2025 MLB Viewer Guide

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 22: Dbacks.TV and Rockies.TV logo on the wall before the MLB Spring Training baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies on February 22, 2025 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire)

On the eve of Opening Day, Sports Media Watch has fans covered with a complete listing of the ways to watch Major League Baseball in 2025.

Local games

Main Street Sports

Fans of teams signed with Main Street Sports (i.e.: Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Marlins, Rays, Reds, Royals, and Tigers) can watch local games on FanDuel Sports Network, which is available on local cable providers to a varying degree. FDSN is not available on YouTube TV or Hulu+Live TV, but is available on the higher-tier packages from Fubo and DIRECTV Stream.

FDSN is available as a direct-to-consumer subscription, generally priced at $19.99/month, or $99.99 for the full baseball season. Access to FDSN also provides local NBA and NHL games, depending on the market.

MLB Local Media

MLB Network will produce and distribute local games for the Diamondbacks, Guardians, Padres, Rockies, and Twins. The games have been distributed to cable providers in local markets, and are also available on Fubo and DIRECTV Stream, but not YouTube TV or Hulu+Live TV.

As far as traditional cable, the MLB produced games are available on the following platforms:

Cox’s Contour Preferred package carries Diamondbacks games in Arizona.
Spectrum cable and Xfinity’s Ultimate package carry Rockies games in Denver.
AT&T U-verse and Cox carry Padres games in San Diego.
Twins games are available on Xfinity and Spectrum packages.
Guardians games are available on Spectrum, Cox, and AT&T U-verse.

MLB.TV offers a direct-to-consumer package for these teams for $19.99/month, or $99.99 for the full season.

NBC Sports

Giants, Athletics, and Phillies games will air on NBC Sports Bay Area, California, and Philadelphia, respectively. These networks are available on local cable systems, as well as streaming platforms like YouTube TV, Hulu, and Fubo. Select Giants and Phillies games will also air on the NBC stations in San Francisco and Philadelphia.

Fans can subscribe directly to their local games by purchasing a local MLB.TV package for $20-25/month. The NBC Sports RSNs are also available as a $18-$25/month add-on to a Peacock subscription, which also includes local NBA and NHL games.

Everything else

Independent RSNs cover the rest of the league’s games. All networks are available locally on cable providers, but are generally not included in streaming bundles. Direct-to-consumer streaming options have been noted where available.

Astros: Space City Home Network
Blue Jays: Available nationally in the US on MLB.TV (no blackouts)
Cubs: Marquee Sports Network (streaming for $19.99/month)
Dodgers: Spectrum SportsNet LA (SNLA+ streaming available through MLB.TV)
Mariners: Root Sports Northwest (streaming for $19.99/month)
Mets: SNY, PIX 11 (SNY games streaming available through MLB.TV)
Nationals and Orioles: MASN
Pirates: SportsNet Pittsburgh (streaming for $17.99/month)
Rangers: Rangers Sports Network (streaming on Victory+ for $100/season)
Red Sox: NESN (streaming for $29.99/month)
White Sox: CHSN (available over-the-air in Chicago on channel 62.2, streaming for $19.99/month)
Yankees: YES Network (streaming for $24.99/month), Amazon Prime Video (select games), Gotham Sports ($41.99/month, includes MSG Network)

Over-the-air

Many teams have announced arrangements to simulcast a limited number of games on a local over-the-air broadcast station. These are often independent stations or digital subchannels (e.g. Channel 4.2). Availability on streaming platforms varies by market, but all can be received using a quality antenna available at major retailers.

Games nationally televised by Fox are also receivable over-the-air.

National games

FOX and FS1

Fox will carry a slate of split-national games on Saturday nights, beginning with Mets-Astros and Braves-Padres on March 29. Fox will televise the All-Star game on July 15, as well as the Speedway Classic at between the Braves and Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 2. Fox games are not available on local RSNs. Fox and FS1 will combine to cover the American League postseason, with Fox airing the World Series for the 26th-straight year. FS1 will also carry a slate of non-exclusive games, mostly on Saturday afternoons.

ESPN

ESPN will exclusively carry Sunday Night Baseball, as well as opening day games (Brewers-Yankees and Tigers-Dodgers) and a handful of others. ESPN games are not available on local RSNs or on MLB.TV. ESPN will also televise the Home-Run Derby on July 14. ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC will televise the Wild Card Series on September 30-October 2.

TBS

TBS will continue to air Tuesday night games, with all of its coverage simulcast on Max. TBS’s coverage begins with Diamondbacks-Yankees on April 1. TBS games are non-exclusive and are usually blacked out in local markets. TBS will also carry the National League postseason.

Apple TV+

Apple TV+ will again carry Friday night games (usually doubleheaders), which are exclusive to the streaming service and not available on RSNs or MLB.TV. Apple TV’s coverage begins on March 28 with Mets-Astros.

Roku Channel

The free streaming channel will again carry Sunday afternoon games. The games are not available on RSNs but Roku’s coverage is simulcast on MLB.TV with no local blackout. Roku’s coverage begins with Cubs-Mets on May 11.

MLB Network

MLB Network will carry non-exclusive games throughout the season, which are blacked out in local markets. MLBN’s first games are Cubs-Diamondbacks and Athletics-Mariners on Opening Day.

Out-of-market games

All games are available through MLB.TV, subject to local blackout restrictions. Fans can only watch teams outside of those that are televised on an RSN in their market area. Games televised by Fox, ESPN, and Apple TV+ are also not available on MLB.TV.

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Ben Huddleston

Ben Huddleston is an Oklahoma City based Sports Media Watch contributor, TV scheduling nerd, and Olympics junkie. Find him on the weekends cheering on the Sooners, Thunder, and Chiefs, or reach him on X @sportswithben1.

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Comments 16

Jtk1 says:

1 year ago

I have always enjoyed Opening Day, probably one of the best days of the year, and in my opinion it should be a national holiday. That said, I have no problem with starting the season today, besides 11 of 14 games were played in the daytime. As for March Madness only 1 game at 7 eastern, and 2 at 10 eastern, so not much overlap, so I don’t get the hate. Anyway also I have no problem with the games last week in Japan, remember they started in South Korea last year, it’s basically to build the game up in other countries.
- Rick James Bible Owner says:
  
  1 year ago
  
  Maybe I’m starting to mellow over time; but I save my true sports ‘hate’ for things that deserve it (like Mr. Run-on Sentence as Fox’s #1 analyst or not being in the ballpark of a game in this country, FS1). Convertible Top (who’s a better basketball announcer, oddly for being tied to baseball all this time), the Cookie Monster & David Cone just mildly annoy me (which I can handle in small doses). We will always favor our ‘local yokels’ over national broadcasts—they’re there 150+ games a year. We get used to it. Bill Schroeder was good today, but whomever had that ‘bingo game’ of his out there, he leaned on many of those crutch observations he does (probably) for every game, like most of our local broadcasters, whom we’ll give a pass to.
Brian says:

1 year ago

Today is another good example of why ESPN’s coverage and treatment of MLB will not be missed. Both of their exclusive games are being shown on reduced screens to accommodate the scroll. ESPN doesn’t shrink the screen for NFL or NBA games. Running the scroll is a great way to signal to your audience that you don’t value the game you’re showing and that it doesn’t warrant the audience’s full attention. It says that it’s more important to ESPN to have its rolling billboard promoting other stuff on ESPN and giving a bunch of information that, if a viewer wants to know, they would look it up on the internet rather than wait for it to come around on the scroll. I was going to watch the Tigers-Dodgers game until I saw that they’re running the scroll. I’ll watch a local broadcast of another game via MLB Extra Innings instead.
- Jon Lewis says:
  
  1 year ago
  
  I agree, but this is another one of those things that could be fixed in negotiations. ESPN used to run the bottomline during NBA games until the now-expiring deal began in ’16.
  - Brian says:
    
    1 year ago
    
    That’s interesting. I didn’t realize that it was a point of negotiation with the NBA. Good for the NBA for having the insight to protect their product by negotiating to get rid of it.
Rick James Bible Owner says:

1 year ago

There’s some sanity in this baseball schedule. Juan Soto’s return to the Bronx *isn’t* exclusive to Apple Friday, May 16. It’ll probably be on MLB Network, which is like if Luka Doncic’s return to Dallas April 9 were only on NBATV nationally.
NaBUru38 says:

1 year ago

“Fox will carry a slate of split-national games on Saturday nights, beginning with Mets-Astros and Braves-Padres on March 29.

Games televised by Fox … are also not available on MLB.TV.”

Is there a way to watch the Foz out-of-market games (like Mets-Astros in Georgia or California)?
- Ben Huddleston says:
  
  1 year ago
  
  I felt it was too confusing to include in the body, but Fox games for which your market is not selected (including Mets-Astros in Georgia or California) are available on MLB.TV.
  - NaBUru38 says:
    
    1 year ago
    
    Thanks Ben!
  - Brian says:
    
    1 year ago
    
    They are also available via MLB Extra Innings. I don’t see MLB Extra Innings mentioned anywhere in your piece, but the vast majority of games, including home and away telecasts, are available via MLB Extra Innings. For the season, MLB Extra Innings is $149.99 and includes a subscription to MLB.tv.
- Dale Moog says:
  
  1 year ago
  
  Not that I am aware of sometimes the FOX deportes game is different so you might be a le to watch it in Spanish
ESL says:

1 year ago

MLB really dropped the ball on opening day this year. There are so many things wrong with how this season is starting.
1. Starting in Japan.
2. First game of the season starts at 6am et with a game including the Dodgers (which means 3am pt).
3. Japan series starts a week before regular opening day (with spring training still going on for most teams).
4. Regular opening day begins on today, Thursday on start of March Madness sweet 16.
What a mess. No other sport handles its opening day so messy as MLB.
- George Cooper says:
  
  1 year ago
  
  Why did MLB not schedule Wednesday to avoid the tourney, it makes little sense to me.
  - Brian says:
    
    1 year ago
    
    They’re not really competing with the tournament. And there are tournament games every day through Sunday (or Monday, if you include both tournaments), so they can’t be avoided. MLB series rarely start on Wednesdays. Weekend series end on Sundays, so if you start a three-game series on Wednesday, you end up with two off days. MLB builds in one off day on Friday for cities where there’s a possibility of weather-related postponement on Thursday, but the series end on Sunday (or, in at least one case, on Saturday with Sunday being an off-day; that’s in Houston where there is a roof).
    - ESL says:
      
      1 year ago
      
      It would be best to start on Monday. You avoid the men’s tournament, could have full afternoon of day games leading up to the women’s tournament.
    - Brian says:
      
      1 year ago
      
      I’d prefer if they started on Monday. For many years, Opening Day was the day of the men’s national championship game. But the season needs to start earlier now to accommodate the expanded playoffs, and the Thursday start allowed them to add a few extra off days to make the schedule a little less brutal. It’s 162 games in 186 days instead of 162 games in 182 days.
      
      Why does Opening Day have to be a national event anyway? It’s a major event in every local market. Those who don’t live in an MLB market have three games to choose from on national television (two on ESPN and an RSN simulcast on MLB Network). Baseball is not like other sports. Every team plays basically every day. Most people don’t have the time or interest to watch regular-season games involving other teams when they’re already spending three hours a day watching their local team.