How to Watch the Blazers on TV for the 2024-25 NBA Season

Option 1 – How to Watch The Portland Trail Blazers on TV – Cable TV Provider or Streaming Service (like YouTube TV)

The Portland Trail Blazers have partnered with Sinclair Broadcast Group and launched the Rip City TV Network. Be sure to check out the link for all the broadcast details. Basically, you can watch the Blazers if you live in the following cities: Portland, Eugene, Medford, Seattle or Yakima/Pasco.

• Seattle (KUNS/TBD.TV Network)
• Medford (KTVL/TBD.TV Network)
• Eugene (KVAL, KCBY and KPIC/TBD. TV Network)
• Yakima/Pasco (KEPR and KIMA/TBD.TV Network)
• Click HERE for more details.

If you have cable (or YouTube TV or Sling TV) and live in these areas, you’ll see all the games on KATU or their affiliates. You’re good to go.

I’m not 100% sure about Hulu or Fubo, but I’ve heard that after January 1, 2024, you’ll be able to watch the games on these networks as well (on KUNP).

Pros of Watching the Blazers on Cable for 2024-25

• You can watch the Blazers in high definition. This option provides the best signal.
• You can record, pause, rewind and fast-forward live TV with your cable provider’s DVR options.
• There are streaming options provided if you’re not home.
• You get lots of channels to watch if you have cable. Duh.
• It’s convenient.

Cons of Watching the Blazers on Cable for 2024-25

• It’s by far the most expensive option.

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Option 2 – How to Watch The Portland Trail Blazers on TV – Blazervision (Streaming)

You can stream every single Blazer game with Blazervision. You can stream the games on your phone, your smart TV, or your computer. You can watch the games through the NBA app or on NBA.com. You’ll also get two free tickets to a select Trail Blazers game during the 2024-25 season. It’ll only set you back $120 for the entire seasons. Honestly? That’s not bad.

The problem? You can’t record live TV. That’s right–there’s no DVR. Wow. That sucks. You can watch a replay an hour after the game ends at least.

Pros of Watching the Blazers on Blazervision (Streaming) for 2024-25

• You can see all the games from anywhere.
• A replay of the game is available an hour after the game is over.
• It’s much cheaper than cable.

Cons of Watching the Blazers on Blazervision (Streaming) for 2024-25

• There’s no DVR. You cannot record, fast forward, rewind, or pause live TV.
• Streaming quality will not be on par with cable TV offerings.
• You can’t get Blazervision if you’re not local. Subscriptions are zip code authenticated.

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Option 3 – How to Watch The Portland Trail Blazers on TV – Free Over the Air (OTA) Broadcasting

If you want to watch the Portland Trail Blazers for free for the 2024-25 NBA season, you can. You’ll just need a pair of rabbit ears and a TV tuner. Every single game will be broadcast on KATU (except for the January 28th game, which will be on TNT).

Most TVs have a built-in tuner. You’ll simply need to scan for the OTA channels in your area and your TV will automatically pick them up. They’re free and the streaming quality is pretty good. In fact, on October 18, KATU is upgrading their OTA stream to 1080i. It could be better, but it’s better than 720p (which is what it currently is).

I’d venture to say that the OTA broadcast quality is better than most streaming options, which pretty much all suck (if you’re looking for a truly good signal). I just watched a preaseason game last night, and the streaming quality on NBA League Pass was pure crap. It was pixelated as heck, especially for the live, fast action. The slow-motion replays and the close-ups are pretty good, but the rest is meh. You won’t have that issue with the OTA broadcast.

The better antenna you have, the better the quality will be. And the closer you are to the broadcast towers (near the West Hills in Portland), the better the quality will be. And the less obstructions you have near your antenna (big buildings, trees, hills), the better the broadcast quality will be.

Pros of Watching the Blazers on KATU (OTA) for 2024-25

• It’s 100% free.
• The broadcast quality will be better than most streaming options.

Cons of Watching the Blazers on KATU (OTA) for 2024-25

• There’s no DVR.
• There’s no replay.
• You need a decent antenna.
• You have to be close enough to the towers with few obstructions to get the best signal quality.

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Option 4 – How to Watch The Portland Trail Blazers on TV – Free Over the Air (OTA) Broadcasting on Your Computer with a TV Tuner

You can watch every single Portland Trail Blazers game for the 2024-25 NBA season, completely free, and you can record, pause, rewind, and fast forward live TV if use a computer.

OK, we’re getting a little more complicated here, but this is still very simple.

If you have a decent computer and a decent antenna, you can buy a TV tuner (buy this one here for $80; it’s the best one out there), and you’ll be able to watch every single Portland Trail Blazers game with a DVR.

This is the option I’ll be using this year. I’m cheap. I don’t have cable. I don’t have YouTube TV. I refuse to buy Blazervision because there’s no DVR.

So I spent $80 on the HAUPPAUGE WinTV-DualHD Dual USB 2.0 HD TV Tuner and I plugged it into my computer. I installed the included software. I scanned for channels and BAM! I got over 50 channels, 100% free. Not only that, I’m able to record live TV!

This option rocks. You can even plug your TV into your computer and use it as a secondary monitor and record, pause, fast forward and rewind live TV, using your computer as your DVR.

Pros of Watching the Blazers on KATU (OTA) using your PC and a USB TV Tuner for 2024-25

• It’s 100% free.
• The broadcast quality will be better than most streaming options.
• You’ll be able to record, pause, fast forward and rewind live TV.

Cons of Watching the Blazers on KATU (OTA) using your PC and a USB TV Tuner for 2024-25

• You need a decent antenna.
• You need decent OTA coverage.
• You need a decent computer.
• You have to buy the HAUPPAUGE WinTV-DualHD Dual USB 2.0 HD TV Tuner for $80.

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Option 5 – How to Watch The Portland Trail Blazers on TV – NBA League Pass

I hate this option but it’s an option. If you live near Portland, though, forget this option because all the Portland Trail Blazers games will be blacked out. That’s right. All the Portland Trail Blazers games will be blacked out.

It’s that way with every city. If you live in New York, the Knicks games will be blacked out. Stupid, right? What’s the point of buying NBA League Pass to watch every team but your own? There’s no point (in my opinion).

But if you don’t live in the area, and you want to watch the Blazers, this is an option.

As a sidenote, the first preseason games wasn’t blacked out (for people in the local broadcast area), as I just got the NBA League Pass one week trial and I watched last night’s game. So perhaps you’ll be able to watch the Blazers’ preseason games even if you live in the local broadcast area.

The cost is $110 for the entire season, or you can get the premium package for $160 (the premium package is commercial free).

You can watch just one team for $90 per season. But what’s the point of this option? If I live here in Portland, and I want to watch the Blazers, I can’t. And I can watch every team in the league for $20 more. So, I can watch 29 teams for $110, and just one team for $90? That’s absolutely stupid.

Pros of Watching the Blazers on NBA League Pass for 2024-25

• You can watch all NBA games (you just can’t watch your home team).
• You can watch from anywhere on any device.
• There are replays of all the games.

Cons of Watching the Blazers on on NBA League Pass for 2024-25

• It’s expensive.
• You can’t watch your home team (local games are blacked out).
• The streaming quality sucks.
• You can’t fast forward certain commercials for the basic option.
• No DVR.
• Constant technical glitches.

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Summary

There are several options for watching the Blazers this year.

Thankfully, the Blazers dumped Root Sports. Root Sports sucked. We’re all better off for that.

All the games will be broadcast on KATU, except for one, which is on January 28. That game will be broadcast on TNT.

If you have cable (or a decent streaming service like YouTube TV), and you live in Seattle, Portland, Eugene, Medford, Pasco or Yakima, you can watch the games as part of your local package.

If you don’t have cable, you can stream the games on Blazervision for $120. Unfortunately, there’s no DVR but there are replays available one hour after the game. And you can watch the games from anywhere.

If you don’t have cable and don’t want Blazervision, you can watch the games on KATU’s free OTA broadcast in 1080i. The closer you are to the broadcast towers, and the less interference near your location (tall trees, big buildings, hills), the better the signal will be. You’ll need a good antenna for the best signal.

If you want free OTA TV, and you also want a DVR, consider purchasing the HAUPPAUGE WinTV-DualHD Dual USB 2.0 HD TV Tuner, and a decent antenna, and you can turn your PC into a media center. You’ll be able to stream lots of OTA channels, and you’ll be able to record, pause, rewind and fast forward live TV.

All said, Blazer fans are in a much better position to watch Blazer games this year than they were last year. Every game (minus one) will be broadcast on KATU for free, and that’s something Blazer fans haven’t had for a long, long time.

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Reminder

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