There’s one fewer MLB team that has to figure out its broadcasting arrangements for the 2025 season. The Cincinnati Reds will see the league take over broadcast and distribution duties for its local games next year, continuing to play games on popular pay-TV services like DIRECTV STREAM and Fubo, and launching a new, in-market streaming option on MLB.TV.

Key Details:

• The Reds will continue to be available on pay-TV platforms they appeared on last year, and will also have an in-market streaming option.
• Diamond Sports Group dropped the team’s local rights in October as part of its bankruptcy reorganization plan.
• MLB will also broadcast games from the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins in the upcoming season.

The Reds stand to gain a significant new audience by allowing MLB to produce and distribute its games going forward. Last year, the team played local games on Bally Sports Ohio, recently renamed to FanDuel Sports Network Ohio. Its audience reach was 1.1 million homes under those arrangements, but with the new options soon to be available to fans, the team’s maximum reach will grow to 13.5 million households.

“Partnering with Major League Baseball ensures a bright future for our televised game coverage,” Reds president/CEO Phil Castellini said. “This collaboration provides fans with unprecedented access to Reds games, including direct-to-consumer streaming with no blackouts, while maintaining traditional cable and satellite TV options.”

As referenced by Castellini, the Reds will continue to be available on the same pay-TV distributors in 2025 that carried the team in 2024. Viewers who don’t have cable, satellite, or a live TV streaming subscription will be able to watch games on a special, in-market plan of MLB.TV. Similar packages for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, and San Diego Padres cost $20 per month in 2024.

The Reds are just the latest team to announce their games will be broadcast by the league in the upcoming season. MLB has had to assume broadcast rights for the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins for 2025 as well; all these teams were partnered with Diamond Sports Group’s Bally Sports channels last season, but the company dropped their local rights as part of its bankruptcy reorganization plan in October.

The assumption of broadcast and distribution responsibilities for Reds games by MLB means the team won’t be moving to free, over-the-air broadcast channels next year. Nevertheless, the reach of the team is expanding greatly thanks to the availability of an in-market streaming option for the Reds on MLB.TV.

7-Day Trial

via amazon.com

MLB.TV

MLB.TV is the official streaming service of Major League Baseball. You can see every out-of-market game live or on demand, and choose home or away TV and radio feeds. The app allows fans to watch up to four games simultaneously on the same screen through their Multi-view feature. MLB.TV can be added to your Sling TV or Prime Video subscription.

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Users can choose to follow the entire league for “All Teams” ($149.99) plan, which is also available for “All Teams” ($29.99) a month, or you can stream one team’s out-of-market games for “Single Team” ($129.99).

One major caveat about the service: Your local games may be blacked out through MLB.TV, so you may still need to watch through your local provider.

If you’d like to go beyond the games, MLB.TV provides features, documentaries, and classic games.

7-Day Trial

$29.99+ / month

via amazon.com