The St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres are in the midst of a four-game weekend series at Petco Park, but for fans hoping to catch every pitch, it's turning into a frustrating game of channel-surfing. In a striking example of modern sports broadcasting, each game of this series is airing on a different network or streaming service—a scheduling maze that has left many MLB fans scratching their heads.
According to the Padres' official X account, Thursday's Game 1 aired on ESPN, Friday's Game 2 streamed exclusively on Apple TV+, Saturday's Game 3 is a Fox regional broadcast, and Sunday's finale will be available only on each team's local streaming platforms—Padres.TV and Cardinals.TV. To make matters even more confusing, the first three games all have different start times (7:15 p.m., 6:45 p.m., and 4:15 p.m. local, respectively) to accommodate national TV schedules, while Sunday's game starts at 1:10 p.m.
For die-hard fans, this fragmented viewing experience is more than just an inconvenience—it's a costly headache. Many are already frustrated by having to pay for separate subscriptions just to watch their team's local broadcasts, which are now produced and distributed by Major League Baseball itself. Adding ESPN, Apple TV+, and Fox into the mix means juggling multiple logins, remotes, and monthly bills just to follow a single series.
Social media has been buzzing with reactions, with one fan asking, "Do we have a term for a series being broadcast on a different platform for each game? It's absurd." Another fan summed up the sentiment perfectly: "Four games, four platforms, four different booths calling games, a goddamn treasure map to figure out where to go and how to watch."
This isn't just a scheduling quirk—it's a sign of the times in sports media. As streaming services and national networks continue to carve up broadcast rights, fans are left piecing together their viewing experience like a puzzle. For Cardinals and Padres supporters this weekend, that puzzle comes with a hefty price tag and a lot of frustration. Whether you're at home or on the go, it's a reminder that in today's game, knowing where to watch is sometimes harder than following the action itself.