network (and CHSN's direct stream), per Sports Media Watch.

Boston and New York

Red Sox–Yankees Game 2 is 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Bruins local games stay on NESN / NESN 360. Rangers, Islanders, Devils, and Sabres regional streams have moved to DAZN for this season (MSG Networks still the linear home), per Sports Media Watch.

Los Angeles

Kings: regional games moved to Angels Broadcast Television (the former FanDuel Sports Network West) with in-market streaming on DAZN, per Sports Media Watch.

Clippers: still no announced local TV plan for 2026-27. Front Office Sports (September 3) and Sports Media Watch note the team has not confirmed a home; earlier reports pointed at KTLA-5 and/or a ClipperVision-style stream. Treat that as reported, not final.

St. Louis

Blues open Friday, October 2, at Dallas. Blue Note+ paths (Spectrum, Fubo, Prime Video add-on) are unchanged since yesterday's post. No new carriage or pricing since then.

Dallas

Stars left Victory+ for a hybrid of FOX 4 / FOX4+ over-the-air games and in-market Prime Video streaming that requires a paid Amazon Prime membership, per Sports Media Watch and team comments quoted there.

Not sure which of this week's games you can already watch? StreamCaddy maps the cheapest correct way to watch all of your teams and events for your exact location and subscriptions.

Sources

1. NBC Sports press release, "NBC Sports' exclusive coverage of MLB Wild Card Series…" (Games 1 and 2 Sept. 29–30; Phillies-Braves and Red Sox-Yankees on NBC/Peacock; White Sox-Astros and Cubs-Padres on Peacock/NBCSN; Game 3s Oct. 1 if necessary), September 28, 2026: https://www.nbcsports.com/pressbox/press-releases/nbc-sports-exclusive-coverage-of-mlb-wild-card-series-presented-by-abbvie-begins-tomorrow-tues-sept-29-across-nbc-peacock-and-nbcsn
2. FOX Sports, "2026 MLB Playoff Schedule: Dates, Rounds, World Series" (Wild Card on NBC/NBCSN/Peacock; ALDS/ALCS on TBS; NLDS/NLCS on FOX/FS1/FOX One; World Series on FOX and FOX One; Game 3 scenarios; updated Sept. 29), September 29, 2026: https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/2026-mlb-playoff-schedule-dates-rounds-how-watch
3. USA Today, "What time do MLB division series start?" (ALDS on TBS/truTV/HBO Max; NLDS on FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One; Game 1 Oct. 3), September 29, 2026: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2026/09/29/mlb-division-series-schedule-game-times/92012228007/
4. Chicago Sun-Times, "Cubs, White Sox fans take one on chin from wild-card TV" (NBCSN on Xfinity, Fubo, YouTube TV; missing DirecTV and Astound/RCN; Peacock Premium pricing context), September 27, 2026: https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports-media/2026/09/27/chicago-cubs-white-sox-mlb-postseason-playoffs-padres-astros-nbc-nbcsn-peacock-streaming-prime-video-xfinity-fubo-youtubetv
5. ESPN, "Where to watch the 2026-27 NHL opening day lineup" (opening-night ESPN tripleheader Sept. 29; schedule and ESPN App), September 29, 2026: https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/50063247/2026-nhl-season-opening-lineup-watch
6. ESPN Press Room, "NHL on ESPN returns Tuesday with opening night tripleheader" (ESPN opening tripleheader; ESPN+/Disney+/Hulu exclusive games Oct. 1), September 27, 2026: https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/nhl-on-espn-returns-tuesday-with-opening-night-tripleheader/
7. Sports Media Watch, "SMW FAQ: A complete guide to NHL local broadcasts in 2026-27" (team-by-team local homes, prices, NHL Productions six-team set, Prime Video vs add-on distinctions, DAZN/MSG moves, Scripps Spot teams, Detroit SportsNet, CBC ending NHL broadcasts in Canada), September 29, 2026: https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2026/09/smw-faq-nhl-broadcasts-2026-27/
8. Los Angeles Times, "Paramount, states reject calls for deeper review of merger deal" (Booker responses filed Sept. 28; judge has not ruled; Ellison early-October close target), September 28, 2026: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2026-09-28/paramount-states-respond-booker-settlement
9. Variety, "Paramount and States Defend Antitrust Settlement From Sen. Booker's Criticisms" (separate filings; five-year term defended; ruling "in due course"), September 28, 2026: https://variety.com/2026/film/news/paramount-settlement-cory-booker-response-1236877590/
10. The Wrap, "Paramount, State AGs Brush Off Warner Bros. Merger Settlement Concerns" (Ellison close-within-two-weeks framing; SEC filing that closing timing is not yet certain), September 28, 2026: https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/paramount-state-ags-warner-bros-merger-settlement-corey-booker-response/
11. Front Office Sports, "Clippers Sanctions Pair With Already Bleak Media Outlook" (local broadcast plans still undisclosed as of early September; KTLA / own network / ClipperVision options discussed as expectations, not announcements), September 3, 2026: https://frontofficesports.com/article/clippers-sanctions-pair-with-already-bleak-media-outlook/