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MLB Exec. ‘Optimistic’ for MLB Network Return to YouTube TV, Just Not for Opening Day

Matt Tamanini
Matt is The Streamable's News Editor and resident Ohio State fan. You can find him covering everything from breaking news to streaming comparisons to sporting events. Matt is extremely well-rounded, having worked for the Big Ten Conference, BroadwayWorld, True Crime Obsessed, and Land-Grant Holy Land before joining TS. He cut the cord in 2014, streams with a Fire TV, and his favorite titles include "The Bear," "The Great British Bake Off," "Mrs. Davis," and anything on the Hallmark Channel.
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Matt Tamanini

The 2023 Major League Baseball season is just days away from kicking off, and customers of live TV streaming service YouTube TV have been patiently waiting for some good news for nearly two months; unfortunately, it looks like they will have to wait a little while longer. At the end of January, MLB Network was removed from the streamer’s channel lineup as the deal between the two sides expired and negotiations for a new one had led to a carriage fee dispute between the league and service.

In mid-February, YouTube TV informed subscribers that it had been unable to reach an agreement with MLB to facilitate the channel’s return in time for Spring Training. Despite this fact, many baseball fans had been hoping that with Opening Day looming, the two sides could come to a mutually beneficial decision to restore the network in time for the first pitch on Thursday, March 30.

Even though that might have been a long shot to begin with, it appears that that door is now completely shut. The Sports Business Journal is reporting that MLB’s chief revenue officer Noah Garden thinks that while there will eventually be an agreement, it almost certainly happen this week.

“I’m generally optimistic, but I’m not optimistic [about a deal by Opening Day],” Garden told SBJ’s Terry Lefton. “I think it’s short-sighted, and it’s unfortunate. But we’ll continue to work with them and hope that we’ll find a way. … I will say they’ve been great partners long term. Everybody runs into crunches here and there, so hopefully it’s just a timing thing. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find a solution.”

In addition to YouTube TV customers losing MLB Network when the two sides’ contract expired at the end of January, they also lost the ability to add the MLB.TV out-of-market package as an add-on to their subscription. Fortunately, those baseball fans are still able to sign up for the service as a stand-alone subscription, but it just won’t be integrated into the YouTube TV interface.

A monthly subscription to MLB.TV runs $24.99, while an annual plan is $149.99 for all out-of-market games and $129.99 for the games of one specific team; those season-long totals represent $10 increases over the prices for the 2022 season.

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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.

…

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.

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Likely as a differentiator from YouTube TV, sports-focused live streamer Fubo announced last week that it would begin providing an integrated add-on option for MLB.TV ahead of the 2023 season. In addition, Fubo already carries the MLB Network, MLB Network Strike Zone, a wide range of regional sports networks (RSNs), and games on broadcast and cable channels including ESPN, FOX, and FS1.

The one national outlet that broadcasts MLB games that Fubo does not carry is the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned TBS. The channel — along with its fellow Turner Networks — was dropped from the service in 2020 when it was owned by AT&T; the streamer has not yet been able to reach a deal with WBD to return the Turner channels, although there has been speculation that they could be back on Fubo at any point.

For the time being, baseball fans that subscribe to YouTube TV will be unable to watch games, analysis, and other programming on MLB Network, but they can still get all of their favorite team’s out-of-market games via MLB.TV. As the season’s first pitch approaches, it appears that both Major League Baseball and its YTTV-using fans will be left hoping for a late-inning miracle to restore the channel in time for Opening Day.

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Matt Tamanini
Matt is The Streamable's News Editor and resident Ohio State fan. You can find him covering everything from breaking news to streaming comparisons to sporting events. Matt is extremely well-rounded, having worked for the Big Ten Conference, BroadwayWorld, True Crime Obsessed, and Land-Grant Holy Land before joining TS. He cut the cord in 2014, streams with a Fire TV, and his favorite titles include "The Bear," "The Great British Bake Off," "Mrs. Davis," and anything on the Hallmark Channel.
Read full bio ›
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