The Marlins 2024 season is rapidly approaching, with their first spring training game against the Cardinals on February 24. Read on to learn what to expect about watching the Marlins next season. I’ll keep this article updated as information becomes available.
What Channel Are The Marlins On
If you live in the Marlins TV Market, then you will watch the Bulk of Marlins games on Bally Sports Florida, with the Marlins having the occasional exclusive national broadcast on Fox, ESPN, or TBS. DIRECTV STREAM’s Choice Plan is the only streaming service that carries all of those networks.
To watch the Marlins outside of their TV market, you will still need Fox, ESPN, and TBS for any exclusive national broadcast, but you can watch any Pirates game through MLB.TV. The only Pirates games blacked out on MLB.TV are games on a national broadcast or games where the Pirates are playing your local MLB team.
DIRECTV STREAM, Hulu + Live TV, or YouTube TV carry Fox, ESPN, and TBS. Sling also carries ESPN and TBS, but only carries Fox in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, DC, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston, Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Gainesville, Austin, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Phoenix, and Seattle.
Where To Watch The Marlins
Below I cover the various streaming services you can use to watch the Marlins.
DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM carries TBS, Fox, ESPN, and FS1 so it’s perfect for Marlins fans to watch nationally televised Marlins games inside and outside of the Marlins TV Market. DIRECTV STREAM also carries Bally Sports Florida, making it the only choice for Marlins fans living inside the Marlins TV market of South Florida.
TBS, Fox, ESPN, and FS1 are available in DIRECTV STREAM’s “Entertainment” plan for $79.99 per month, while Bally Sports Florida is in the “Choice” package for $108.99 per month. They provide a 5-day free trial and don’t force you into a contract, and you can cancel at any time.
The service also includes a cloud DVR service and allows you to simultaneously stream to an unlimited number of devices in the home, and up to 3 outside the home. DIRECTV STREAM is supported on Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, iOS, Android, Roku, and more. See our review of DIRECTV STREAM for more details on this streaming service.
Bally Sports+
Bally Sports has a direct-to-customer streaming service for a few MLB teams. Luckily, the Florida Marlins are one of those teams. You can subscribe to Bally Sports+ at BallySportsPlus.com for $189.99 annually or $19.99 each month and live stream Florida Marlins games airing on Bally Sports Florida through the Bally Sports app. To subscribe, you must live in the Florida Marlins TV market. You are most likely outside the intended TV market if you do not see Bally Sports+ available on BallySportsPlus.com or within the Bally Sports app. There are plans to add NHL and NBA Teams next season. You won’t have access to all the channels you get with DIRECTV STREAM, but it’s a cheaper way to watch Bally Sports Florida.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV cost $72.99/month per month and includes a DVR. YouTube TV carries the local Fox channel in most parts of the country. They also provide access to TBS, ESPN, and FS1 for watching nationally televised games. YouTube TV does not carry Bally Sports, so I only recommend them for Marlins games if you live outside of the Marlins TV market (South Florida).
YouTube TV supports Roku, Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. Please read our review of YouTube TV for more details.
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu carries the local Fox channel in most parts of the country, along with TBS, ESPN, and FS1 for watching nationally televised games.
Hulu Live TV will cost you $76.99 per month. However, that includes access to Hulu’s on-demand streaming library, a cloud DVR, and more. To see what channels are available through Hulu Live TV in your area, check out the tool: Channels Available by Zip Code
Hulu is supported on Roku, Fire TV Devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, iOS, Android, and more. For more information on this service, please check out Hulu Live TV review. Hulu + Live TV does not carry Bally Sports, so I only recommend them for Marlins games if you live outside of the Marlins TV market (South Florida).
Sling TV
Sling carries, carries ESPN, TBS, MLB Network, and FS1 for watching nationally televised games. Sling TV also carries the local FOX channel in the following markets: New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, DC, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston, Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Gainesville, Austin, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Phoenix, and Seattle
You can sign up and see if this solution will work for you.
Sling TV is supported on Windows and Mac PCs and laptops, Android and iOS devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Nexus player, Xbox One, 4th Generation Apple TV, Chromecast, and more.
The service also includes a cloud DVR along with other great features. For details on Slings service offerings and the differences between them, check out my Sling TV review. Sling does not carry Bally Sports, so I only recommend them for Marlins games if you live outside of the Marlins TV market (South Florida).
Watching Marlins Games Outside their TV Market
If you don’t live in South Florida, you can watch most Marlins games through MLB.TV. With MLB.TV you can watch every game, for every team, all season long. With MLB.TV, you can watch Marlins games on Roku, Apple TV, Smart Devices, and more. You can watch Marlins games live or on-demand. Here is a list of MLB.TV features:
- Chose to watch both the home and away broadcast.
- Live Game DVR Controls
- Full Game Archives
- Customized Fantasy Player Tracker
- Clickable line scores
- A Pitch by Pitch Widget, that tracks speed, location, and pitch type
MLB.TV costs $129.99 for the year to have access to every game for every team. The “all-teams plan” has a free trial and provides a monthly pricing option. You can also opt to watch Marlins games through the MLB.TV single-team plan for $109.99 for the year. You can check out their subscription packages at MLB.TV.
Please note that MLB.TV does have blackout rules for games where a team is playing in the market you reside. For example, if the Marlins are playing the Nationals and you live in the DC area, that game will be blacked out on MLB.TV. You can check your zip code on MLB TV’s website to see which team’s games are under a blackout in your area. Nationally televised games will also be blacked out. The list below provides a general description of whether a game is going to be under a blackout:
- Home and Away games of the designated team if you live within their blackout territory
- Games that broadcast nationally such as the ESPN Sunday game or Fox Saturday game
- Play in games (Playoff tie-breakers)
- Post Season Games, but there is a way around it
Pro Tip: Try This Blackout Workaround to watch the games you want to watch and get around the black-out.
