How To Watch MLB Games Without Cable

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 US-based 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. There is one major change in 2021, Fox Sports Regional Sports Networks have left all streaming services except AT&T TV which deals a big blow to MLB cord-cutters looking for flexibility.

With that said, there are other options available depending upon which MLB teams you are trying to watch. 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 MLB cord-cutting guide.

Best Streaming Baseball Options

Currently, there are two ways to stream MLB baseball games. You can sign-up for MLB.TV (out-of-market) or you can purchase a live TV streaming service (in-market). Cord-cutting has taken a leap forward and all US-based MLB teams can be viewed with a streaming service and every team can be streamed with MLB.TV . There are several different live TV streaming services available:

• AT&T TV
• ESPN+
• fuboTV
• Hulu With Live TV
• Sling TV
• YouTube TV

Major League Baseball Regional Team Channels

Trying to figure out which channel your favorite team airs on and then finding which streaming service has the channel can take some time. We have compiled all of MLB streaming channel information for you to watch MLB in 2021 without cable. Over 80% of MLB games are telecast on Regional Sports Networks. Due to disputes with carriers, the MLB streaming scene looks a lot different than in past years. Which service you will want to subscribe to will heavily depend upon which team you are trying to watch, as well as, your geographical location. The service with the most RSN coverage this year is AT&T TV.

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	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐

National MLB Broadcast Channels

In addition to Regional Sports Networks MLB games also air on ESPN, FOX, FS1, MLB Network, and TBS.

Channels
ESPN	☑	☑	☑	☑	☑
FOX	☑	☑	☑	☑	☑
FS1	☑	☑	☑	☑	☑
TBS	☑	☐	☑	☑	☑
MLB Network	☑	☑	☐	☑	☑

Watch MLB on AT&T TV

AT&T TV offers popular channels including Fox Sports and NBC Sports regional networks making it our top choice for watching Major League Baseball games without cable. Other popular channels include AMC, Disney Channel, ESPN, FS1, MLB Network HD, and more. This service is available on devices such as Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Roku, tablets, and smartphones.

MLB fans will want to sign up for Choice package or above. Subscribers can choose to pay month to month or a 2-year contract for a lower cost. The no-contract plan begins at $84.99/month and the 2-year contract price is $64.99/month. A regional sports fee of $8.49 is extra.

Typically AT&T has offered bundle discounts for internet and unlimited wireless customers. Please check with AT&T to see their latest discounts and savings.

• Price: $59.99 to $129.99
• Free Trial: 14 days
• Number of Channels: 65+ to 130+
• Number of Titles: 65,000+
• Streaming Quality: 720p and 1080p

To learn more check out our AT&T TV pricing and packages guide. Visit AT&T’s website to see if the team’s RSN is offered in your area.

Watch MLB on ESPN+

ESPN+ is unlike the other services because it is not technically a live-tv streaming service. That means you can’t live stream any of the ESPN networks through the service; however, ESPN+ offers a free stream of one MLB game for almost every single day of the MLB season. It is important to note that local market games are blacked out and replaced with an out-of-market alternative.

ESPN+ is far from the best service for MLB, but it is a really cool service overall. Subscribers get access to live streams and on-demand videos from just about every single sport. It also includes ESPN original TV series and access to exclusive MLB and fantasy baseball information. The best part is its incredibly inexpensive at just $6.99/month and $69.99/annual. Right now ESPN+ subscribers can also bundle Hulu on-demand and Disney+ for only $13.99/month.

To learn more check out our ESPN+ guide.

Watch MLB on Hulu With Live TV

Due to the loss of RSNs Hulu is no longer the top choice for watching MLB games. However, Hulu with Live TV does offer live viewing availability for 5 MLB teams. These teams are the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, and San Francisco Giants.

• Price: $64.99/mo.
• Free Trial: 7 days
• Number of Channels: 72
• Number of Titles: 10,000+
• Streaming Quality: 720p, 1080p, 4K Ultra HD

If you are looking to watch games from the aforementioned MLB teams then we absolutely recommend Hulu With Live TV. In addition to local in-market viewing for these teams, this service also offers ABC, ESPN, and TNT so you can catch nationally televised games. Hulu + Live TV has one of the best values out of any of the available streaming services.

Hulu only offers one live streaming TV package which is priced at $64.99/month. In addition to sports, Hulu + Live TV contains over 65 channels. Other popular channels offered by this service include Animal Planet, FX, National Geographic, History, USA, local channels, and more.

To learn more check out our Hulu With Live TV guide.

Watch MLB on fuboTV

fuboTV is a service that broadcasts live TV over the internet, no cable required. Watch your favorite teams, network shows, news, and movies on 100+ channels. Plus on-demand entertainment including full TV series.

fuboTV carries the following channels that stream MLB baseball games: TBS, Fox Sports 1, and Fox. It also carries the following regional sports networks: NESN (Boston Red Sox), NBC Sports Chicago (Chicago White Sox), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston Astros), SportsNet (New York Mets), NBC Sports California (Oakland Athletics), NBC Sports Philadelphia (Philadelphia Phillies), AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Pirates), and NBC Sports Bay Area (San Francisco Giants).

• Price: $64.99/mo. to $79.99/mo.
• Free Trial: 7 days
• Simultaneous Streams: 2
• Number of Channels: 100+
• Streaming Quality: 1080p, 4K HDR

fuboTV offers the following packages: Family ($64.99/month) and Elite ($79.99/month) plans. The fubo Family package contains 111 channels; 3 screens at once, and 250 hours of cloud DVR and the Elite package has 157 channels, 5 screens at once, 1000 hours of cloud DVR, and fubo Extra.

To learn more about check out our fuboTV guide.

Watch MLB on Sling TV

Sling TV carries the following channels that stream MLB baseball games: ESPN, ESPN2, FOX, TBS, FS1, and FS2. It also carries the following regional sports networks: NBC Sports California (Oakland Athletics) and NBC Sports Bay Area (San Francisco Giants). MLB Network is also available as part of the sports add-on.

• Price: $35/mo.
• Free Trial: No
• Number of Channels: Sling TV Blue 47; Sling TV Orange 32
• Number of Titles: 5,000+
• Streaming Quality: 4K Ultra HD

The Sling Orange streaming plan costs $35/month, the Sling Blue package also costs $35/month, and the Orange + Blue package costs $50/month. These bundles are also great for cord-cutters looking for other sports. The Sports Extra Package includes MLB Network and MLB Network Strike Zone.
To learn more check out our Sling TV guide.

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 ($129.99/annual) 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 $109.99/annually. This is definitely for hardcore MLB fans. Please note that blackout restrictions can apply (but a VPN has been an effective solution). Students and veterans can receive a discount as well.

This service really is for the baseball fanatics. There are lots of great features in 2021:

• Multi View: Watch up to four games at once with multi-view. Choose from Single, Dual, Thumbnail and Quad views.
• Postseason and All-Star Game: Authenticated US subscribers will be able to live stream each game of the 2020 World Series as well as the 91st All-Star Game on supported devices. No authentication is necessary for International users.
• Audio Skill Compatibility: Link your account to listen to every game live right on your Alexa-enabled device.
• LIVE Game DVR Controls: Pause and rewind LIVE games with DVR controls. Jump back to create your own instant replay. Available on all supported devices.
• Full Game Archives: Watch full game archives of 2020 games with no local or national blackout restrictions. Set your app to remove spoilers and watch as if the game was live. Available on all supported devices.
• Catch-Up Features: See a quick rundown of key plays before joining games in progress. Watch a 90-second recap of the key game plays prior to joining LIVE. Available only on Apple TV 4.
• Audio Overlay: Overlay the home or away team’s radio broadcast over the live video on supported devices. Available on tvOS, Play Station 4, Roku and Xbox.
• MLB Audio: Listen to every regular season and Postseason game LIVE online and on supported iOS and Android devices with no blackouts. Choose home, away, or alternate audio.
• Spanish Audio Sync: Spanish-language audio overlay option for every available regular season game on supported connected devices. Available on all supported devices.
• Pitch-by-Pitch Tracking: Track the location, type and speed of every pitch. Available only on iOS and web.
• Clickable Linescores: Go directly to any half inning of a game. Available on all supported devices.

MLB.TV has very high quality and high-definition broadcast streams. You will get 60 frames per second on mobile devices, PC/MACs, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung, Android TV. You will get home and away broadcasts with pause and rewind DVR controls. Pitchcasts maps out every single pitch.

How To Stream Live MLB Games Out-of-Market

One of the greatest annoyances to MLB cord-cutters is the blackout restrictions. Cord-cutters can bypass these restrictions easily by using a Virtual Private Network or VPN. A VPN is a simple software program that allows you to encrypt your traffic and mask your IP address by connecting to a server in a different location.

Streaming services such as MLB.TV is notorious for blackout restrictions. In order to bypass this, you need to connect to a server in a region that does not have a blackout. This may sound complicated but with most VPNs, you can do this in just a few clicks. With services such as ExpressVPN, you can connect to a server out-of-market very quickly.

Not sure which VPN to use? Our top-rated VPN for streaming platforms is ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN is a fast, reliable, and inexpensive option to pair with your favorite streaming service. Plans begin as low as $8.32/month. You can try ExpressVPN free for 30-days.

2021 Major Leauge Baseball Team Cord-Cutting Guide