MLB.TV

MLB.TV is the internet broadcasting arm of Major League Baseball. The network can be accessed through MLB's main website, mlb.com but also through a variety of other connected devices such as smartphones, tablets or smart tvs. It provides subscribers with the ability to watch all Major League Baseball games live over the internet in HD quality (provided they have a sufficiently powerful connection), including spring training games and postseason games for out-of-country subscribers. There is a "free mlb game of the day" available to anyone. Games are also archived to be available for later viewing. MLB.TV began broadcasting games in 2002; before that, only an audio feed was available.

The network works through a partnership with various national and regional cable broadcasters who broadcast the games live. DirecTV is MLB's main partner in the endeavor, as it is the principal operator of regional cable sports networks in the United States. However, this leaves out certain independent regional networks, including those in major markets like New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC/Baltimore. Games carried by these are still available, but local blackouts are frequent, making it impossible for fans to rely on MLB.TV to follow their local team on a day-to-day basis. For out-of-market fans, however, the service has been a boon, and given the large number of games available, the cost per game is extremely low in comparison with other major sports offering a similar service.

The issue of blackouts has raised the ire of some fans, who filed a lawsuit against MLB claiming misleading advertising, as the games they really wanted to follow were frequently not available. On January 19, 2016, MLB reached an out-of-court settlement, agreeing to create a "follow your team" package for fans whose wish is mainly to have access to the games of their local team, and lowering the cost of the overall package in recognition that it was unable to deliver every game to every fan, as originally promised.

Further Reading

• Mike Axisa: "Lawsuit settlement lowers MLB.tv price, adds limited in-market streaming", CBS Sports, January 19, 2016. [1]
• Jeff Passan: "A black(out) eye for baseball", Yahoo! Sports, May 26, 2006. [2]
• A.J. Perez: "MLB settles lawsuit, enables fans to stream games of just one team", USA Today Sports, January 19, 2016. [3]