Pop quiz! Each MLB team plays 162 games a year, not counting preseason games or specials, like the All-Star Game. And there are 30 teams. How many games does that make?
For those who hate calculators: It’s 2,430 regular season games. That, plus a minimum of 32 and a maximum of 53 post-season games. How could a person ever stream all of that? Well, we’re going to make sense of it all for you. At least as much sense as one can make of Major League Baseball and its various streaming deals.
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Best Live TV Streaming Package
Sling TV Blue + Orange comprises two separate packages, Blue and Orange, which offer different channel selections and cost $45 and $40 per month, respectively, if you buy them individually. For $60 per month, you can have both. Games coverage is split down the middle, with the Blue package offering Fox, FS1, and ABC games, and Orange offering ESPN games. Both offer TBS games, and you have to pay $11 a month for the Sports Extra package with either one if you want MLB Network. So buy Blue and Orange and add Sports Extra. You’re looking at $71 a month, but you still won’t get to watch the exclusive Friday-night games on Apple TV+ or the Peacock-exclusive Sunday games.
The Runner-Up
Hulu + Live TV offers a simpler package than Sling TV. You can watch all the games on Fox, FS1, ABC, and TBS. The catch is that you can’t get MLB Network, so you miss out on a handful of games. Sling TV, with the MLB Network add-on, costs $1 more per month and gives you a few more games to watch. The flip side is that choosing this package, one of our favorite streaming services, gives you access to regular, ol’ Hulu, too, so you can watch recent shows (such as Atlanta), exclusives (such as The Handmaid’s Tale), and a very impressive movie library.
Exclusive Games
Apple TV+ pitches you two live games each Friday that you can’t watch on any other channel or streaming service. There are MLB-related highlights and analysis shows, as well as classic games and clips.
Peacock gives you access to 19 exclusive games that air on Sundays. That’s one per week. You can’t watch these on any other network. Peacock is also tossing in some classic games, documentaries, and live highlights to sweeten the deal. Doubling the price to $10 per month for Peacock Plus gets rid of the ads and lets you download and watch games later.
For Out-of-Market Games
MLB.tv is your package if you’re a fan exiled from your favorite team(s). In fact, it might be your only choice. Buying a streaming package for access to regional channels, such as FS1, might not let you watch the game if you’re outside of either team’s local market. That’s how regional stations work. MLB.tv gives you access to every out-of-market game for all teams, except for the exclusives shown on Apple TV+ and Peacock. For, say, a Braves fan in San Francisco, that works perfectly. For a Giants fan in San Francisco, not so much.
Services to Avoid
YouTube TV is like a long ball that zings just wide of the foul ball pole in the outfield. Close, but no cigar. Fox, FS1, ABC, and TBS are all represented in YouTubeTV’s channel list, but MLB Network isn’t available, not even as an add-on. One advantage over the competition is that YouTubeTV streams most channels in 1080p resolution, whereas it’s standard for others to stream in 720p.
FuboTV is too expensive and offers too little compared to the competition to be worth it. FuboTV’s base level package includes Fox, FS1, and ABC, and you can upgrade to the $85-per-month Elite package for MLB Network, but FuboTV doesn’t offer TBS on any of its channel packages. That means you end up paying more than SlingTV, Hulu + Live TV, or YouTubeTV while seeing fewer games.
