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How to Watch Houston Rockets vs. Charlotte Hornets Season Opener for Free: Live Stream, Channel, Start Time, Out-of-Market

Two teams that were on the outside of their respective conference’s playoff proceedings last season will look to get their new campaigns off on a positive note. On Wednesday, Oct. 23, the Houston Rockets will welcome the Charlotte Hornets to the Lone Star State. The Rockets finished the 2023-24 NBA season in 11th place in the Western Conference — one spot out of the play-in tournament — while the Hornets were 13th in the East. See which squad starts the 2024-25 season with a W when the game tips off at 8 p.m. ET. It will air on Space City Home Network in Houston and FanDuel Sports Network Southeast in Charlotte. If you don’t live in either of those media markets, you can still check out the game with NBA League Pass.

How to Watch Houston Rockets vs. Charlotte Hornets

Everything You Need to Know to Watch the Rockets vs. Hornets:

How to Stream the Rockets vs. Hornets Outside Houston and Charlotte

Despite these two teams having strong home-crowd support, both the Rockets and Hornets have millions of fans across the country who still want to check out their favorite team’s first game. Fortunately for them, fans who don’t live near their favorite teams still have a great way to catch their games. NBA League Pass provides access to every out-of-market NBA game of the season with plans starting at just $14 per month.

If you are only interested in watching either the Rockets or the Hornets, then League Pass’ ad-supported Team Pass option will allow you to stream every game of the season. However, for just $17 monthly, you can upgrade to the League Pass tier which grants access to every game not available in your market. Like Team Pass, this option is ad-supported and you are only able to watch on one device per account.

However, if you are looking for an elevated experience, the League Pass Premium option is $25 monthly. This tier eliminates ads, allowing you to watch in-arena content during commercials. It also allows you to watch on up to three devices at a time. The streamer also offers full-season plans for $90, $110, and $160 respectively. All three options come with a seven-day free trial, so you can check out the first week of action before committing to paying for a full month or year.

You can stream this game without cable on Apple TV, Roku, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, & Mobile with a Live TV Streaming Service like NBA League Pass. If you haven’t tried it before, you can get a 7-Day Free Trial of NBA League Pass.

NBA League Pass

For basketball fans, NBA League Pass offers the opportunity to follow one team or the entire league with every game (blackout restrictions apply). Prices and features vary greatly, depending on what you’d like to watch.

Subscriptions include Home and Away broadcasts, Mobile View, plus additional languages and camera angles. You’ll also get in-stream advanced statistics so you can check the box score and get live stats on players and teams without ever leaving the stream.

The NBA offers three plans: “Team Pass” ($13.99) provides great options if you only want to follow a single team.

“League Pass” ($16.99) lets you see every game across the entire league.

The “League Pass Premium” ($24.99) plan provides the option to watch on 3 devices without commercials.

You can also save by subscribing for the full season. It’s $89.99 / year for the Team Pass, $109.99 / year for the League Pass, or $159.99 / year for League Pass Premium.

NBA League Pass is also available as an Amazon Prime Video channel.

How to Stream the Rockets vs. Hornets in the Houston and Charlotte Markets

In Houston, the game is streaming on Space City Home Network, which is available with a five-day free trial of DIRECTV STREAM. The channel formerly known as Bally Sports Detroit is also available on Fubo.

Similarly, in and around Charlotte, the game is streaming on FanDuel Sports Network Southeast, which is also available with DIRECTV STREAM and Fubo. If you live in the Charlotte market, you can stream the game on the erstwhile Bally Sports+, now known as the FanDuel Sports Network.

DTV STREAM Fubo Hulu Philo Sling TV YouTube
Free Trial Free Trial Free 3-Day Trial Free Trial Get 50% OFF Sign Up
$86.99 $94.99 $82.99 $28 $40 $40 $72.99
FanDuel Sports Network Southeast + $28 - - - - -
Space City Home Network + $28 - - - - -

How to Stream the Rockets vs. Hornets From Anywhere

Whether you live in Houston, Charlotte, or anywhere else in the United States, if you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the season opener like you normally do, you still have options, no matter where your travels take you, if you sign up for a VPN.

A VPN can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer and make you appear to be back home — even when you’re not — making sure that you can catch all of the games, shows, and movies that you would normally be watching from home. Additionally, a VPN is a safe and secure way to stay protected online while streaming even when you are traveling internationally.

In my opinion, NordVPN is one of the best VPN providers around, at one of the best prices. Currently, you can get two full years of protection for just $3.59 per month, plus an extra three months of service for free. That means you will get even bigger savings on a high-speed VPN with best-in-class security, and you can use it on up to 10 devices at once.

Simply sign up, install the software on your device of choice, and start streaming just as you would back home. It couldn’t be easier!

  • NBA League Pass

    For basketball fans, NBA League Pass offers the opportunity to follow one team or the entire league with every game (blackout restrictions apply). Prices and features vary greatly, depending on what you’d like to watch.

    Subscriptions include Home and Away broadcasts, Mobile View, plus additional languages and camera angles. You’ll also get in-stream advanced statistics so you can check the box score and get live stats on players and teams without ever leaving the stream.

    The NBA offers three plans: “Team Pass” ($13.99) provides great options if you only want to follow a single team.

    “League Pass” ($16.99) lets you see every game across the entire league.

    The “League Pass Premium” ($24.99) plan provides the option to watch on 3 devices without commercials.

    You can also save by subscribing for the full season. It’s $89.99 / year for the Team Pass, $109.99 / year for the League Pass, or $159.99 / year for League Pass Premium.

    NBA League Pass is also available as an Amazon Prime Video channel.


Matt is The Streamable's News Editor and resident Ohio State fan. You can find him covering everything from breaking news to streaming comparisons to sporting events. Matt is extremely well-rounded, having worked for the Big Ten Conference, BroadwayWorld, True Crime Obsessed, and Land-Grant Holy Land before joining TS. He cut the cord in 2014, streams with a Fire TV, and his favorite titles include "The Bear," "The Great British Bake Off," "Mrs. Davis," and anything on the Hallmark Channel.

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