Major League Baseball has been at the forefront of streaming technology for quite some time now. As a matter of fact, back in 2014, when the WWE launched its own streaming service, it utilized MLB’s technology from MLB.TV. Therefore, it’s safe to say that MLB.TV is one of the best streaming services available, considering its quality and features.
MLB.TV is a great way to watch baseball games this year; after all, it is called “America’s pastime”, so it is relatively popular in the US. Surprisingly, though, it’s not quite as popular as football. Anyway, here’s everything you need to know about MLB.TV, and to get ready for the 2024 season.
What is MLB.TV?
Simply put, MLB.TV is a streaming service from Major League Baseball that allows you to watch all out-of-market games. And that part is key. Basically, if you live in a city, and have cut the cord but can’t watch your local RSN, you won’t be able to watch your local team with MLB.TV. For example, if you live in St Louis, you won’t be able to watch the Cardinals on MLB.TV, unless they are blacked out. Which is rare but does happen. But if you live in St Louis and want to watch the Red Sox, you can watch every game.
But MLB.TV is a bit more than just live baseball games. It also includes a number of documentaries, films about the World Series, vintage episodes of This Week in Baseball TV, and old classic games. Among other things. So it is a good service to have if you’re a big Baseball fan.
How much will MLB.TV cost?
For 2024, MLB.TV is seeing a price increase. All annual plans are going up $10. So, the full plan is going to cost you $149.99 this season. If you’re only interested in one plan, MLB.TV does have a single-team plan available for $129.99 for the season. And finally, there is a monthly plan that comes out to $29.99. However, if you do opt for this monthly plan and subscribe in February to watch Spring Training, it’ll end up costing you almost $200 for the full season. From Spring Training to the World Series.
So what is included in this price? Well, you do get over 250 Spring Training games, which start in late February and last through to mid-March. You’ll also get to watch every out-of-market game live and on-demand. Keep in mind that if the team you’re watching is currently playing in your market, those games won’t be available, unless it’s blacked out.
Will Minor League games be included?
For the first time ever, MLB.TV will also include Minor League games, which makes the price increase a bit easier to swallow. That means there are going to be more than 7,000 games included in the First Pitch app. MLB.TV has not confirmed if that’s just Triple-A or both Double-A and Triple-A minor league teams.
Are there discounts available?
There are no discounts available for MLB.TV, but if you are a T-Mobile customer, you will likely get it for free.
T-Mobile is the official wireless partner of the MLB, once again in 2023. So it is very likely that it will give all of its customers a year of MLB.TV for free. However, this usually starts right before Opening Day, so you won’t get Spring Training included here. But hey, that’s still a $150 value here. And a big deal for baseball fans out there.
Is there a free trial?
MLB.TV does offer a free trial. It’s a 7-day free trial, but it is only available for the Yearly and Monthly plans. Not the Single Team plan. You can cancel during your free trial at any time and still have access to MLB.TV before the trial expires. Keep in mind that on the 8th day, you will be charged for your subscription.
How can I sign up for MLB.TV?
You can sign up for MLB.TV by clicking here. That will take you to the page to choose your plan. You can choose from the Yearly, Monthly, or Single Team plan. Of course, with the Single Team plan, you will need to select the team you want to buy it for. Keep in mind that blackout and other restrictions do apply.
What new features are coming in 2024?
In 2024, the MLB is adding a few more features to MLB.TV. First up, they are expanding multiview. This feature launched on MLB.TV last year, on only a few platforms. This year, it is coming to Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Roku, and Xbox. Essentially expanding to the three largest streaming TV platforms on the market right now. Multiview will allow you to watch up to four games at a time.
It is also expanding its on-demand catalog, bringing new episodes of original shows like “Carded” and “Inside Stitch”. This show will take fans behind the scenes with their favorite teams and players, allowing them to learn what it’s really like to play in the majors.
The league is also introducing a new “Catchup Mode” this year, which will allow fans to join the stream of a game late to view a customized highlight reel that lets them see the biggest plays and moments from the game so far. This is somewhat similar to what YouTube TV already does.
What features does MLB.TV have?
MLB.TV has plenty of great features that you can use to make your baseball experience even better. This includes Live Game DVR Controls. So you can pause and rewind live games. Unfortunately, you can only fast-forward to the live part of the game, so you can’t jump through all of the commercials.
It also has full game archives of the 2022 and 2023 season. There’s also no local or national blackout restrictions here. You can also set your app to remove spoilers and watch as if the game was live.
MLB.TV also allows you to overlay the home or away team’s radio broadcast over the live video on supported devices.
It offers a Spanish Audio Sync, considering Baseball is very popular in Spanish-speaking countries, and there’s quite a few Spanish-speaking players in the US, this might be one of the most popular features on MLB.TV.
Finally, you can also choose from Home and Away feeds. So you can always get the feed that favors your team. There are also many other features available for MLB.TV, which you can see here.
What devices is MLB.TV available on?
MLB.TV is available on virtually every platform out there. Here’s the full list:
- Android
- Android TV
- Amazon Fire TV
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- Google TV
- iOS
- PlayStation 4
- PlayStation 5
- Samsung Smart TVs
- Xbox One
- Xbox Series X|S
However, not every feature is available on every platform. The feature parity actually leaves a lot to be desired. But this does come down to the type of tech included in each platform.
2024-02-16 15:08:42