This is now my 4th MLB Guide to Cord Cutting which has been updated to give you the most accurate and helpful information because most of the other resources out there are very generic and frankly unhelpful. They don’t have the specifics you need to make an informed, educated decision when it comes to finding the best and/or cheapest way to cancel your overpriced traditional cable/satellite subscription but still be able to follow your favorite team and/or MLB in general. I’ve updated the guide for 2020 to reflect changes that have taken place since last season ended such as PlayStation Vue shutting down and the Cubs starting their new RSN, Marquee Sports Network.
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 2018-19, click here
or to see an interactive map where you can hover over each DMA, 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, Labor Day)
·
ESPN will air one postseason Wild Card game in
2020
FOX/FS1
·
FOX, the broadcast channel, airs regular season
games on Thursday & Saturdays in 2020
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 every day of
the week except Sunday in 2020
·
FOX/FSI split one of the League Championship
Series (will be the 2020 NLCS), 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 airs several postseason games in the
Division Series round
TBS
·
TBS will air Sunday afternoon games in 2020
starting July 26th through the end of the season
·
It airs multiple postseason games including the
entire 2020 ALCS
(►9/3/20)
YouTube
·
YouTube will air 4 games in September 2020–two
of the games will be exclusive to YouTube and the other 2 will also air on the
RSNs of the participating teams (link)
· The games can be viewed on MLB’s YouTube channel or on a dedicated channel for YouTube TV subscribers
· The games can be viewed on MLB’s YouTube channel or on a dedicated channel for YouTube TV subscribers
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 in the US:
o Fox
Sports (FS) <channel>
o NBC
Sports (NBCS) <channel>
o AT&T
SportsNet (ATTSN) <channel>
o YES
Network (YES)
o SportsTime
Ohio (STO)
o Root
Sports Northwest
o NESN
o MASN
& MASN2
o SportsNet
LA (SNLA)
o
SportsNet New York (SNY)
o
Marquee Sports Network (MSN)
·
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 - ESPN app
·
FOX/FS1 – Fox Sports app
·
FS RSNs & STO & YES Network - Fox Sports
Go app
·
NBCS RSNs & SNY - NBC Sports app
·
ATTSN RSNs – AT&T SportsNet 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 when there is regional
coverage (i.e. multiple games airing at the same time) 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 during regional coverage 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. AT&T TV NOW Max, 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 or MLB At-Bat app
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, YouTube TV 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 YouTube TV in Las Vegas, there are 3 RSNs listed (FS San Diego, NBCS
California, NBCS Bay Area), but Fox Sports Arizona isn’t one of them. Thus, a Las Vegas resident would not be able
to view Arizona Diamondbacks games on YouTube TV 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
- FS 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.
§ Other
examples
·
FS Wisconsin (Brewers) vs FS North (Twins)
·
FS Kansas City (Royals) vs FS Midwest
(Cardinals)
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
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
$59.99/year or $24.99/month for 2020 (all out-of-market teams) or $49.99/year to
view all out-of-market games for only one team (subject to blackout
restrictions)
o Discounts
of 35% are available for current students and military members
· T-Mobile
& Sprint subscribers can get a free yearly subscription to MLB.TV by downloading
the T-Mobile Tuesdays app and redeeming the offer starting 7/21. 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) you must use the premium version of MLB
At-Bat app ($19.99/year or $2.99/month); it 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 designated as an “in-market” team.
Sling TV (Sling)
·
Plans:
o
Orange ($30/month), Orange Sports Add-on
($10/month)
o
Blue ($30/month), Blue Sports Add-on ($10/month)
o
Orange + Blue ($45/month), Orange + Blue +
Sports Add-on ($60/month)
·
Channels:
Orange
|
ESPN
|
ESPN2
|
TBS
|
|
Orange Sports Add-on
|
MLBN
|
|||
Blue
|
FOX
|
FS1
|
NBCS RSN
|
TBS
|
Blue Sports Add-on
|
MLBN
|
·
# of Streams: Orange (1 stream); Blue (3
streams)
·
DVR: 10 hours for free, 50 hours for $5/month
·
Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV + most common
devices
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 an 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. The advantage for Sling is that it is the
cheapest option to get MLBN as it can be had for
$40/month with Sling Orange or Blue + the corresponding Sports Add-on. Also, it is the cheapest option to get all
national cable channels that carry MLB beating YouTube TV by $5/month, but it
doesn’t have FOX in most markets.
AT&T TV NOW (ATTVNOW)
·
Plans:
o
Plus ($55/month), Max ($80/month)
§ AT&T
TV NOW introduced the above plans in March 2019, but current subscribers were
able to keep grandfathered plans from 2016 (Live a Little, Just Right, Go Big,
Gotta Have It)
·
Channels:
Plus
|
ESPN
|
ESPN2
|
FOX
|
FS1
|
TBS
|
|||
Max
|
NBCS RSN*
|
FS RSN
|
SNY
|
SNLA
|
STO
|
YES
|
MSN
|
|
ATTSN PITT/ROCKY MTN/SW
|
Root Sports NW
|
MASN
|
MASN2
|
NESN
|
||||
·
# of Streams: 2 with the option of purchasing an
additional stream for $5/month
·
DVR: 500 Hours
·
Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV + most common
devices
Summary: ATTVNOW Plus is a decent option to get only ESPN/2,
FS1, TBS and possibly your local FOX station for basic MLB coverage. It’s more expensive than Sling but comparably
priced/cheaper to most other options.
However, to view your local team on an RSN, you’ll need a package (Max -
$80/month) that is $15-$25 more/month than all the other comparable options. However (as of 7/23/20), it is one of only two
services that carry certain RSN’s (YES, FS West, MSN, ATTSN SW) and the only
service that carries the Dodgers (SNLA), Pirates (ATTSN PITT), Rockies (ATTSN
RM), (►7/25/20) Mariners (Root Sports NW), and Orioles & Nationals (MASN/MASN 2). The Max plan does
include HBO Max (it’s new HBO & Time Warner content based streaming
service) though so if you were already planning on paying for that separately,
the price difference may not be that large.
And its DVR is a robust 500 hours which trails only YouTube TV.
YouTube TV (YTTV)
·
Plans:
o Base
Plan ($65/month)
·
Channels:
ESPN
|
ESPN2
|
FOX
|
FS1
|
TBS
|
MLBN
|
FS RSN
|
NBCS
RSN
|
NESN
|
STO
|
SNY
|
·
# of Streams: 3
·
DVR: Unlimited Space
·
Devices: Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV + some other
devices
Summary: YTTV had a perfect sweet spot of having a
large number of sports channels, including MLBN, for a price which is
comparable to most of the other services until it announced a price increase of
30% ($15/month) in July 2020 with the addition of a number of Viacom channels. It briefly lost the FS RSN’s back in March
but re-added them a few days later; however, it narrowed the available viewing
areas where those RSNs were offered meaning that instead of large areas of the
Southeast receiving FS South & FS Southeast, now only the major metro areas
have those RSNs. Also, it no longer
offers several RSNs including FS West (Angles) & YES (Yankees). Its unlimited DVR storage space is still king
among streaming services. So while it
has a robust MLB offering in terms of national channels, it’s RSN coverage is
now lacking and it’s more expensive than every other comparable service (except
ATTVNOW Max).
Hulu Live
·
Plans:
o Base
Plan ($55/month)
·
Channels:
ESPN
|
ESPN2
|
FOX
|
FS1
|
TBS
|
FS RSN
|
NBCS RSN
|
STO
|
YES
|
SNY
|
MSN
|
·
# of Streams: 2 with the option of purchasing
“unlimited” streams for an extra $10/month
o Unlimited
Screens Add-on includes unlimited streams at home and max 3 streams outside of
home
·
DVR: 50 hours (free), 200 hours (Enhanced Cloud
DVR Add-on)
·
Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV + most common
devices
Summary: Hulu Live offers fewer simultaneous streams (2)
with its base package and doesn’t carry MLBN, but it is now one of the cheapest
options out there after the YTTV & Sling price increases. Also, it is now one of only two options to FS
West, YES, and MSN. And 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 + basic Hulu in addition
to other bundles that are available with Disney+ and ESPN+. Another positive is that it is the only
service that allows for the option of an unlimited number of streams, albeit
with an extra cost. However, its DVR
does not allow the fast-forwarding of ads unless you pay extra ($9.99/month)
and only on recorded content (i.e. you cannot fast forward ads while watching a
“live” program) in addition to being a rather low 50 hours. So if you require additional streams and/or
additional DVR space, then Hulu Live may not end up being the cheapest option.
FuboTV
·
Plans:
o Standard
Plan ($60/month), Family Plan ($65/month), Ultra Plan ($85/month), Extra Add-On
($6/month), Sports Plus Add-on ($11/month)
§ The
above prices reflect the price increase scheduled to take place 8/1/2020
·
Channels:
Standard
|
ESPN
|
ESPN2
|
FOX
|
FS1
|
NBCS RSN
|
NESN
|
SNY
|
ATTSN SW*
|
Extra &
Sports Plus
Add-ons
|
MLBN
|
*(►8/18/20) FuboTV charges a $5/month RSN fee for new subscribers in the Houston market who signed up after 8/3/2020 or switched to the Houston market after that same date (link).
·
# of Streams: 2 (Standard Plan), 3 (Family Plan,
Family Share Add-on, Ultra Plan)
·
DVR: 30 hours (Standard Plan), 500 hours (Family
Plan, Cloud DVR Plus Add-on, Ultra Plan)
·
Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV + most
common devices
Summary: FuboTV is
set to add ESPN/Disney channels in August 2020 which now makes it much more
comparable to the other services out there.
Unfortunately, this came with a price increase, although it was a modest
$5/month on the Standard Plan. There is
one unique advantage it has though over the other options which is that it now
carries ATTSN Southwest, which carries Houston Astros games; it is currently
the only streaming service that carries it.
Thus, Astros fans do now have at least one option to watch their games
in-market. While it does carry MLBN, it dropped FS RSN’s back in January 2020 & doesn't offer TBS, so for full national coverage or
local coverage of a team that plays on a FS RSN, there are better options out
there. And it’s basic DVR is on the low
side at only 30 hours with only 2 simultaneous streams, although both can be
upgraded for an additional charge.
Vidgo
·
Plans:
o Core ($40/month), Plus ($50/month)
§ (►8/7/20)
As of 8/7/20, Vidgo is advertising their plans at $45 (Core) & $55 (Plus)
per month but currently on sale for $40 & $50, respectively
·
Channels:
|
Core |
ESPN |
ESPN2 |
FOX |
FS1 |
·
# of Streams: 3
·
DVR: None
·
Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV
Summary: Vidgo
doesn’t carry any RSN’s or MLBN or TBS and only has FOX in limited markets, but
it is the cheapest available package to get the ESPN channels & FS1. It’s a relatively new service though and
doesn’t offer a DVR. However, it does
offer 3 simultaneous streams. So while
it doesn’t offer robust national MLB coverage (and its local coverage does not
exist), it’s a cheap option to get some national games.
ESPN+
·
ESPN+ streams 1 MLB game per day
·
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 (►8/18/20) $5.99/month for new subscribers as
of 8/12/20 or $49.99/year
·
Can be viewed via the ESPN app on phones, tablets,
and other streaming devices or on ESPN’s website
SUMMARY OF OPTIONS TO WATCH MLB
Free Options
·
FOX via Antenna – Thursday & Saturday games
+ some postseason games
·
MLB.TV full package (T-Mobile subscribers only)
·
MLB.TV Free Game of the Day
·
(► 9/3/20) YouTube – 4 free games in September
Pay Options
·
MLB.TV (non-T-Mobile subscribers)
·
MVPD’s – Sling, YouTube TV, Hulu Live, FuboTV,
AT&T TV NOW, Vidgo
·
ESPN+
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 2020 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.
RSN chart - PDF link (updated 8/22/20)
Other Notes:
-Networks
separated by a "&" symbol are complementary networks that will
air games
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.
Cheapest Option to view most local in-market teams – Hulu
Live
·
Hulu Live is the cheapest option to watch most
local in-market teams on their RSN at $55/month and has some of the most
comprehensive coverage. 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 all streaming
services on a monthly basis. 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 (or Sprint), you
could get it for free!
Best Option to view national MLB games – YTTV
·
YTTV gives you ESPN/ESPN2 + TBS + FS1 + FOX (most
markets but not all) + MLBN which will give you at least one, if not more,
baseball game every day of the week and every MLB postseason game. Although it is a bit more expensive than
Sling ($65 vs $60), Sling only has FOX in a few markets, YTTV’s DVR is far
superior to Sling’s (unlimited storage vs 10 hours for free), and YTTV offers 3
simultaneous streams on all channels while Sling only has 1 stream available on
the ESPN channels.
Finally, please keep the following things in mind. (►
7/25/20) First, although every team’s RSN is now available on at least one streaming
service, certain services may not carry a specific channel where you live. That’s why it is important to do a free trial
(if possible) and/or investigate which RSNs
you would receive (if any) before you decide to sign up for one. 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 & program keep length, 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.
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 2020
games.
MLB.TV
Sling TV
AT&T TV NOW
YouTube TV
Hulu Live
FuboTV
MISC
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