DISCLAIMER: This work was put together using data from
various sources. As such, if you come
across something that is inaccurate, please feel free to reach out to me to
correct it via email realcordcutters@outlook.com
or Twitter: @RealCordCutters
or by leaving a comment below. My goal
is to make a comprehensive and accurate guide that can help people quickly
& easily decide how to watch as much major league baseball as they want for
the cheapest possible method. Unlike
other cord cutting websites, we welcome and encourage reader feedback, both
positive and negative. Additionally,
there will be many caveats regarding these issues of RSNs, DMAs, and territory
maps that will be explained below. For updates, please look for the ► sign (alt + 16 to type it) with a date following it; these indicate changes, additions, corrections, etc.
First, I’m going to give a brief overview by defining
some terms and listing the current channels that broadcast MLB in some format. Then, I have a “Things to Know” section which
is to make you aware of some common ideas regarding blackouts, etc., followed
by a brief summary of the various streaming options. If you’re already familiar with this info, please
feel free to jump down below to the Recommendations section to determine the
best option for you.
KEY TERMS TO KNOW
Designated Market Area (DMA) – a geographic
region, defined by Nielsen Media Research, that receives the same (or similar)
television stations. The DMA that you
are located in determines which local broadcast stations you receive, although
cable companies are free to carry channels from outside the DMA without any
type of waiver. To see a map of all US
DMAs from 2015-16, click here.
In-market vs out-of-market – In baseball, each
team is allowed to claim a certain geographic territory or area as their own. Everyone who lives in this territory is
considered “in-market” and everyone who lives outside of it is considered
“out-of-market”. These areas routinely
overlap (i.e. multiple teams can claim an area). Whether you are considered in-market or
out-of-market for a team generally determines whether you are blacked out from
watching that team on certain services or channels. To see which teams are considered in-market
for you, please look at the following map or go to the MLB.TV homepage and input
your zip code in the area that says “Blackout Restrictions”. The team(s) that are listed on the map where
you live or are given after you submit your zip code are considered in-market;
all other teams (not listed) are considered out-of-market.
Blackouts – Baseball games on certain networks
and/or for certain terms are not shown to people who are in-market or
out-of-market, i.e. blacked out, depending on the circumstances. For example, if a game is being shown on your
local regional sports network and additionally being aired on a national
network, the national network broadcast of your local game will usually be
blacked out (or you would receive an alternate game on that channel). Alternately, if you receive a regional sports
network from outside your market, you will not be able to watch a game on that
station showing that local team. For
more information on blackouts and specific examples, see the section “THINGS TO
KNOW” below.
TV CHANNELS
ESPN/ESPN2
·
ESPN & ESPN2 carry on average 3-5 games a
week
·
Monday & Wednesday night (regional or
national) & Sunday night national
·
Extra games on holidays (Opening Day, Memorial
Day, July 4th, Labor Day)
·
ESPN aired one postseason Wild Card game in 2017
FOX/FS1
·
FOX, the broadcast channel, airs regular season
games across 13 Saturdays in 2018
o Most
are regional telecasts where 2-3 games are broadcast at the same time and split
to different parts of the country
·
Fox Sports 1 (FS1) will broadcast 39 regular
season games on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and occasionally on Wednesdays
·
FOX/FSI split one of the League Championship
Series (will be the 2018 NCLS), while FOX airs the entire World Series &
FS1 airs Division Series round games
MLB NETWORK
·
MLB Network (MLBN) usually airs 8-10 games per
week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays
o Most
games are aired regionally & some start at different times in different
areas
·
Some games are presented by MLBN (i.e. have MLBN
announcers, etc.), but most are simulcasts of an existing broadcast
·
MLBN also aired several postseason games in the
Division Series round during 2017
TBS
·
TBS will air Sunday afternoon games in 2018
starting July 8th through the end of the season
·
It airs multiple postseason games including the
entire 2018 ALCS
Regional Sports Networks
·
All MLB teams have most of their
games broadcast on local sports channels commonly referred to as Regional Sports
Networks (RSNs)
·
RSNs that air MLB games:
o Fox
Sports (FS) <channel>
o NBC
Sports (NBCS) <channel>
o AT&T
SportsNet (ATTSN) <channel>
o YES
Network
o SportsTime
Ohio (STO)
o Root
Sports Northwest
o NESN
o MASN
& MASN2
o SportsNet
LA
o ►(Added 3/28/18) SportsNet New York (SNY)
o ►(Added 3/28/18) SportsNet New York (SNY)
·
Some RSNs use alternate channels, such as Fox
Sports Detroit Plus (+) because they televise multiple professional teams and run
into conflicts with multiple games at the same time
TV Everywhere Apps
·
Used to watch a live stream of a cable channel
online for authenticated subscribers
·
ESPN/ESPN2 - WATCHESPN app
·
FOX/FS1/FS RSNs - Fox Sports Go app
· NBCS RSNs & ►(3/28/18)SNY - NBC Sports app
·
MLBN - MLB At-Bat app (mobile only)
·
TBS - Watch TBS app
THINGS TO KNOW
There are a lot of nuances and caveats regarding some of
these services and channels so please read the following items before you
decide to purchase anything.
Blackouts – The following blackout rules apply
·
MLB.TV
o In-market
blackouts - Games involving in-market teams are blacked out. Depending on where you live this may be as
few as 1 team but could be as many as 6(!) teams. Even if the team is located hundreds of miles
from where you live and there are no cable/satellite/streaming providers which
carry the RSN that airs the games for that team, you will not be able to watch
their games via MLB.TV because you are considered in-market for that team.
For example, there are 6 teams
(Angels, Athletics, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Padres & Giants) which claim Las
Vegas (and the southern half of Nevada) as their home territory. This means that someone in Las Vegas will not
be able to watch any game involving those 6 teams unless he/she subscribed to
the Follow your Team option in which case he/she would be able to watch games
when that single team plays any of those 6 teams.
o Regional
blackouts – Games which are aired by FOX on Saturdays are blacked out in the
region where they air. In other words,
the game shown in your area will be blacked out on MLB.TV but the other games
airing at the same time in other regions of the country are not blacked out
(subject to in-market restrictions of course).
o National
Blackouts – Sunday night games on ESPN/ESPN2 & in-market Saturday games on
FOX are blacked out nationally on MLB.TV.
·
ESPN & ESPN2
o Some
regionally broadcast games will be blacked out on ESPN/ESPN2 if the game is
already being aired by another channel (RSN) in your local market.
o Thus,
you may not be able to watch a game if you have a package that includes ESPN
but not your local RSN (ex. DTV NOW Live a Little, Sling Orange)
·
MLBN
o Most
non-MLBN produced telecasts (i.e. simulcasts of one team’s feed) are blacked
out in the markets of the local teams.
o These
markets usually receive an alternate game, although it may be on the MLBN
alternate channel.
o If
main MLBN channel is blacked out, look for alternate channel to see the game
RSN’s & your television DMA
·
In-market RSN’s
o The
RSNs listed as being carried in the chart below for each streaming service are
confirmed only for the corresponding television DMA. In other words, you may be considered
in-market for a specific team by MLB.TV standards, but out-of-market, by
television DMA purposes for the specific RSN which carries most games for that
team.
§ For
example, Sling carries Fox Sports Arizona and thus Arizona Diamondbacks games,
but the information provided below as to which services carry that channel
pertains only to the Phoenix DMA. It is
not guaranteed that Fox Sports Arizona is carried throughout the entire
territorial region that the Diamondbacks claim which, in addition to Arizona,
includes all of New Mexico & Utah plus the southern half of Nevada. Thus, Las Vegas is considered “in-market” for
the Diamondbacks and their games are not viewable there via MLB.TV. However, if you look up the RSNs offered by
Sling in Las Vegas here,
there are 3 Fox Sports RSNs listed (Prime Ticket, San Diego & West), but
Fox Sports Arizona isn’t one of them.
Thus, a Las Vegas resident would not be able to view Arizona
Diamondbacks games on Sling or MLB.TV.
RSN subfeeds & alternate channels
·
RSN Plus or Alternate Channels
o RSNs
which carry multiple professional sports teams generally have alternate feeds
(usually labeled as the same channel name with a “plus”) so that they can air
multiple games at the same time
o Some
streaming services carry these alternate “plus” channels while others do
not
o If
a service does not carry the RSN plus channel, look for it in the Fox Sports Go
App or the NBC Sports App using the login credentials of your service
·
RSN Subfeeds
o Related
to this, some RSN channels offer different subfeeds of an RSN under the same or
different channel names usually for airing live events only
§ Example
- Fox Sports Ohio offers different feeds to the Cleveland and Cincinnati
areas.
·
The Cincinnati subfeed airs Reds games and is
oftentimes referred to as “Fox Sports Cincinnati” but is still officially Fox
Sports Ohio.
§ Example
- Fox Sports Wisconsin vs Fox Sports North (which covers Minnesota teams)
·
If you look up a Milwaukee zip code on the DTV
NOW search page (here)
to view the available local networks & RSNs, you will see Fox Sports North
listed but not Fox Sports Wisconsin.
However, if you look at this PDF file which has all RSNs offered for every single zip code, you will see
that for Milwaukee DMA zip codes (pages 122-123 in the file), Fox Sports North
& Fox Sports Wisconsin are both listed with the “Brewers”. So it appears that DTVNOW offers the ability
to view Brewers games on Fox Sports Wisconsin even though their online lookup
tool does not list that network.
§ Example
– Fox Sports Kansas City vs Fox Sports Midwest
·
A similar confusion occurs regarding the Royals,
Fox Sports Kansas City, and Fox Sports Midwest (which televises Cardinals
games). The RSN zip code lookup tool
only returns Fox Sports Midwest (here)
and the PDF master list also has only Fox Sports Midwest listed as televising
Royals game, even though Fox Sports Kansas City is no longer a subfeed of Fox
Sports Midwest. However, if you look here,
it details the 2018 broadcast coverage of Royals games, “The Kansas City Royals
and FOX Sports Kansas City today announced a 155-game regular season television
schedule for the 2018 season.”
o Generally,
if an RSN carries the Fox Sports RSNs, they carry all of the subfeeds even if
they do not list the specific subfeed in their lookup tool
Local Channel Streaming Rights
·
Some teams broadcast some of their games on
local channels; however, even if a streaming service carries this local channel,
you may not be able to watch these games on it
o This
usually occurs because the channel did not pay for the “streaming rights”
·
Instead, use an antenna (if possible) to receive
the local channel and watch these games
o Example
– Chicago Cubs will have 25 games air on WLS-ABC 7 which is carried on most of
the streaming services.
§ If
ABC 7 did not pay for streaming rights, then Cubs games are blacked out
STREAMING SERVICES
MLB.TV
· MLB.TV
is a streaming service offered by MLB for viewing games of out-of-market teams
o Please
note: MLB.TV will NOT allow someone to view all of his/her local in-market
teams games unless that person also has a subscription to the RSN which is
airing the game, i.e you cannot cancel your cable/satellite package and expect
to subscribe to MLB.TV to see your local (or any in-market) team(s)---unless
you use a VPN
· Costs
$115.99/year or $24.99/month for 2018 (all out-of-market teams) or $89.99/year to
view all out-of-market games for only one team (subject to blackout
restrictions)
o ►(3/29/18) Discounts of 35% are available for current students and military members
o ►(3/29/18) Discounts of 35% are available for current students and military members
· “Follow
Your Team” - costs $10/year, allows someone to view a game involving the
single-team (out-of-market) selected from the “Single Team” package when that
team is blacked out due to playing an in-market team
o ►(Added
3/29/18 & Deleted original bullet point) The feature is now live as of
3/29/18 and works as follows: it allows a subscriber to select one out of
market team and view that local team’s broadcast for all games versus in-market
teams but the subscriber must also have an authenticated subscription to the
in-market RSN which is airing the game
o Example:
If you are a Red Sox fan who lives in Tampa, every Red Sox game vs the Rays
will be blacked out on MLB.TV. However,
if you pay the $10 fee, you will be able to watch the NESN feed of every Red
Sox-Rays game, provided that you also have a subscription to Fox Sports Sun,
the local RSN that airs all local Rays games
o Please
note that not all local teams are available for this option; thus, if your
local in-market team’s RSN is not participating, you cannot use this feature.
For more info, see here
· T-Mobile
subscribers can get a free yearly subscription to MLB.TV by downloading the
T-Mobile Tuesdays app and redeeming the offer between March 27 & April
2. Click here for more details
· “Free
Game of the Day” - one game each day can be watched free without a
subscription.
o To
watch on a mobile device (phone/tablet) must use the premium version of MLB
At-Bat app ($19.99/year or $2.99/month); will not play in the free version of
the app
o Can
also be viewed on other streaming devices (Amazon Fire TV/Stick, Roku, etc.)
via the MLB.TV app (free) or via computer browser at mlb.com
· Available
on most streaming devices and its only location restrictions are on whichever
teams are considered “in-market” in your current location as they will be
blacked out
Summary: MLB.TV is an excellent choice if your favorite team
is out-of-market or you’re primarily interested in watching all teams. It is not a good choice if you primarily
follow one team which is your local team.
Sling TV (Sling)
·
Orange package ►(6/28/18)($20/month
Sling increased the price of the Orange package to $25/month effective 6/28/18) package includes
ESPN/ESPN2 + TBS + other channels & allows 1 simultaneous stream
·
Blue package ($25/month) includes FOX (depending
on market) + FS1 + FS RSNs (if applicable) + NBCS RSNs (if applicable) + ►(3/28/18)
STO (if applicable) + TBS + other
channels & allows 3 simultaneous streams
·
Orange + Blue packages ($40/month total, ►(6/28/18) $5/10/month savings effective
6/28/18 with the price increase on the Orange plan)
·
Sling does not have any location restrictions
and can be accessed anywhere in the US
·
Available on nearly all streaming devices and
authenticates on most TV Everywhere apps
Summary: Sling is the cheapest option available if you’re
looking for a service which will carry the games on your local in-market team
on a FS or NBCS RSN. However, if you
want ESPN & FOX channels, there are other options out there which have more
channels for the same price and/or carry more local channels. Also, DVR access costs
extra which most services include in the base package cost.
PlayStation Vue (Vue)
·
Access ►(8/8/18
$44.99/month effective 8/1/18) ($39.99/month) contains ESPN/ESPN2 + TBS
+ FOX (depending on market) + FS1 + other channels
·
Core ►(8/8/18
$44.99/month effective 8/1/18) ($44.99/month) contains all channels in
Access + FS RSNs (if applicable) + NBCS RSNs (if applicable) + NESN (if
applicable) + STO (if applicable) + MLBN + ►(5/04/18)
SNY (if applicable) other channels.
·
Elite ►(8/8/18
$59.99/month effective 8/1/18) ($54.99/month) & Ultra ►(8/8/18 $79.99/month
effective 8/1/18) ($74.99/month) packages
are also available
·
Sports Pack ($10/month on Core or higher)
includes all NBCS RSNs + NESN for out of market viewers, but all live games are
blacked out; for more info see here
·
Limited to 3 simultaneous streams, both in-home
and out-of-home, when an account is first created although setting a home
device will allow 2 more streams to be used in-home only
o A
maximum of one PS 3, one PS 4, and three mobile/web-based devices (i.e.
computer browsers) are allowed regardless of location. For more info, see here
·
You DO NOT need a PlayStation in order to
setup or use Vue.
·
Vue had some location restrictions but has since
changed them (see link above) and can be accessed anywhere in the US
·
Available on nearly all streaming devices and
authenticates on most TV Everywhere apps
Summary: Vue’s Core
package (which has local RSN’s) is $5 more per month than other comparable
offerings, but it is one of only three services which carries MLBN. Also, it allows the most simultaneous streams
in-home of any service, unless you pay extra for unlimited streams from Hulu. Previously, Vue offered Access Slim &
Core Slim in markets without all local channels at $30 & $35/month,
respectively, which made it a fantastic deal; however, last summer they raised
the price to match Access & Core packages.
DIRECTV NOW (DTVNOW)
·
Live a Little ►(8/8/18
$40/month effective 8/1/18) ($35/month) includes ESPN/ESPN2 + TBS
+ FOX (depending on market) + FS1 + other channels
·
Just Right ►(8/8/18
$55/month effective 8/1/18) ($50/month) includes all channels in
Live a Little plus MLBN + FS RSNs (if applicable) + NBCS RSNs (if applicable) + ►(3/28/18)
STO (if applicable) + ►(3/28/18) SNY
(if applicable) +
other channels
·
Go Big ►(8/8/18
$65/month effective 8/1/18) ($60/month) and Gotta Have it ►(8/8/18 $75/month
effective 8/1/18) ($70/month) packages are also available
·
DTVNOW is limited to 2 simultaneous streams and
is available on most streaming devices
·
It does have some restrictions when it comes to
streaming local channels on a mobile device
·
It does not have any location restrictions and authenticates
with most TV everywhere apps
Summary: ►(8/8/18
At $35/month, DTVNOW
offers the cheapest available Now at $40/month, DTVNOW
offers a similarly priced option to get ESPN, FS1, TBS and possibly your local FOX station for basic MLB
coverage. However, to view your local
team on an RSN and/or MLBN, you need a package that is more expensive than all
the other comparable options. Additionally,
it has the fewest available number of simultaneous streams (except for Sling’s
Orange plan) and there’s no official DVR service which is still in beta mode. However, if you already have a qualifying
AT&T Wireless plan, the $15/month credit may make it a cheaper option than
other services.
You Tube TV
·
Base package (currently $40/month for new
subscribers, was $35/month until 3/13/18) has ESPN/ESPN2 + TBS + FOX (depending
on market) + FS1 + FS RSNs (if applicable) + NBCS RSNs (if applicable) + NESN (if applicable) +
STO (if applicable) + ►(3/28/18) SNY
(if applicable) + other channels
o Please
note: the cost is slightly more per month if you sign up through iTunes
·
Allows 3 simultaneous streams & is now on
Roku & Apple TV but still not on Fire TV
·
Only available in 94 DMAs currently
·
It does not have any location restrictions and
can be used outside of the 94 DMAs but the initial account must be created in
one of the currently available locations
o It
must be used at least once every 90 days in the home location and additionally
states that MLB fans need to use it at least once every 30 days from the home
location to avoid viewing restrictions – link
·
YouTube TV authenticates with most TV everywhere
apps
Summary: YouTube TV recently added several baseball
related networks, TBS & MLBN, but also raised the price of its base package
by $5. Even with the increase it still hits
a nice sweetspot of having a large number of sports channels for a price which
is comparable to most of the other services while having the same number or
more simultaneous streams than most of its competitors. It recently added apps for Roku and Apple TV,
which make it even more appealing since previously Chromecast was the only
cheap streaming device it supported, and its unlimited DVR stores programs for
9 months. The two major downsides are
the fact that it is not available to subscribe everywhere, unlike every other
major service, and the fact that it is missing many non-sports cable channels
such as Viacom and Scripps channels that most other services carry.
Hulu Live
·
Base package ($39.99/month) has ESPN/ESPN2 + TBS
+ FOX (depending on market) + FS1 + FS RSNs (if applicable) + NBCS RSNs (if applicable)
+ STO (if applicable) + ►(3/29/18)
SNY (if applicable) + other channels
·
Limited to 2 simultaneous streams but offers “Unlimited
Screens” for $14.99/month
o Unlimited
streams at home & 3 simultaneous streams outside of home
·
No location viewing restrictions and it
currently is available on most streaming devices
·
Hulu Live authenticates with most TV everywhere
apps and includes basic Hulu subscription
Summary: Hulu Live is around the same price point as many of
the other services but offers fewer simultaneous streams (2) compared to most
other services and also doesn’t offer MLBN.
However, it does include a basic Hulu subscription so someone who is
already paying for that would save some money by signing up for it vs a
different service. Also, it is the only
service that allows an unlimited number of streams albeit with a significant
cost.
FuboTV
·
Fubo Premier ($44.99/month) includes FOX (depending
on market) + FS1 + ►(8/24/18)
TBS+ FS RSNs (if applicable) + NBCS RSNs (if applicable) + NESN (if applicable) +
STO (if applicable) +
►(3/28/18)
SNY (if applicable) + other channels
·
Does not include any ESPN channels or TBS
·
Maximum of 2 simultaneous streams and is
available on most common streaming devices
·
Does not appear to have any location viewing
restrictions (i.e. out of area) and authenticates with Fox Sports Go and the
NBC Sports App
Summary: Since FuboTV does not carry any Disney (ESPN) or
Turner (TBS) channels, it is essentially comparable to Sling Blue in terms of
its channel offerings but at almost double the price with fewer simultaneous streams. It does have significantly more sports channels
though, including many soccer-themed ones, but in terms of MLB coverage there
are other options that carry the same channels or more for a comparable or even
cheaper price.
Facebook
·
MLB & Facebook recently announced a deal to stream
25 games, one per week on MLB’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/MLBLiveGames/
for the 2018 season
·
Games will be aired on weekday afternoons and
will be exclusive to Facebook
·
Can be viewed via the Facebook app on phones,
tablets and other streaming devices (Amazon Fire TV/Stick, Apple TV). For more information, see here
and here
Twitter (►Added 4/7/18)
·
Game is subject to in-market blackout
restrictions, i.e. only viewable out-of-market
·
Games can be viewed here and on MLB’s Twitter account
ESPN+ (►Added 5/4/18)
·
ESPN+ launched on 4/12/18 and streams 1 MLB game
per day this year
·
Game is subject to in-market blackout
restrictions, i.e. only viewable out-of-market, and is different from the MLB.TV
Free Game of the Day
·
ESPN+ costs $4.99/month or $49.99/year
·
Can be viewed via the ESPN app on phones,
tablets and other streaming devices (Amazon Fire TV/Stick, Apple TV) or on ESPN’s
website
Yahoo Sports
· ►(Added 3/29/18 & deleted original bullet
points) It does not appear that Yahoo Sports is streaming any games this year
as none were available on their website or in the Yahoo Sports app
RECOMMENDATIONS
I have several documents available to help you make the
most informed decision. First, there is
a flowchart below which can guide you through the decision about which service,
if any, is an option for you based on answering some simple Yes/No questions. Second, I have created an Excel spreadsheet
which allows you to input the specific channel(s) you want to watch and will
return all available options starting with the cheapest. Links to view an example of the spreadsheet
and to download a copy to use are listed below.
Third, I am going to give my recommendations for specific situations. Finally, if you already know that you are
looking to watch a local, in-market team, please see the chart below this
section which lists the available in-market RSNs on each service for each team.
YES/NO DECISION FLOWCHART – link
Cheapest Option to view a local in-market team – Sling
Blue
·
Sling Blue is the absolute cheapest option to
watch your local in-market team via its RSN at $25/month; you won’t be able to
watch any national ESPN games, but you will also get games on FS1 and possibly
FOX (if available in your market). Note
that it does not carry NESN, so local Red Sox fans should look at one of the
three options that does carry it.
Best & Cheapest Option to view out-of-market games
– MLB.TV
·
MLB.TV will allow you to stream nearly every
out-of-market baseball game every day except for any national blackouts (FOX
Saturday, Sunday Night ESPN) for a price that is less than most streaming
services on a monthly basis ($19.33/month at the annual subscription price or
$25/month at the monthly subscription price).
So if you are only concerned with watching baseball, and not the other
channels that the “cable-lite” services offer, it’s the best option by far for
watching MLB. And if you have T-mobile,
you could get it for free!
Cheapest “cable lite” Option to view out-of-market
games only (basic) – DTV NOW
·
DTV NOW gives you ESPN/ESPN2 + TBS + FS1 + FOX
(depending on market) for only $35/month which covers a fair amount of national
games, usually 4-8 per week.
Best “cable lite” Option to view out-of-market games (advanced)
and/or a local in-market team – YouTube TV*
·
YouTube TV gives you ESPN/ESPN2 + TBS + FS1 +
FOX (all markets have live FOX except for 5) + MLBN which will give you at
least one, if not more, baseball game every day of the week. Also, if your local team is on a FS RSN, NBCS
RSN, NESN, STO,
or ►(3/28/18) SNY, you’ll be able to see them too.
·
*If you have a qualifying AT&T Unlimited
data cell phone plan, the $15/month discount for DTV NOW service would make the
Just Right plan ($35/month after discount) the cheapest option out there. Keep in mind it doesn’t carry NESN
though.
·
*If YouTube TV isn’t available in your area and
you don’t qualify for the DTV NOW AT&T wireless discount, then Vue Core is
the next best option as it carries all the same channels mentioned above that
YouTube TV does including the same RSNs (►3/28/18
except for SNY ►Edited 5/4/18 since Vue now carries SNY) for only $5/month more.
Finally, please keep the following things in mind. First, there are 87►(edited 3/28/18) US based teams whose games
are aired by an RSN that is not carried by any national streaming service; so
if you’re a fan of one of those teams that lives in their claimed television
area, you’re basically out of luck.
Second, this guide only covers issues related to watching MLB. Most people obviously have other factors that
determine which streaming service is best for them such as the other channels
carried (both sports and non-sports), the availability of DVR service including
the allotted number of hours, the streaming devices a service is available on, the
number of simultaneous streams allowed, and other cost considerations such as
discounts, promotions, etc. that apply due to any existing subscriptions you
may have. So please use this guide to
help you make an informed decision as to which option is the best for you in
terms of your baseball viewing, but keep in mind that there will be other
factors to consider that weren’t mentioned here.
SUMMARY OF
STREAMING OPTIONS TO VIEW LOCAL TEAMS ON RSNs
The chart below
shows the various networks that will air games for each MLB team in 2018 and
whether each channel is available on the six main streaming services. Please
note that these networks are confirmed for the appropriate corresponding
television DMA only.
Other Notes:
-Teams highlighted in red have the
majority of their games aired by RSNs which are not available via any streaming
service.
-Networks
separated by a "&" symbol are complementary networks that will
air games
-The “Local MLB Games-Other Channels” table listed
below are only for the ones located in the television DMA for the specific team.
There may be other broadcast stations (affiliates) in other parts of the state
or country that will show some of a team's games. For example, KNVT will air 15 games of the San
Francisco Giants in 2018 in the San Francisco area, but there are other
affiliates in Sacramento and other cities that will air these games as well.
The easiest way to find these is to search for "<TEAM NAME>
Broadcast Affiliates". Some teams have an mlb.com page setup to list
these, but they generally aren't linked from the team pages anywhere and can
only be access by searching for them.
Local MLB
Games-Primary RSN Chart ►(updated 5/4/18)
Team
|
Primary Network Airing 2018 Games
|
Sling Blue
|
Vue Core
(or higher)
|
DTVNOW
Just Right
(or higher)
|
FuboTV
Premier
|
YouTube TV
|
Hulu Live
|
Arizona Diamondbacks
|
FS Arizona
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Atlanta Braves
|
FS South
& Southeast
|
YES & YES
|
YES & YES
|
YES & YES
|
YES & YES
|
YES & YES
|
YES & YES
|
Baltimore Orioles
|
MASN &
MASN2
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
Boston Red Sox
|
NESN
|
NO
|
YES
|
NO
|
YES
|
YES
|
NO
|
Chicago Cubs
|
NBCS Chicago/Chicago+
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Chicago White Sox
|
NBCS Chicago/Chicago+
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
FS Ohio
(Cincinnati)
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Cleveland Indians
|
SportsTime
Ohio
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Colorado Rockies
|
ATTSN Rocky
Mountain
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
Detroit Tigers
|
FS Detroit
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Houston Astros
|
ATTSN Southwest
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
Kansas City Royals
|
FS Kansas
City
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Los Angeles Angels
of Anaheim
|
FS West
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Los Angeles Dodgers
|
SportsNet LA
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
Miami Marlins
|
FS Florida
& FS Sun
|
YES & YES
|
YES & YES
|
YES & YES
|
YES & YES
|
YES & YES
|
YES & YES
|
Milwaukee Brewers
|
FS Wisconsin
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Minnesota Twins
|
FS North
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
New York Mets
|
SportsNet New
York
|
NO
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
New York Yankees
|
YES Network
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Oakland Athletics
|
NBCS
California/California+
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Philadelphia
Phillies
|
NBCS
Philadelphia
|
NO?
|
YES
|
NO?
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Pittsburgh Pirates
|
ATTSN Pittsburgh
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
St. Louis Cardinals
|
FS Midwest
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
San Diego Padres
|
FS San Diego
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
San Francisco
Giants
|
NBCS Bay Area/Bay
Area+
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Seattle Mariners
|
RS Northwest
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
Tampa Bay Rays
|
FS Sun
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Texas Rangers
|
FS Southwest
& Southwest+
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
Toronto Blue Jays
|
Sportsnet/TVA
Sports (French)
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Washington Nationals
|
MASN &
MASN2
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
NO
|
Local MLB Games-Other Channels (Cable & OTA)
Team
|
Network
|
Affiliate
|
Notes
|
Chicago
Cubs
|
WGN/
WLS
|
Indep/
ABC
|
45 games on WGN/25 games on WLS - link
|
Chicago
White Sox
|
WGN
|
Indep
|
55 games on WGN - link
|
Los
Angeles Angels of Anaheim
|
KCOP
|
MyTV
|
1 game (currently) on KCOP but several are TBD - link
|
Los
Angeles Dodgers
|
KTLA
|
CS
|
5 games on KTLA, all games also air on SportsNet LA - link
|
New York Mets
|
WPIX
|
CW
|
22 games on WPIX - link
|
New
York Yankees
|
WPIX
|
CW
|
21 games on WPIX - link
|
Philadelphia
Phillies
|
TCN Phil/
WCAU
Telemundo
|
------/
NBC/
------
|
8 games on TCN Philadelphia (cable channel)
12 games on WCAU (includes 5 games Telemundo is airing)
5 games on Telemundo - link
|
San
Diego Padres
|
Fox Deportes San Diego
|
N/A
|
81 home games on Fox Deportes San Diego (all games also
airing on FS San Diego) - link
|
San
Francisco Giants
|
KNTV
|
NBC
|
15 games on KNTV - link
|
►(Added 5/04/18) It was confirmed 3/29/18 that no National games would air on WUSA this year - link |
SOURCES &
REFERENCES:
The information in the chart above and this entire post
came from a variety of sources. In
addition to those listed below, much of the game broadcasting information came
from the broadcast schedule on each team’s official mlb.com website. These can be accessed by going to the team’s
official website, choosing the schedule tab, and then clicking on Broadcast
Information or Broadcast Schedule.
Please note that not all teams have updated this page for all 2018
games.
MLB.TV
Sling TV
PlayStation Vue
DIRECTV NOW
YouTube TV
Hulu Live
FuboTV
MISC
