Home MLBBST Game Guides 2013 MLB.TV details announced

2013 MLB.TV details announced

by Matt Smith

MLB.com today announced details of the 2013 MLB.TV subscriptions that allow baseball fans around the world to watch and listen to hundreds of baseball games, live and on-demand.

For those of you that subscribed in 2012, the new packages can be described simply as being similar products at similar prices.

One again, the video options are split into a standard MLB.TV subscription and an MLB Premium subscription.

The standard MLB.TV subscription stays at the 2012 price of $110, £70 at current conversion rate, and offers HD video and audio (home and away radio commentary).

The MLB.TV Premium subscription has gone up by $5 on 2012 so that it now costs $130, or approximately £83. Paying extra for the Premium package adds a ‘free’ subscription to the MLB At Bat app (usually around £9-10) to the standard MLB.TV offering plus the ability to watch MLB.TV on various other devices (more on that in a moment).

People looking to spend a little less money can opt for the Gameday Audio product that provides the audio (radio) commentary of games alongside pitch-by-pitch graphics for just $20, or £13.

Every game for us in the U.K.

For subscribers in the U.K. it’s important to note that we are not subject to any of the blackouts (i.e. specific games being blocked) that fans in North America have to suffer. The annual subscription for us offers all 2,430 regular season games and all of the postseason games live and on-demand.  There will also be 150 Spring Training games available to watch, plus countless more available to listen to.

There are no details yet as to whether the annual MLB.TV subscription will provide International fans with online access to World Baseball Classic games during March. I suspect that it will, even if different rules may apply for fans Stateside, but we will have to wait for official confirmation.

It’s all about being connected

There are no obvious new features available with the 2013 subscriptions and that’s to be expected.

MLB.com has developed their MLB.TV service extensively over the past 6 or 7 years and without undertaking a complete revolution there’s probably not much more they can add.  The service provides HD quality video with DVR functionality and an array of different options that present additional info on the screen (stats, videos from other games, fantasy line-up player alerts etc). In other words, there are no glaring omissions, it already does exactly what you want it to do, so no point adding new features for the sake of it.

Where MLB.TV has undergone great advances over the past couple of years is not so much the service but the way it is being accessed.

When I first started using MLB.TV back in 2005 the picture quality was nowhere near as good and the biggest detraction for many, particularly among North American fans who already have access to a fair amount of baseball coverage, was that you could only watch it whilst sitting at your PC.

The landscape has changed dramatically recently thanks to the greater accessibility of affordable quality broadband. Why trudge off to Blockbuster to hire a DVD when you can just buy a LoveFilm or Netflix monthly subscription and stream films over the internet?  You might not call it positive progress if you were employed by the aforementioned company now in administration, but the move towards online content is now well and truly established and with that has come a growing demand for ways to enjoy that content through TVs and mobile devices.

The ability to enjoy MLB.TV on “connected devices”, as MLB.com likes to call them, is the key area of growth for the product and that’s where much of the focus is directed in their promotional material for the 2013 subscriptions.

Connected in the U.K?

MLB.com publishes a page on all the connected devices as well as a separate list of which countries where the MLB.TV app will work on different devices for MLB.TV Premium subscribers. Alongside the MLB At Bat App (for iPhone, iPad and select Android phone and devices), MLB.com currently states that people in the U.K. can access MLB.TV via the following:

Xbox 360
Apple TV
Roku
LG (on ‘select’ LG Blu-Rayâ„¢ Disc Players and Internet-Connected Televisions)
Panasonic VIERA
Boxee
Western Digital.

The details also note that U.K. subscribers cannot officially use their MLB.TV subscription via a Playstation 3 or Samsung TVs and Blu-Ray disc players.

Each year people kindly pass on their experiences in the comments section at this website about how they have got on with using the subscription on their devices. It’s worth checking on the comments here and reading through the details on MLB.com to get an understanding of whether MLB.TV will work on the device that you want it to.

The only one of the above I have experience with is the Roku option. The MLB.TV option for that is explicitly for the U.S., Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom and it works absolutely fine.

Plenty to enjoy

I repeat the same message every year when the MLB.TV subscription details come out, but that’s because my opinion on this never changes. It is a wonderful luxury to be able to watch and listen to so much baseball live and on-demand, a seemingly basic pleasure that is light-years ahead of only having two live games per week (at 1 a.m.) to look forward to, as most of us had a mere ten years ago.

There are lots of games to watch over the course of the season that take place live during the British evening. I provide weekly guides to these ‘early’ games every week here on this website and my recent annual review (pt 1, pt 2) of the week-day ‘early’ games give a good indication of how much baseball you can enjoy even if you aren’t able to stay up all hours to do so.

The fact that you can watch every game on-demand whenever you like (normally from a few hours after it’s finished) makes the subscription even more useful, particularly as the annual 2013 subscription takes you up to the end of February 2014. The long winter months go that little bit more quickly when you can look back at your favourite games from the previous season.

Even the most expensive MLB.TV Premium subscription is still a relative bargain at £83 if you take in plenty of baseball games over the course of the year.

Sign up if you haven’t done so before. You’ll soon wonder how you ever managed to get through the season without it.

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80 comments

Andrew February 5, 2013 - 8:20 pm

Great news! Having the At Bat app included in the Premium subscription was a great move last year. Combined with having access to the away/radio feeds makes the Premium version worth it, imo.

For those wondering about getting it working on their PS3, you need to make and sign in with a US PSN account. Then head to the PSN store, download and install the free MLB.TV app. Switch back to your regular account, launch the app, sign in and you’re all set!

Can’t wait for Spring Training to start, let alone the regular season.

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Matt Smith February 5, 2013 - 8:34 pm

Thanks Andrew. I’d agree that if you’re tempted to buy the subscription you may as well go the whole way and pay the extra if you can afford it. A few years ago the choice was a little harder and I stuck with the standard as I didn’t really use the extra Premium features. MLB.com has deliberately brought the two options much closer together now and only if you’re certain you won’t want to use the subscription on other devices does it probably make sense to stick to standard now. Many a night I’ll use my iPod touch to listen in on a few innings from a late night A’s game in bed!

Cheers
Matt

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Chris Finlay February 21, 2013 - 5:17 pm

Yep, good note on the PS3 there. This is exactly what I did last year and it worked like a charm.

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Dominic Ross February 5, 2013 - 8:35 pm

I LOVE my MLB.TV subscription and it usually gets gifted to me for my Birthday.
I love to watch on the xbox, Apple TV or online, and can do all three this year with my new laptop.
The only downside to watching on the Xbox is if you have the Kinnect attached, it picks up your every movement and it has been known for me to fast forward the game just by cheering at a play. Otherwise, it works great.
Can’t wait for the new season to start!

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Matt Smith February 5, 2013 - 8:46 pm

Thanks Dominic. Good to hear you’ve got the Xbox and Apple TV options working. Should be another great season!

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Richie February 6, 2013 - 12:18 am

I’ve used MLB.tv via the at bat app on my iPad and iPhone and it works great. I have also used my Apple TV with no problems.. Also if you had the premium last year and you are set for auto renewal then it is at last years price so you don’t have the $5 increase. Can’t wait for the start of the season..

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Matt Smith February 6, 2013 - 7:17 pm

Hi Richie. Thanks for pointing out that 2012 auto-renewals get the Premium at last year’s price.

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Michael February 6, 2013 - 6:38 am

Does 2013 MLB TV includes World Baseball Classics ?? hope it does as i really want to see Team USA beat Japan @ AT&T park

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Ben February 6, 2013 - 10:45 am

Looks like WBC will NOT be included in mlb.tv package….that is insane!!

http://www.forums.mlb.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ml-help01&tid=17924

wasn’t that supposed to be the mail event to grow the sport internationally, and it is not available on line??
insane!

Bye form Italy

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Matt Smith February 6, 2013 - 6:39 pm

Hi Ben. Thanks for passing on that link.

From other bits I’ve read it does look as though MLB.com will be showing live streams of the WBC, just that it won’t be included in the annual MLB.TV subscription.

That’s a shame, although in retrospect hoping for it to be included was probably asking for too much. It’s a unique, marketable event in its own right so they likely feel they can sell it on its own, just as they have in previous years with the Caribbean Series (normally an extra $10). Fans in the U.S. also have to pay extra for an MLB Postseason subscription (which doesn’t include the normal live game streams) so we’re already getting a very good deal. Expecting to get a full international tournament on top for no extra charge would have been great but was perhaps pushing our luck.

We’ll have to wait and see what the pricing details are. My guess is something like $10 ($15 at most).

Matt

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Dave February 6, 2013 - 6:52 pm

Not seeing a pay monthly option this year? As a Mets fan, my interest usually wains post all-star break and I don’t watch much other baseball except my team.

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Matt Smith February 6, 2013 - 7:09 pm

Hi Dave. The @MLBFanSupport Twitter account confirmed yesterday that monthly subscriptions will be available around the start of Spring Training games, although prices aren’t out just yet:
https://twitter.com/MLBFanSupport/status/298827467202899969

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Dave February 6, 2013 - 7:16 pm

Class cheers pal.

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Roly February 6, 2013 - 9:45 pm

I don’t know what to do.

I don’t think I watch anywhere near enough to make it worthwhile. ESPN America generally is enough for me but with reports of ESPN UK going kaput in the summer I may have no option but to go for mlb.tv.

I just find it damn near impossible to find 1 hour never mind 3 hours every day to watch the Phillies get beat!

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Matt Smith February 6, 2013 - 10:35 pm

£83 isn’t peanuts so it’s definitely a case of seeing what makes sense as to whether you will make the most of the expenditure. ESPN America does provide a good selection of games most weeks and I’m sure the channel would still be available even if the ESPN UK channel falls by the wayside. I think the most important thing to note is that MLB.TV does deals as the season goes along (e.g. Basically paying half-price for the 2nd half of the season) so you might find sticking to ESPN America works to start with and then keeping the option open to sign up to MLBTV when the cost is less later in the year.

Matt

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Dave February 7, 2013 - 10:17 pm

Sure one year I got the game MLB the Show – they had like some sorta deal. I’ve ordered this year’s so here’s hoping.

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Dark blue March 31, 2013 - 9:18 am

Roly,

If you subscribe just to At Bat 13 you get one free match a day for roughly £18 for the entire regular season. You have to take what you get so can’t always watch your team and dont always get the early matches but you can get them on archive as well as highlights of the other matches.

It really depends how much you want to watch particular teams. I’m fairly new to baseball so I’m happy to watch whatever’s on and the price works for me at the moment.

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Rob Smith February 8, 2013 - 11:04 pm

Hi

Good article above. The similar one last year was what I referred to myself prior to my first purchase of mlb.tv Premium bundled with milb.tv in July 2012 at a substantial discount so as to try it out.

Thought it might be worthwhile to add that milb.tv – which provides live and on demand access to over 3,500 minor league baseball games this season – can be added to a mlb.tv subscription in 2013 for just $20 more.

Some minor league baseball games can start at 10am local so potentially 2pm or 3pm UK time and many more than the televised amount have free live radio coverage. More details can be found at milb,com by clicking milb.tv. The option for milb.tv through your mlb.tv subscription appears prior to checkout. Fairly sure I have the details correct but could be worth a doublecheck. But if that’s right baseball from North America is one sport fans can certainly enjoy as a wall-to-wall experience!

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Matt Smith February 9, 2013 - 12:39 pm

Thanks Rob. Yes, worth noting the Minor League offer too. As I mentioned in a recent article, I struggle at times to keep up with all the Minor League news as well as the MLB (alongside everything else!), but it’s a great option for those that are keen to follow prospects in the Minors.

Matt

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Roly February 9, 2013 - 11:57 am

Does a subscription include archived games? So if I order today can I go back and look and games from the past few seasons?

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Matt Smith February 9, 2013 - 12:41 pm

Hi Roly. As a current subscriber I can look back at the previous season (probably further although I haven’t checked) and so I would expect if you signed up today you’d get to access the archives too.

Matt

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jon neil February 10, 2013 - 1:06 am

Does anyone know if it is possible get mlb.tv to work on a samsung smart tv?

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Matt Smith February 10, 2013 - 12:46 pm

Hi Jon. My understanding from the info MLB.com publishes is that the MLB.TV app is only available through Samsung products in the States and that currently it wouldn’t work in the U.K., unfortunately. Others with direct experience may be able to confirm/deny.

Matt

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John March 28, 2013 - 10:25 pm

It is possible but quite complicated and requires a subscription to a service like Unblock US. Basically you need to trick your TV into thinking you’re in America, then you can access the US Store and download the MLB app. Unfortunately this means you can no longer use any UK-only apps like Iplayer or 4OD without reversing process.

Here is guide from Unblock website:

http://support.unblock-us.com/customer/portal/articles/963325

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jon neil February 10, 2013 - 2:29 pm

Many thanks. Did you say you watched on a roku? Would you recommend this device?

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Matt Smith February 10, 2013 - 7:57 pm

Hi Jon. Yes, I use the Roku box. The basic box normally retails for about £50 although you can sometimes pick one up for a bit cheaper (I got mine in a sale for £40). You just need to buy a HDMI cable to go along with it. It works fine for MLBTV. I guess the one thing to consider is that it’s something of a growing product in the UK so it doesn’t have so many other apps as things like the more expensive Apple TV box. It was the best option for me to connect up to the TV and as I’ll use it a lot for MLBTV it was still worth the investment, but others may prefer to spend a bit more and get something that has more options.

Further details about the Roku box here: http://www.roku.com/uk

Matt

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jon neil February 10, 2013 - 10:07 pm

Thanks again Matt. just trying to find options if espn america goes

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G Thomas February 13, 2013 - 2:46 pm

Hi

I myself referred to your previous article on mlb.tv in 2012 before taking a subscription. Thanks for the reference point. I’m looking forward to the first Spring Training games on mlb.tv and don’t have long to wait as they are scheduled to begin Sat Feb 23 this year. They are
12:10 PM Washington Nationals vs New York Mets
1:05 PM Toronto Blue Jays vs Detroit Tigers
1:05 PM Houston Astros vs Philadelphia Phillies
1:35 PM Tampa Bay Rays (ss) vs Boston Red Sox

A tentative listing of Spring Training games that will be available with MLB.TV is listed here: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/broadcasts/spring_mlbtv.jsp?&affiliateId=SPRINGTRAININGSCHEDULE

It looks like there is plenty of choice especially more so mid-March. Hope my post whets the appetite! 🙂

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Matt Smith February 13, 2013 - 5:50 pm

Thanks for that. It’s always fun to catch some Spring Training games and it look like we’ll get a decent amount of opportunities to do that this season.

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Ali February 16, 2013 - 3:41 pm

Bit of a techy question, but which version of HD was used last year, 720p or 1080p? I had a subscription in 2012 and watched on my iPad. Invested in an Apple TV for the upcoming season and have been watching a few archived games from 2012 on it. These look absolutely crystal clear. This morning, I received an email from MLB part of which reads “high definition video at industry standard 720p”. So, looks like 2013’s games will only be 720p, but I just can’t believe that the archive games I’ve been watching aren’t 1080p. Have they dropped the resolution for 2013 or are my eyes deceiving me when I watch the archived games?

Sorry about the length of that!

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Matt Smith February 17, 2013 - 9:00 am

Hi Ali. Honestly don’t know for sure whether it was 720 or 1080 last year but the picture quality is one of its key selling points (particularly to fans in the States who have greater potential access to TV games) so I would be surprised if MLB.com took a step back and reduced the quality. Hopefully you’ll find you get the same great picture when the 2013 games begin.

Matt

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Ali February 17, 2013 - 4:50 pm

Thanks for the reply, Matt.

I did some digging and the consensus seems to be that it was 720p last year, so no change

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Matt Smith February 18, 2013 - 6:44 pm

Thanks Ali. Definitely seems a good picture for 720p. So long as it’s the same as last year, that’s fine by me.

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Ian February 16, 2013 - 7:23 pm

i watch MLB.TV on the Roku- it works very well.

i am thinking of buying a Panasonic smart Blu ray to connect to another tv. Specifically i have looked at the Panasonic DMP BDT 220- before i take the plunge can anyone confirm MLB.TV works on this in the UK and what other sports are avaiaable on the Panasonic platform.

thanks

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Matt Smith February 17, 2013 - 9:09 am

Hi Ian. The only Panasonic products currently listed by MLB.com are the VIERA TV range so there’s nothing there to definitely state that the smart Blu ray would work. Unless someone else can confirm otherwise then I’d have a doubt as to whether it would work or not, unfortunately.

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Ian February 17, 2013 - 4:30 pm

thanks Matt.

the MLB website suggested Panasonic Tv’s and Blu Rays with Veira Connect were compatible worldwide. I have a Viera Tv (but not a smart one) so thought a smart blu ray would work ok.

i have purchased the Panny DMP BDT 220 blu ray today. You can download the MLB.TV app which i have done and it seems to work fine. 🙂

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Matt Smith February 18, 2013 - 6:43 pm

Hi Ian. That’s great news, thanks for sharing. I’m sure others will be glad to know this is another option.

Cheers
Matt

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mike February 26, 2013 - 9:53 pm

hi Matt
thanks for info on roku may come in handy if bt dont show the games.But do you know if kindle fire shows mlb.tv, it does in the
states but not sure about uk(also does it have apps for any other us sports?)

Matt Smith February 27, 2013 - 7:05 pm

Hi Mike. Not 100% sure re the Kindle Fire in the UK, to be honest. Hopefully someone else can let us know.

Rob Jones February 18, 2013 - 9:42 pm

Can;t add any tech details for this year, but I can recommend the whole package to you all based on last year’s experience. I signed up for the first time when a special offer was made in August – the best money I have EVER spent! I watch it on iPhone and online. It’s a brilliant service.

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Matt Smith February 18, 2013 - 9:46 pm

Cheers Rob. Yep, as I’ve said many times before, once you’ve taken the plunge you’ll wonder how you ever were without it!

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Matt Smith February 19, 2013 - 6:16 pm

Monthly subscription details are now available:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130218&content_id=41753590&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

So that’s £16 ($25) per month for Premium and £13 ($20) per month for Standard.

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Ian February 19, 2013 - 8:52 pm

i have to agree Matt. I’ve had MLB.TV for 5 years now and couldn’t really imagine not having it- compared to NBA Leaguepass & NFL Gamepass for example it is good value.

i have had the blu-ray player for couple of days watching some archive games. It works well, same functionality as the Roku. In fact i think i might even prefer the layout.

Looking forward to live games from this weekend.

i might even take out a MiLB.TV subscription – see what players my Mets could call up. i think we may need them this season.

My only (minor) gripe about MLB.TV is that it does not broadcast pre-game and post -game shows. That would be great. Also the advert breaks just watching the logo screen. At least with on on-line version you can use more interactive features and have the mosaic option.

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Let the Spring Training games begin | BaseballGB February 22, 2013 - 10:49 am

[…] of the MLB.TV subscriptions from a British perspective can be found here including lots of very helpful comments from baseball fans passing on their experience of using […]

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Jared C February 24, 2013 - 3:34 pm

I was able to start watching games on at bat and on my computer on February 23, 2013, but my calendar still says 2012 on the ps3. Anyone know anything about that?

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Ian February 24, 2013 - 6:59 pm

i dont think the spring training games are available on all devices or they come online on different dates. I am watching games on my mac and roku no probs but the first games to be available on my blu-ray appear to be the beginning of the regular season

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jon neil February 27, 2013 - 8:04 pm

Has anyone watched mlb tv on the x box? Whats it like?

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Becca February 27, 2013 - 9:16 pm

Matt,

Can you tell me if I watch archived games, is it streaming or is it a ‘download and watch’ type thing? I am only curious if internet speed will possibly affect archived game-watching. Thanks!

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Matt Smith February 27, 2013 - 10:05 pm

Hi Becca. The archived games are provided through streaming the video rather than downloading it and playing it back. However, it might be worth noting that you can adjust the picture quality when it’s playing if you are watching via a PC. Depends on how you’re viewing it and what quality you’re happy to put up with, but for several years I’ve turned down the quality quite a bit, which has stopped any buffering whatsoever and still produced a decent picture.

MLB.com does often offer a few free MLB.TV games during Spring Training so it’s worth keeping an eye out for them to give the service a proper test run on your set-up.

Matt

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Lee March 2, 2013 - 10:05 am

Hi, am I reading this right then, even though I’ve renewed my MLB.TV subscription I can’t watch spring training games yet on my PS3? You think they would’ve mentioned that as this is the only device I have to watch it on! Surely I’m being ripped off then?

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David March 28, 2013 - 9:29 pm

I am in America, but I figure you guys in the UK may face this same issue. My room mate and I like different teams. in 2011 and 2012 we could both log in at the same time and watch different games on different computers. Can this still be done in 2013? Reading the FAQ on their website, it seems like they have gotten rid of this.

Thanks

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Ian April 5, 2013 - 6:27 pm

haven’t tried different games on 2 separate computers but often have different games on my mac, roku or blu ray and android phone at the same time (all with the same mlb account).

i suppose the only way to know for sure is try it

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Smudge April 25, 2013 - 10:20 pm

Does mlb.tv show the world series?

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Matt Smith April 26, 2013 - 7:59 am

It does for international subscribers (I.e. including us in the UK), but those games are blacked out for subscribers in the States.

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Smudge April 26, 2013 - 3:52 pm

Thanks excellent coverage it sounds. Im with most people worried about the loss of espn america.

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Smudge April 27, 2013 - 9:49 am

I have to ask matt what is your favorite baseball team?

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Matt Smith April 28, 2013 - 3:04 pm

I’m an Oakland A’s fan

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MLB.TV free preview on Sunday | BaseballGB April 28, 2013 - 3:04 pm

[…] details about the MLB.TV subscription offerings can be found here alongside plenty of helpful comments from Brits passing on their own experiences of using the […]

Reply
Smudge April 28, 2013 - 10:54 pm

Thanks for the info on free view for mlb.tv . Im sold by it hd quality anc I can use my ps3 so large screen baseball.

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Smudge April 28, 2013 - 11:02 pm

Another question about mlb.tv I noticed in the list if games it shows the espn games. Can you watch these on mlb.tv as well?

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Matt Smith April 29, 2013 - 5:30 pm

Yes, we can in the U.K.

In the States, the big national TV broadcasts (FOX games on Saturday, ESPN Sunday Night Baseball etc) are blacked out via MLB.Tv so a lot of the promo stuff around the service highlights that you cannot watch them. However the blackouts don’t apply to most places outside of the States, including here in the UK. It’s the same deal for the playoffs and World Series: U.S. fans can’t watch them via MLB.TV so they aren’t advertised (and MLB.com offers a separate postseason subscription to give some game access) but it’s all available to us as part of the subscription.

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Smudge April 30, 2013 - 12:31 am

Blimey we get a better deal than the US. Well im going to wait until next month see if there’s a deal with mlb.tv. If not im still getting it thanks for your help.

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Smudge April 30, 2013 - 10:06 am

Another question do they show anything in the off season?

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Matt Smith April 30, 2013 - 5:17 pm

Nothing live, but you keep full access to the archives so you can spend the winter months watching back the best games from the previous season.

Re subscription discounts, I have a feeling that they normally introduce the discount around about halfway through the season (e.g. Sign up for the rest of the year for half the full annual cost)

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Smudge May 1, 2013 - 12:22 pm

Im definitely going to sign up I just hope a good deal comes along before espn shuts down in july.

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Matt Smith May 1, 2013 - 5:59 pm

Hi. MLB.com have just done the first reduction:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130430&content_id=46245746&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

I suspect it will go down bit by bit as each month of the season passes

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Smudge May 1, 2013 - 11:32 pm

Excellent well I’ll be counting down to july.

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John May 12, 2013 - 5:45 pm

Hi Matt, do you know if MLB.TV will be available via Sky? I’m thinking of getting the Roku box you suggest but just wonder if it’s unnecessary if Sky offer the channel(s) in the near future.

Thanks

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Dave May 28, 2013 - 6:40 pm

Hi
I have joined mlb.tv through apple tv and my apple account.
How do i get access to mlb.tv on the mlb site
Thanks

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Nathan January 8, 2014 - 7:31 pm

Can anyone recommend a 3D Blu Ray player that will let me access MLB.TV

A few years ago I bought an LG bluray player that was suppose to support MLB.tv but when it arrived it did not. When I contacted LG I was advised that MLB.tv was only available on US models. I really don’t want to get burnt like that again.

Thanks in advance.

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Steve - SoupKing January 20, 2014 - 3:04 pm

Hi guys – been an MLB.TV and really enjoy it.

Needing a new TV I just bought an LG Smart tv (a compatible model per the MLB.TV site) but there is no MLB.TV APP in the UK store as advertised (I guess just like the above poster).

Anyone out there found a way to link a UK LG SMART device to their MLB.TV account yet?

If so I’d really appreciate some pointers (only 2 months till Spring training …..lol

Thanks.

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Oliver February 21, 2014 - 5:50 am

Steve – Soupking: Same situation here. Have used MLB.TV for many years now and recently bought a new LG TV because it was supposed to have an app for MLB.TV. MLB’s homepage is unfortunately very detailed about the TVs that are supposed to work. From my series it is LA6200 and LA6205. I have a LA6208, From what I found out the 6200 series is my TV made for HongKong area, 6205 is for the US. 6208 is the European version. And the EU version does not have the app 🙁
Have you had any luck in finding a solution?

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Steve - SoupKing March 3, 2014 - 9:38 am

My model number IS listed (as are many others), the app is NOT PRELOADED onto the newer range TV’s. The problem is they are not available for user download from the LG app store set – they are easily available in several other countries via the LG store.
I wrote to LG (who were pretty dismissive) and to MLB several times. MLB confirmed that the app SHOULD be available in the UK store per their commercial agreement with LG and they would escalate the issue – not holding my breath. I’d encourage anyone else with the problem to email both MLBTV & LG, if they see several requests it may be included in future.

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Duncan March 9, 2014 - 10:07 pm

Just had the same problem with LG, I feel conned. Who did you e-mail at LG to complain to?

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Charlie November 29, 2014 - 7:46 pm

I have an LG smart TV. I managed to get the mlb tv app by setting the tv location to be in USA, then you get access to the US premium channels. The downside is that you then lose the UK specific channels, but mlb tv is the only app I watch, so wasn’t a problem.
In my home cinema setup, I use a Roku. I bought a Sony blu ray in the hope it would have mlb tv as advertised on the mlb site, but no luck.

MLB.TV 2014 subscription details announced | BaseballGB February 4, 2014 - 8:30 pm

[…] 70 comments were posted on last year’s article here about the MLB.TV subscription details and many came from fellow British baseball fans reporting […]

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Steve - SoupKing March 3, 2014 - 9:50 am

ps :

I’ve ordered a RaspberryPi and I’m going to try and get MLBTV direct to the LG via a Media Player called XBMC (others definitely have MLBTV running on that using software called RASPBMC). It’s not a way to pirate the games – you still need your official log in credentials.

It’s basically a way of ‘buying’ the app for the TV via a 3rd party.
I’ll post back how I get on, It’s only £32 so wont kill me…… lol

In the end I can HDMI direct to the TV via laptop, its just such a cumbersome and power hungry way to do things, and totally frustrating as it would be so easily solved.

We’ll just have to wait and see, MPB are releasing a new ‘improved’ player in the next few weeks BUT I remember when they last did a major overhaul on the player and it took about 6 weeks of the season for all the bugs to be worked out.

Enjoy the season guys – Go Rays!!!

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Oliver March 8, 2014 - 8:46 pm

I am able to watch the game via the build-in browser just fine. Picture quality is superb. Not as simple as the app but it works…hopefully will also work with the new player they will introduce with the start of the regular season.

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Steve - SoupKing March 10, 2014 - 12:35 pm

Crazy as it may sound – you know I never even considered trying that (I think I ruled it out as there was now way to load NexDef). I had a go via RasPi on XBMC with a Spring training game on Sat with mixed results, more work to do on that.

I’ll defo try the raw LG TV browser also now, I’m kinda embarrassed I did not go straight to that, maybe I was being over pessimistic ….. lol.

Really appreciate your feedback.

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Oliver March 10, 2014 - 9:20 pm

I have done following: zoom set to 150%, full screen mode. Once the game is loaded and stable I press the full screen button of the player app – voila!

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