Why it's so hard to find Nationals games at D.C. bars
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D.C. bars often don't show Nationals games on TV — even when they pay to carry them.
Why it matters: Washington has been better than expected for most of the season, but fans across much of D.C. still have to ask to put on the home team. Philly or Boston would never.
👞 I visited 23 bars in Shaw, U Street, downtown, Capitol Hill and Navy Yard during Nationals games to see whether they were already on TV, would be put on if I asked or weren't available at all.
- During a recent road series, only one of the eight Northwest bars I visited — Sports & Social — already had the game on.
- At Penn Quarter Sports Tavern, despite Nationals flags flying out front, I had to ask.
- Elsewhere, TVs were tuned to other baseball games, soccer and even Little League softball while the Nats were playing.
Yes, but: Bars around Nationals Park mostly passed the test.
- During a July home game, eight of the 11 bars I checked in Navy Yard already had the game on. Others played the Yankees.
Zoom out: So what gives?
💵 It's surprisingly complicated — and expensive — for bars to get all the games.
- The Nats now control their TV rights after splitting from MASN, but all the cable and streaming options can make them hard to find.
- Fans can pay $55 a season to stream games via Nationals.TV, or, if they have cable, the surcharge varies.
- Bars generally aren't eligible for streaming and instead must buy pricey commercial packages like DirecTV for business.
💰 What they're saying: Jeremy Gifford, owner of Walter's Sports Bar across the street from Nats Park, tells Axios he pays six figures a year to DirecTV to get all the sports.
- Baseball isn't the biggest draw. Gifford says NFL Sundays are way more lucrative. College football is too.
🤨 Zoom out: Have you ever been to a Nats game and seen too many Cubs or Braves hats?
- D.C.'s revolving door of government workers, college students and young professionals means many bars can attract loyal crowds by affiliating with other teams.
- Walter's is a Florida State bar. Franklin Hall welcomes Georgia football fans.
- "Those are the 21-year-olds that will have eight beers and a couple vodka sodas," Franklin Hall co-owner Peter Bayne says.
By the numbers: Nearly one in three D.C. residents ages 18 to 24 moved here from another state between 2023 and 2024, census stats show.
👶 Plus: It's a baby ballclub. When the Nationals arrived in 2005, some locals stayed loyal to the Orioles.
- And four last-place finishes in five seasons after the 2019 World Series win haven't helped grow the fan base.
What's next: Stay tuned for my ranking of the best D.C. bars to watch the Nats.