Home MLB MLB.TV 2017 subscription details announced

MLB.TV 2017 subscription details announced

by Matt Smith

The 2017 MLB.TV subscription details have been announced today.

Once again we can sign up to watch and listen to every MLB game across the season, alongside Spring Training games and the post-season (the latter available to non-US subscribers like us, so not mentioned prominently in the promotional material).

The subscription includes the $20 MLB At Bat app to allow us to use one of any number of different ‘connected devices’ to follow the action, as well as directly through a PC/laptop/Mac.

Same great service, but a Brexit-inspired real-term price increase

The yearly subscription has increased ever-so-slightly on last year’s price, going up from $110 to $113 (note that it was $130 in 2015) and UK fans have to add the 20% VAT on top of that as we have done the past couple of seasons. MLB.com calculates that tax as $22.60 making a total cost of $135.59.

The main change for UK fans is nothing to do with MLB and instead comes back to the Brexit-bashing to the pound which has hurt the exchange rate our end.

Whilst last year’s subscription ($132 with tax) worked out at approximately £91, 12 months on the $135 will set us back £108.  That’s a fair-sized increase for what predominantly will be the same service as last year and whilst that’s no fault of MLB, it will be something UK fans will take into consideration.

As I state every year, the service provided by MLB.TV really is fantastic and the ability to watch live or on-demand every single game across the season (plus Spring Training and the post-season) is something those of us who started watching baseball before broadband could only have dreamed of.

Whether the cost is worthwhile simply comes back to how often you will use it. If you just catch occasional games, especially if you already have the tv coverage via BT Sport, then £100+ may be a bit steep.  If you use it to watch plenty of games (or at least bits of games) every week then it will prove worth every penny.

New features

The new features are described as follows in the promotional details:

“The new array of features, debuting for regular-season games, includes a “team view” in which fans can designate a favorite team and enjoy a custom team-centric experience on supported platforms. Redesigned apps will launch on connected platforms Android TV, FireTV, Xbox and Roku. The HD media player, a responsive, in-page layout experience, will introduce additional playback controls, milestone markers and support for Chromecast and Chromebook”

A redesigned app for the Roku box will be welcome to me as that tends to be the way I watch through my TV, but otherwise the new features don’t look overly exciting at first glance. To be honest, there isn’t a whole lot MLB could add to the service as the reason to buy it is simply the ability to watch lots of games online, rather than too many bells and whistles adding to the mix. It does what it’s there for and does it really well.

Single Team subscription

Last year was the first time that MLB.TV offered a lower-cost subscription for people who bought the service to allow them to watch all of their chosen team’s games. That’s on offer again this year for $87.49, with the sales tax on top ($17.50) making a total of $105 and therefore costing approximately £84.

That’s the theory anyway. There were mixed messages last season as to whether the team package was available to non-US fans. The fact that the payment process allows you to select UK suggests that we will be able to buy this product but it will be good to get confirmation from other British fans in the comments to confirm.

World Baseball Classic excluded

One thing we do know is that the WBC this March will not be available as part of the MLB.TV subscription for us, even though it will be for US subscribers.

The same approach was taken four years ago. It was announced on that occasion that ESPN America (as it was known then) had got the rights for WBC and they did show the vast majority of the games live – with the rest on-demand – so it’s likely that BT Sport will be broadcasting the games this time around.

The rights to WBC are sold separately so it makes some business sense for the national broadcaster (whoever it is in each country) to get exclusive rights to show the event; however it is slightly odd that this international competition – designed to help sell baseball around the world – is only bundled into the MLB.TV subscription for those in the States.

Lots of baseball to enjoy

The annual full MLB.TV and Single-Team subscriptions are available to sign up to right now, with a monthly subscription option likely to be announced in the near future. Those of us on the auto-renewal list should see that take effect just before the Spring Training games get underway on 24 February.

If you have any questions about the subscriptions, please leave a note in the comments and either myself or other MLB.TV subscribers will do our best to help.

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103 comments

UKBlueJay February 8, 2017 - 8:22 am

When catching up with highlights of a game the next day is the score displayed on the game selection screen as is the case with the at bat app?

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Matt Smith February 8, 2017 - 1:14 pm

Hi – you can change it in your settings so that it hides the score

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UKMet February 8, 2017 - 7:32 pm

The exception being the Post Season games -If you are watching the next day even with the scores disabled, it still told you the amount of games each team had won in the series e.g 3-1, 1-2 etc

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Matt Smith February 8, 2017 - 8:55 pm

Oh, well that’s not very clever then!

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Gordon February 26, 2017 - 1:45 pm

Well that’s a bit silly isn’t it.

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UKBlueJay February 10, 2017 - 8:42 am

Great, cheers.

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andrew mcpherson February 28, 2017 - 3:56 pm

Hi Matt
Apologies for being a tech dummy but having dumped sky and bt I still want to watch mlb this season. Will I be able to get the mlb app through roku3?
Haven’t got a smart tv – it’s a Samsung about 2 years old and has 2 hdmi slots.
Internet download speed around 14 upload around 1 via Talkktalk router.
Before shelling out for roku do you think I’m likely to be able to access subscription mlb ok with what I’ve got?
Mac

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Matt Smith March 2, 2017 - 9:36 pm

Hi. Roku definitely allows MLBTV in the UK. Full details are here
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions/index.jsp?product=roku

I use an older RokuLT and that’s always worked a treat. The product numbers on that MLBTV Roku page all have an X on the end, but don’t think that makes any difference (mine ends in EU and works fine) so looks like your Roku is covered.

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andrew mcpherson March 3, 2017 - 11:28 am

Thanks for getting back Matt. Will subscribe!
And thanks for running a great site.
Mac

Leigh February 8, 2017 - 1:06 pm

Does the single-team subscription include the post-season, whether or not your chosen team makes the post-season?

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Matt Smith February 8, 2017 - 8:56 pm

Not sure, unfortunately. Trouble is the promo stuff is aimed at US and they don’t get post-season via MLBTV, so not something they actually go into in the details anywhere.

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mic February 9, 2017 - 1:02 pm

if you go to MLB.com under the mlb tv section there is a support forum where people from Europe etc are asking about WBC,and whats in packages etc which may be worth a look for some people also faq section but prefer the forum.Noticed people in Europe wanting Mlb network but no joy yet ,have tried asking myself plus WBC

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Matt Smith February 9, 2017 - 8:42 pm

MLB Network would definitely be a nice addition.

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JC February 9, 2017 - 4:47 pm

Do both packages produce a highlight show of each game? E.g. if I don’t have time to watch the A’s full game from the previous day is there a shortened highlights programme on the next day?

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Matt Smith February 9, 2017 - 8:52 pm

Hi JC – you can do that to an extent without a subscription. They publish a Daily Recap that’s normally approx 3 mins long, then also a Condensed Game that’s approx 10 mins long. For example,

A’s vs Mariners Recap from 1 Oct:

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/8879974/v1200222283/10116-wendle-leads-as-past-mariners

A’s vs Mariners Condensed Game from 2 Oct

http://m.mlb.com/video/v1201901583/10216-condensed-game-oaksea/?game_pk=449293

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JC February 10, 2017 - 6:59 pm

THanks for that Matt….interesting though there’s no commentary…..think I might just pay and see. Was also wondering whether there’s any value in the BT Sport packages? What do you think?

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Matt Smith February 12, 2017 - 11:48 am

There’s no commentary on the condensed games just because it’s much quicker for them to edit the videos neatly by taking the commentary audio track out. Does seem a bit odd at first, but you get used to it and can then watch the key moments as individual videos if you want.

BT Sport is pretty good for MLB, usually offering quite a few live games every week (varies, but can be 8-10 some weeks), with a couple of breaks where they show College World Series and Little League instead.

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JohnnyB February 9, 2017 - 9:47 pm

Just signed up for my third season. MLB.TV is a FANTASTIC service and worth every penny in my book, roughly 2 quid a week over the year and I watch on desktop, Fire TV Stick, Android and iPad depending on whether I’m at the desk, in the back room, on the move or in the pub! The iPad App in particular is outstanding.

Nothing better than having a pint in my local, hooked up to their WiFi on my iPad with my custom made scoresheets, pencil and eraser in front of me…. Baseball geekdom nirvana! ;-P

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mic February 10, 2017 - 1:34 pm

still think even with the pound and the vat (which was only added a couple of years back and is not to do with MLB) that while not cheap it is still good value.When you look at the price of the others NFL,NBA & NHL it still seems the cheapest and when you add in the fact of game time’s being better then the others for watching in the early evening our time, its even better.

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Kieran February 10, 2017 - 11:14 am

I would be getting this again but having a new baby means i won’t have the time to enjoy it fully. I will likely get the app though.

Also, worth noting that MLB.TV usually have a free game of the day and also I think they have another game either every day or close to that on YouTube for free (these can often be daytime games, so good for UK viewing)

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Matt Smith February 12, 2017 - 11:49 am

Very good point, does give you the option of watching a game every day without the subcription.

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GazzaP February 13, 2017 - 8:05 pm

Why is there no option to watch any of the programmes on MLB network? You can access shows on NFL Gamepass and NBA League Pass. This would be a fantastic addition to the App.

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mic February 14, 2017 - 11:59 am

with regards MLB network ,it is one the most requested things on their forum from overseas viewers and the answer given is that in America it is a separate cable channel paid for within a tv package same as HBO,ESPN etc so not put in the MLB tv package.But i still try asking every year in hope.On my Roku i use the nowhere tv app which shows MLB network – intentional talk updated every day with no adds 20 minutes off season 40 mins from spring training.It is a light hearted show with a bit of everything news,interviews,comedy but better then nothing its also on the filmon app and web and its legal so the picture quality is good

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mic February 14, 2017 - 12:11 pm

also with intentional talk the shows are archived and the winter meetings & w/s coverage shows are worth a watch

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Jo Lenton February 13, 2017 - 11:30 pm

The single team subscription worked for me last season and was great – already signed back up to follow the Meta again this year 🙂

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Matt Smith February 15, 2017 - 5:43 pm

Thanks Jo, very useful to know. Definitely would be a good option for some, especially if people have a BT Sport subscription and buy MLBTV primarily so they can follow their chosen team

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James February 15, 2017 - 5:56 pm

@Jo Lenton
‘The single team subscription worked for me last season and was great – already signed back up to follow the Meta again this year’

Were you able to watch any playoff games through the single team subscription?

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Jo Lenton February 15, 2017 - 8:02 pm

Hi James,

I must admit I can’t remember! I follow the Mets and watched their game against San Fran but I think that was on BT sport. Wouldn’t work for any of the other teams playoff games so watched them via bt sport as well.

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Stu February 15, 2017 - 8:50 pm

Hi, sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, haven’t had a chance to read through everything yet.
I’m undecided if I’m going to renew this year. Where do I go to cancel auto renewal? Also does anyone know what ‘follow your team’ entails (under premium subscription)
Thanks in advance

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Stu February 16, 2017 - 9:19 am

Well it looks like they auto renewed whether I liked it or not

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Matt Smith February 16, 2017 - 12:47 pm

Have they actually taken the money from your account? The email they sent to subscribers said this would happen “on or about 28 February”. All you should have to do to cancel is log into your account on MLB.com and click on the Audio/Video subscription option. This will currently state that you’ve got the 2016 Premium Yearly subscription (if that’s the case for you) and then there’s a blue button to click if you want to cancel the auto-renewal. Haven’t tried it myself, but in theory should be simple (not always the case with MLB.com!).

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Matt Smith February 16, 2017 - 12:52 pm

Follow Your Team is just something for US fans. It allows them to pay an extra $10 on top of the normal MLBTV deal to watch their local team broadcast (e.g. YES for Yankee fans) if they already have a TV subscription for that. For those stateside, their MLBTV experience is restricted to only out-of-market games, so this was a new addition (from last year, I think) that meant those who were already paying to watch their local network on TV could also watch those games online via MLBTV.

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Stu February 16, 2017 - 1:44 pm

Thanks for the reply, looks like I spoke to soon. I just saw an email from them saying they were notifying me of the auto renewal of my subscription but it led me to a page(that I couldn’t find before) where I can cancel so hopefully that’s sorted.
I’m thinking of just getting the single team subscription, does we know yet if playoffs (for all teams) are included?

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Kieran February 16, 2017 - 3:18 pm

Don’t know about the single team and playoffs thing but worth bearing in mind that MLB.tv usually have a number of sales during the season (think it can go down to as low as $10 in the last month).

You could buy the follow your team thing and then upgrade to the full package right at the end of the season and thus have playoffs access (as well as the whole archive of the season)

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Nathan February 16, 2017 - 7:59 pm

Matt,

Have you any idea where we on this little island will be able to catch the WBC? Have BT picked it up?

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Matt Smith February 17, 2017 - 10:40 am

No formal announcement yet, but pretty sure it will be on BT Sport

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Nathan February 17, 2017 - 7:42 pm

Also, would you be looking for a contributor? I’ve been watching baseball for the last decade (I’m 24), have educated myself (as much as is possible given the amount!) on history, and I’m a cricket scorer in the summer here, so could draw some laterality between the 2 sports (not that there is much!)

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Matt Smith February 18, 2017 - 3:30 pm

Always happy to hear from potential new contributors. Feel free to use the Get in Contact form to let me know if/how you’d like to take it forward

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Spring Training 2017 – MLB.TV coverage | BaseballGB February 22, 2017 - 7:19 pm

[…] you need any further details about MLB.TV, please take a look at my overview of the 2017 offering and the ever-growing helpful comments from other Brits that use the […]

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James February 23, 2017 - 7:58 pm

It’s worth mentioning that the audio only works out about £2 a month. Love listening to Baseball on the radio, then catch any highlights afterwards for free with the Xbox MLB app.

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Stu February 24, 2017 - 4:31 am

Maybe a stupid question but is spring training included?

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Matt Smith February 24, 2017 - 8:26 am

Yes they are. See my post on that here
https://baseballgb.co.uk/?p=19564

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Stu February 24, 2017 - 3:29 pm

Ok great, thanks for the help

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Gordon Simpson February 26, 2017 - 1:42 pm

Does anyone know how the live game DVR works?
I tend not to be able to watch the games live, cant stay up till silly o’clock as I have work, as do many of you no doubt.

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mic February 27, 2017 - 6:12 pm

not sure what you mean by DVR in this case,but the games are on demand within a few hours and can be rewound etc when live

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Gregory Rose February 27, 2017 - 7:03 pm

I’m waiting for my usual half price offer to arrive at the end of April. Gets to be serious value then! Always a way of watching online anyway in the first month if you know where to look too. Go Tribe!

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Ray McSally February 27, 2017 - 10:03 pm

I Get My Subscription Thru Cox TV am I able to sign up for single subscription and if so how do I do it

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Ray McSally February 27, 2017 - 10:15 pm

Ray McSally Again Ps my Subscription With Cox auto renews for full cost April 1st

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Jack March 2, 2017 - 7:43 pm

I’ve contacted BT Sport regarding the WBC. I will post their reply here!

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Rich March 2, 2017 - 10:44 pm

Is anyone getting a MILB TV subscription at all?

How many games can you watch on that?

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mic March 3, 2017 - 8:57 am

approx 5000 games plus 300 spring training

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Stu March 3, 2017 - 1:26 pm

How many people here with BT sport are also getting mlb tv?
I think I’ve decided against the single team subscription because I could end up with loads of 12am games

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Matt Smith March 4, 2017 - 4:18 pm

The beauty of MLBTV is that – for us in the UK at least – it gives us free choice to watch any game. So if the game on BT Sport is a bit of a clunker and there’s a better pitching match-up at the time, you can switch to that. It also covers you for the periods where MLB can take a back seat on BT Sport during the season (college world series and little league WS games shown instead). BT Sport certainly gives you a good starting point on its own, so just comes down to how much extra you would use MLBTV to make it worth your while. There are deals during the season too, so you can always sign up later on for less money.

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Good Riddance Big Pappy ! March 3, 2017 - 3:20 pm

WOOHOO !!
That’s all my questions answered – now off to buy Apple T.V. to stream from my iPad !

Red Sox SUCK !

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John March 13, 2017 - 9:20 pm

Yankee fan, perchance?

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mic March 4, 2017 - 12:05 pm

have just received my copy of LIndys pro baseball today from Newsstand.co.uk(may be available elsewhere)which is a good read and handy to have when watching the games, a bit like a lite version of Baseball Prospectus.

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Matt Smith March 4, 2017 - 4:21 pm

That’s a good one to get. I went for BP and the Ron Shandler Forecaster this year so will be doing a write-up of those in due course

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mic March 4, 2017 - 5:00 pm

hope you have a strong coffee table! – have you ever tried hardball times?

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Matt Smith March 5, 2017 - 11:59 am

Yes, I tend to get that one pre-Xmas as it’s more a review of the previous season than a preview of the coming one. Definitely a good read.

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mic March 5, 2017 - 10:17 pm

thanks

Bob March 6, 2017 - 5:30 pm

Do you get the postseason games with a MLB Premium subscription?

It says you can get a subscription to MILB TV at a reduced rate but then the subscription renews annually at the full price. Can you cancel this through PayPal or do you need to phone up a US number?

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Matt Smith March 6, 2017 - 7:39 pm

We do get the postseason in the subscription (it’s not advertised much as U.S. subscribers don’t). You can cancel by logging into your MLB.com account and then there’s a button to cancel auto renewal

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Bob March 6, 2017 - 8:47 pm

Thanks very much. Just to confirm that the unsubscribe option on the website applies to the minor league subscription too?

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Matt Smith March 6, 2017 - 9:20 pm

Yes, should do

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Gaz March 9, 2017 - 10:52 pm

There’s now a 50% off discount for an annual subscription to MLB.TV if you’re an NHL.TV subscriber. NHL.TV have been sending out e-mails this week. I cancelled my full price MLB.TV subscription and re-subscribed using the NHL promo.

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Matt Smith March 10, 2017 - 8:44 am

Thanks Gaz. A bargain for those signing up to both sports.

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James Carter March 11, 2017 - 7:53 pm

For those like me who are baulking at the £108 this year may I suggest going back to the old school and subscribing to the audio option on a monthly basis until the price comes down. It’s only £3 a month and quite frankly is a great way to consume the game- at least it is if your blessed with excellent announcers like the Cubs are with Pat Hughes and Ron Coomber. One thing I’m not sure of though is if the audio games are on-demand- anyone know?

As someone else mentioned after April there are some good deals for MLB TV so it might be worth holding out for a more cost effective option.

Go Cubs!

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Matt Smith March 11, 2017 - 8:11 pm

Hi James – completely agree, I’m currently listening to the A’s radio coverage of an ST game versus Texas as I type! Definitely much more than just a second choice.

Yes, you can go back and listen to the games on-demand. I would love the option to be able to download a game too (in the same way of downloading onto the BBC iPlayer app that then auto deletes after a set period), but they don’t offer that facility as yet. Maybe one day!

Cheers

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James Carter March 11, 2017 - 9:29 pm

Thanks Matt that’s good to know. I agree a download service would be awesome and would certainly make my commute to work more bearable!

Good luck to the A’s.

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JC March 13, 2017 - 4:14 pm

How do you listen to that Matt?

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Matt Smith March 14, 2017 - 9:26 pm

If you’ve got an MLBTV subscription then you can get to the radio coverage on the Media Center page by looking at the games and they are then shown as a Gameday Audio link:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/?&affiliateId=mlbMENU

Alternatively you can just buy the Gameday Audio subscription and access the games via the same method. Or you can buy the premium At Bat app (iOS, Android etc) and that includes access to the audio too.

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mic March 11, 2017 - 9:59 pm

Not tv, but if anyone is interested Zinio are doing a years sub to the digital version of Sports illustrated this weekend for £9.99 for a year- 56 issues = 18p per issue.Which has plenty of MLB and will have the season double preview issue in the next week or two

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zak March 12, 2017 - 9:01 am

Hey Matt, hope your well, just wondering if there are any blackout restrictions over here in the uk for the MLB tv app? (regular and postseason). thanks.

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Matt Smith March 12, 2017 - 9:07 am

Hi Zak – we’re not blacked out of any games via MLB.TV for regular season and post-season (World Baseball Classic is another matter!). The one thing you need to check is the Connected Devices FAQ as it’s not always the case that devices carry the MLB app in the UK, so although the games aren’t blacked out here you can sometimes find the device you want to connect to your TV (or the model of your Smart TV) won’t work.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlbtv/help-center/connected-devices-faq.jsp

Cheers

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Stu April 2, 2017 - 2:37 pm

Hi, I may be missing something but is the single team option not available anymore?

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Matt Smith April 2, 2017 - 8:53 pm

Hi Stu – someone else contacted me about that today too. Does seem to have disappeared for some reason.

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Chris bryan April 2, 2017 - 8:56 pm

What am I getting for my £14.99 yearly subscription? I wasn’t offered the packages you have been talking about. I watched the blue jays last night but it says I can’t acces the hankies game tonight

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enrv April 3, 2017 - 8:44 pm

A free week trial is available on Apple if you want to see how it pans out.

I subscribed mid-season last year at a much reduced cost. Considering the radio option this year. I can then see how the Mets rotation is doing in the injury stakes, before committing 🙂

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Luke April 6, 2017 - 1:55 pm

Hi, few questions.

An you pay on a monthly basis?

Can you quit at any time?

Also, which website do you order it from? I’m going on MLB.tv and it’s showing everything in US dollars, don’t want to push on incase it’s wrong.

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Matt Smith April 6, 2017 - 8:38 pm

Yes you can pay monthly, although obviously can work out more expensive that way. The MLBTV section on MLB.com is what you want. It will convert to pounds once you get through to the payment bit.

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Luke April 7, 2017 - 1:01 am

Thank you!

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Scott April 9, 2017 - 9:33 am

Hi Matt,

Great site. This year I opted for the single team subscription rather than the full Premium subscription. What At Bat features am I missing out on (other than not being able to watch non-Jays games obviously)? It is still within the 5 day cancellation period so I still have time to get the full Premium Subscription if it’s worthwhile. Thank you.

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Matt Smith April 9, 2017 - 10:49 am

Hi Scott – Thanks.As far as I’m aware, the only limitation is as you mentioned, everything else should work.

Matt

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Stu April 9, 2017 - 7:09 pm

Hi, how did you get single team? It seems to have disappeared

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Jake April 9, 2017 - 5:50 pm

Hi,

I’m a Cubs fan considering getting MLB TV this year. I already pay for a subscription to the At Bat app, and listen to a lot of radio commentary through that when they’re not on BT Sport. What I’d like to know is if I to subscribe to MLB TV, is there an option to listen to the radio commentary alongside the TV pictures? I love Pat Hughes’ commentary and always miss it when I’m watching the games on BT…

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Matt Smith April 9, 2017 - 8:10 pm

Hi Jake – I think it depends what device you use. It’s easy to do – and works well – using a Roku box.

On my Windows laptop it says you can do it, although doing a quick test now it just says “Alternate audio is not available” (may be a temporary glitch). The At Bat app doesn’t give you alternate audio option, as far as I can see.

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Jake April 12, 2017 - 8:17 pm

Hi Matt,

Thanks for that – I’ll look into a Roku box in that case!

Jake

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mic July 1, 2017 - 4:33 pm

just seen that MLB tv is on offer for $20 for 4th of July weekend.Not bad with the All star game & the best half of the season to come

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Paul August 1, 2017 - 10:37 pm

I recently saw a Blue Jays game whilst visitng Toronto and I now wish to watch/follow them from home here in the UK.
Do you know if I would get to watch Blue Jay games via BT Sport? Or is that only USA teams that are shown on there, not Candian?
Or would I be better signing up to the MLB.tv subscription instead?

On a separate note, any suggestions where to go to look up table standings? And to see who’s playing who etc?

Thanks in advance.

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Matt Smith August 2, 2017 - 12:50 pm

Hi Paul – BT Sport generally covers MLB, so Toronto games are shown on there too. The main thing to consider is that they’ll show maybe 10 games a week (some day-games, so during the evening our time, so in the early hours) and so it’s pot luck as to whether your chosen team is on much (Toronto games are covered a decent amount).

So if you’re mainly hoping to follow Toronto then the MLB.TV subscription is the best way to go as you can watch any game you like, so you can always watch the Blue Jays playing. You can also buy a team-subscription, which is a bit less cost-wise and solely provides access to the chosen team’s games.

The best place for standings fixtures is the official MLB site
https://www.mlb.com/

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Paul August 2, 2017 - 9:29 pm

Hi Matt,
Thank you for the reply. It’s a great help. I’m
leaning towards BT sport atm if it has quite a few blue jay games as you suggest as I can get some football games (uk) too.

Thanks for the additional info too. I’m slowly getting use to the rules of baseball but can you explain 2 things?
1. How many games do teams play over a ‘series’? How many games do they need to win it?
2. Does each baseball team play each other at least once within the league?
Many thanks.
Paul

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Matt Smith August 3, 2017 - 1:26 pm

Hi Paul – so, an MLB team plays 162 regular season games. They play these in series just to cut down on travel, so the idea of winning a series is something teams and fans think about (as a way to break up the schedule) but it isn’t a real thing in that sense. Most series are 3 games, but again it doesn’t really matter, they’re all just part of the over 162.

Teams don’t play everyone the same amount of time and instead play an ‘unbalanced schedule’ so that they play the teams in their division the most, then the rest of the team in their league (AL/NL) and then some interleague games against teams from the other league. You can find out more in Volume 1 of my Baseball Basics for Brits series:

https://baseballgb.co.uk/?page_id=363

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Bret September 15, 2017 - 4:11 pm

Hi Matt,
Thanks for the informative thread!

I am an American baseball fan (Go Mariners!!) who will be travelling in the UK for the month of October – just as the MLB postseason gets going! I will be staying at a house in England that has a full SkyTV subscription with BTSport/ESPN, BTSport2, SkySport1, etc.

I’m trying to find out if SkyTV’s sports channels will allow me to see every postseason game or not. I’ve been trying to find this info on the skytv web site and I’m also on hold with Sky Support (for 20 minutes now…) and I’m wondering if you or anyone knows.

I’d rather not have to spend the $130 or so to get a MLB.TV subscription just for the postseason games, especially since I already have access to SkyTV. Any info you can pass on?

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Matt Smith September 15, 2017 - 5:13 pm

Hi Bret – the BT Sport channels (not SkySport) will show the games from the postseason. Most of them will be on (certainly the Wild Card games, all of the World Series games and probably all of the LCS games) although not necessarily all of the games from the Division Series stage.

Should note that you don’t have to pay the full $130 for MLBTV right now. You can get it for just $10 for the rest of the season (which means until next Spring Training starts)
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/253813178/10-reasons-to-get-mlbtv-now-for-just-999/?topicId=27118122

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Aaron Krohn October 2, 2017 - 7:42 am

Hi. Will I get the post season with my full league MLBtv subscription? (The fs1 MLB games that is?)

Thanks.

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Matt Smith October 2, 2017 - 12:42 pm

Hi – you will if you are in the UK. The play-off games are blacked out in the US and Canada (and a few other places) so they don’t get mentioned in the promotional material, but for the rest of us they are covered.

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Andy October 23, 2017 - 2:39 pm

Hi there,
I subscribed to MLB tv to watch the World Series.
However, I can’t watch the games till the next day.
Am I able to log on to MLB tv and go straight to a full re-run without seeing the score somewhere?
I have spent a bit of time looking but couldn’t find an answer.
Thanks
Andy

Reply
Matt Smith October 23, 2017 - 7:32 pm

Hi Andy. Yes, you can change your settings so that it won’t show the scores. Depends on how you’re watching (via PC, iPad etc) as to precisely how, but should be simple enough to find in your settings.

Reply
Andy October 23, 2017 - 7:48 pm

Hi Matt,
Thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated.
I shall check out the settings for PC (laptop).
Cheers
Andy

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Andy October 23, 2017 - 8:10 pm

Hmmm I can’t see any Settings option (just Payment, Subscriptions, Password etc).
I use Eurosport Player and you can go straight to VIDEOS or LIVE TV.
I’m hoping for something similar here but I fear I will go onto the MLB TV website on Weds and the Tues night result splashed all over the screen!
I’ll see how it goes 🙂
Thanks
Andy

Reply
Matt Smith October 23, 2017 - 9:30 pm

Hi Andy

Easiest way to do it if you’re using a PC/laptop is to open a game. So for example, use this link then click on the Full Game for the ALCS Gm7:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/?&affiliateId=mlbMENU#date=10/21/2017

Once you get the game going, on the top menu there should be a Help button on the far-right, then to the left of that is a settings cog. Click that and it opens the General settings tab. The first option is a tick box to hide scores, highlights etc.

For the World Series, I’d recommend bookmarking the following link:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/?&affiliateId=mlbMENU

That will get you straight to the page where you can select the game without having to go through any other pages that might give anything away. Hope that helps.

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Andy October 24, 2017 - 3:36 pm

Brilliant !
Cheers Matt, I’ve just done all of that, so hopefully I’ll be good to go, tomorrow daytime:-)
Thanks so much for taking the time and trouble to help me out.
Enjoy the series yourself !
Andy

Reply
Matt Smith October 24, 2017 - 5:50 pm

No problem, glad to help

Reply

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