Baseball is called America’s past time but we think the real past time is watching baseball on cable. Every single Major League Baseball game for every Major League Baseball (R) team can now be watched via a streaming service. This is great because it saves you money and you can watch MLB games anywhere you have an internet connection.
With that said, it can get quite confusing trying to figure it out between the blackout restrictions and TV rights each team has. But do not worry, you’ll have all of the information you need by the end of this review for cord cutting baseball fans.
Best Streaming Baseball Options
There are several different live TV streaming services available:
- fuboTV
- Sling TV
- DIRECTV NOW
- Hulu
- PlayStation Vue
- YouTube TV
The majority of MLB teams can be viewed using these services because they include Regional Sports Networks. The exceptions are the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, and Washington Nationals. These teams have different TV network rights deals but fans of these teams can still stream baseball games with MLB.TV.
Watch MLB Local Channels
Over 80% of MLB games are telecast on Regional Sports Networks. RSNs can be found on live TV streaming services. Of the 30 MLB teams, 22 of those can be streamed locally with one of these services.
| Channels |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks Fox Sports Arizona | ||||||
| Atlanta Braves Fox Sports Southeast | ||||||
| Baltimore Orioles MASN | ||||||
| Boston Red Sox NESN | ||||||
| Chicago Cubs NBC Sports Chicago | ||||||
| Chicago White Sox NBC Sports Chicago | ||||||
| Cincinnati Reds Fox Sports Ohio | ||||||
| Cleveland Indians SportsTime Ohio | ||||||
| Colorado Rockies AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain | ||||||
| Detroit Tigers Fox Sports Detroit | ||||||
| Houston Astros AT&T SportsNet Southwest | ||||||
| Kansas City Royals Fox Sports Kansas City | ||||||
| Los Angeles Angels Fox Sports West | ||||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers Spectrum SportsNet LA | ||||||
| Miami Marlins Fox Sports Florida | ||||||
| Milwaukee Brewers Fox Sports Wisconsin | ||||||
| Minnesota Twins Fox Sports North | ||||||
| New York Mets SportsNet NY | ||||||
| New York Yankees YES Network | ||||||
| Oakland Athletics NBC Sports California | ||||||
| Philadelphia Phillies NBC Sports Philadelphia | ||||||
| Pittsburgh Pirates AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh | ||||||
| San Diego Padres Fox Sports San Diego | ||||||
| San Francisco Giants NBC Sports Bay Area | ||||||
| Seattle Mariners Root Sports Northwest | ||||||
| St. Louis Cardinals Fox Sports Midwest | ||||||
| Tampa Bay Rays Fox Sports Sun | ||||||
| Texas Rangers Fox Sports Southwest | ||||||
| Toronto Blue Jays Sportsnet | ||||||
| Washington Nationals MASN |
Steam National MLB Channels
In addition to Regional Sports Networks MLB games also air on ESPN, FOX, FS1, MLB Network, TBS, and Facebook. The MLB Playoffs and World Series are also broadcast on these channels.
| Channels | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESPN | ||||||
| ESPN2 | ||||||
| FOX | ||||||
| FS1 | ||||||
| TBS | ||||||
| MLB Network |
Stream Baseball on fuboTV
fuboTV is an excellent choice for baseball fans. This live TV streaming service carries approximately 90% of the games for most teams despite not having ESPN, ESPN2, TBS, or MLB Network. They will show 70 percent of MLB games in 2018. fuboTV gives subscribers access to FOX, FS1, FOX Sports Regional Networks, NBC Regional Networks, and the New York Yankees YES network. All-in-all fuboTV has 80 percent of the RSNs offered in the United States.
fuboTV offers two different packages the fubo for $44.99/month and the fubo Extra for $49.99/month. This service is great for baseball fans but is also great for cord cutters who want to watch other sports too. There is also a great Latino language package available too that offers FOX Deportes, GOLTV Spanish, and CineSony.
To learn more about fuboTV check out our comprehensive 2018 review.
Watch MLB on Sling TV
Sling TV is the best value to watch MLB. The Sling Blue streaming plan is the package that contains the most baseball. This streaming package has FOX, TBS, FS1, and FS2. Most importantly Sling TV has the TV rights to FOX Sports Regional Networks and NBC Regional Sports Networks which includes the New York Yankees YES network. This package does not include ESPN but can be acquired by purchasing the Sling Orange + Blue streaming TV bundle. Sling TV does not offer MLB Network which may be a negative for some.
The Sling Blue package only costs $25/month and the Orange + Blue package costs $40/month. Subscribers can add-on a cloud DVR for an extra $5/month. These bundles are also great for cord cutters looking for other sports. The Sling Blue package also includes NFL Red Zone, NHL Network, Golf Channel and more. Plus, extreme sports on Outside TV international soccer on beIN SPORTS and Univision Deportes.
To learn more about Sling TV check out our comprehensive 2018 review.
Stream Live MLB Games With MLB.TV
If you are an MLB junkie then you will definitely want to check out the official MLB streaming service MLB.TV. You can watch every out-of-market regular season game live or on demand in HD for an annual ($115.99/Yearly) or monthly plans ($24.99/Monthly). There are also plans just for your favorite MLB team only. MLB.TV only offers yearly plans for single team streams for a price of $89.99/Yearly. This is definitely for hardcore MLB fans. Please note that blackout restrictions can apply (but there is a legal workaround). Students and veterans can receive a discount as well.
MLB.TV Features
This service really is for the baseball fanatics. There are lots of great features in 2018:
- NEW MLB.TV Media Player for Web
- NEW Catch-up Feature on Apple TV
- 60 Frames Per Second
- LIVE Game DVR Controls
- HD Quality
- Gameday Audio
- Full Game Archives
- Spanish Audio Sync
- Audio Overlay
- Pitchcast
- Clickable Linescores
MLB.TV has a very high quality and broadcasts clearly in high-definition. You will get 60 frames per second on the following devices: iPhone 6+, iPhone 6S+, iPad, Apple TV, Chromecast™, PlayStation® 4, Roku®, and Xbox® One. Learn more about streaming devices. In 2018 MLB.TV debuted a new HD Media Player for the web. You will get home and away broadcasts with pause and rewind DVR controls. Pitchcasts maps out every single pitch.
Major League Baseball on Facebook
In the 2018 MLB season, Facebook will broadcast 25 MLB games. The games to be aired will take place on weekday afternoons, mostly on Wednesdays. The games will be produced by MLB Network. Unless you absolutely no other way to watch the game this is probably one of the worst options available, but it is free so there’s that.
