The 2017 baseball season is about to begin. For those of us without cable, major league baseball was one of the toughest sports to watch. This was mainly due to the Regional Sports Networks and their stranglehold on local markets. However, 2017 is a year where we can all watch baseball online.
MLB’s ban of streaming local market baseball online seems to be breaking. As of 2016, some Regional Sports Networks that carry Major League Baseball teams have started allowing live streaming of games.
Of the 30 Major League Baseball teams, 20 teams have a way to stream baseball online through streaming services. These are the terms that air games on Fox and NBC regional sports networks. When Sling TV acquired the rights to live stream Fox Sports 1 online, they also began offering Fox Regional Sports Networks. They recently also gained the rights to NBC regional sports networks. Therefore, the games of the following teams are available through their “Blue” Package for $25 per month.
The chart below will give you the best option to watch those 19 local market MLB teams online. If your team isn’t on the list, keep reading. There is a way for you to watch as well.
| Angels | Sling TV Blue |
| A’s | Sling TV Blue |
| Braves | Sling TV Blue |
| Brewers | Sling TV Blue |
| Cardinals | Sling TV Blue |
| Cubs | Sling TV Blue |
| Diamondbacks | Sling TV Blue |
| Giants | Sling TV Blue |
| Indians | Sling TV Blue |
| Marlins | Sling TV Blue |
| Padres | Sling TV Blue |
| Rangers | Sling TV Blue |
| Rays | Sling TV Blue |
| Reds | Sling TV Blue |
| Royals | Sling TV Blue |
| Tigers | Sling TV Blue |
| Twins | Sling TV Blue |
| WhiteSox | Sling TV Blue |
| Yankees | Sling TV Blue |
FuboTV offers also covers all the NBC and Fox regional sports networks, so all 20 teams are available to watch online for $34.99 per month.
If you live in the 10 markets not available through FuboTV or Sling TV, you can still catch baseball games online through MLB’s baseball streaming service, MLB.TV. Even if you are in a “Blackout” area, there are legal methods to get around the blackout and stream the games of your local market team.
This is also handy for anyone who wants MLB.TV and wants to watch their local market team. MLB.TV streams baseball games for every MLB team in the league, and you can watch every one of them without needing a cable TV subscription.
Furthermore, Major League Baseball has made a few changes to their MLB.TV package, which makes the MLB’s streaming package a bit more affordable.
I’m going to review what MLB.TV has to offer for the 2017 Baseball Season, a few of the changes they have made, and how this affects those of us wanting to watch baseball without a cable or satellite TV subscription. I’ll also cover a few options for those that fall outside of MLB.TVs terms of service.
Watch Baseball Online with MLB.TV
MLB.TV is the best solution to watch baseball online. MLB.TV allows subscribers to watch every game, for every team, all season long. With MLB.TV you can watch baseball online, on TV and on smartphones and tablets. MLB.TV Premium service is $112.99 for the 2017 season. That’s less than what you had to pay last season.
They also offer a monthly subscription package. If you just want to follow a single team for the year, you can do that for $87.49. MLB.TV allows for watching MLB games on Roku, Apple TV, Smart Devices and more. You can check out their subscription packages at MLB.TV.
The MLB.TV Premium subscription is supported on the following devices:
- Xbox 360 / Xbox One
- PlayStation®3 / PlayStation®4
- Apple TV
- Roku
- iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch
- Android
- Windows 8
- TiVo
- Amazon Fire TV
- Chromecast
- Nexus Player
Subscriptions include both Home and Away broadcast feeds. Subscribers also receive a free subscription to the “MLB At Bat” App.
MLB.TV Features
Overall MLB.TV is a quality product that delivers Live MLB games in HD quality video. However, two functions blew me away.
First, the in-game highlights and stats update and automatically load as the action happens. A picture in picture window allows users to select highlights to watch from the game.
The other function that knocked my socks off was the number of games you can watch simultaneously. On PC or Mac, Mosaic View allows up to four games at once in a quad view, Split screen or picture in picture.
On top of those features MLB.TV Premium provides the following:
- 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
- Live Audio Broadcast of Games
MLB.TV Blackout Delay
While MLB.TV is a great product and a must-have for baseball fans, those interested in their local team may take issue with the 90-minute blackout delay (there is a workaround I’ll get to in a moment). It wasn’t going to be all sunshine and rainbows for cord cutters.
Local teams in your viewing area and nationally televised games are available 90 minutes after a game’s conclusion due to blackout rules. Yet, all other games are available for watching baseball online or on a supported device.
The 90-minute delay to your local team’s games isn’t ideal, but it’s workable. Day games are available for viewing after dinner, and night games typically open up around midnight. Subscribers can fast-forward through all the down time and be finished within an hour, or just wait until the next day if they want to enjoy the pace of the game.
Furthermore, if you are desperate to catch the live action and don’t want to use the blackout workaround, there is no delay to the live audio. Occasionally I’ll sit on the porch and just listen to the live audio broadcast like I did when I was a kid. If you enjoy baseball on the radio, and only care about your local team then you are set without MLB.TV. Every team has a local radio broadcast that airs MLB games live.
Of course, if you live outside your favorite team’s viewing area you can watch their games live without worrying about blackout unless it’s a nationally televised game. This MLB blackout map indicates the blackout region for each team. The audio feature isn’t subject to blackout rules.
MLB.TV Blackout Workaround
You can get around the MLB.TV Blackout by using Overplay SmartDNS. MLB.TV blackouts are based on where you are located. They get this information from your devices IP address. Overplay’s SmartDNS routes your device through another region. This makes it look as though your device is outside your local team’s blackout zone thus allowing you access to the game. In fact, there service routes you through The U.K, so you can even watch nationally televised games, and possibly the play-offs. We’ll have to wait until then to confirm.
Overplay SmartDNS is a legal way to get around the blackout.for MLB.TV in 2017 is supported for Apple TV, Boxee, Roku, WDTV PS4, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Sony Smart TVs, and all MLB.TV supported browsers. Overplay SmartDNS also offers to add a VPN service for added security.
A VPN encrypts your data transmissions over the internet, adding a layer of security against identity thieves. For more information, see: Why you Should Use a VPN.
Setting up SmartDNS for MLB
- Sign up for Overplay SmartDNS
- Follow the instructions here to setup your device
- While logged into Overplays website click ” My Account” then click “SMARTDNS”
- Here you can configure your SmartDNS settings for the services you want to use, including MLB.TV. Make sure MLB is set to “United Kingdom”
Once the SmartDNS is set up, you can sign up for MLB.TV. You can use your current billing address. The SmartDNS will still open up all games since you are based in England from the perspective of MLB.TV
What is Subject to the Blackout Delay?
- Home and Away games of the designated team if you live within their blackout territory
- Games that are nationally broadcast, 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
Bottom Line
MLB.TV is a great product, and if it wasn’t for the blackout delays, it would be perfect. If you are an MLB fan that follows several teams or you don’t mind waiting the 90 minutes for your local team, then MLB.TV will work for you. On the other hand, if you are only in it for your local team and enjoy the nostalgia, save your money and turn on the radio.
Streaming MLB Games Illegally
To be clear, I don’t do this because it’s against the law, but there is no shortage of MLB baseball games available live over the internet. If the law isn’t deterrent enough, many of these sites have been a quick way to get malware or ransomware on your system.
These sites don’t stick around long as they are constantly changing to avoid the long arm of the law. However, there are sites that aggregate the streams available streams. To find one simply do a Google search for “MLB live stream“. A number of the results within the top 10 will contain live streams to MLB games online. Be warned, these sites a lot of junk adds that prompt for inadvertent downloads.
While it is possible to get to these live streams, paying $100 to MLB.TV every year to watch baseball legally seems well worth it to avoid the headaches experienced from trying to find an illegal live stream. However, if you want to walk the more nefarious line, then I’d follow these tips when using these types of MLB Live Streams.
- Get yourself a VPN service like IP Vanish. They will keep your browsing private and encrypt your data.
- Be sure your anti-virus is up to date and turned on.
- Never give any of these websites personal information or credit card info.
- You don’t have to download anything to watch these feeds, so don’t run of the downloads. They aren’t required.
Now you are armed with the information you need to watch baseball online. MLB.TV is a great value, so my advice would be to use their service. If you choose not to heed my advice and fall prey to the dark side’s allure of free baseball online . . . be careful.
For more information on other ways you can drop traditional pay-tv, check out my article on how to watch TV without cable.
If this article didn't answer your specific question, check out the Cord Cutting Guide. It provides links to the most important articles in our over 200 pages of content to help you ditch pay TV.
For tips and tricks on cutting the cord and other tech topics follow Dennis on Twitter @GroundedReason. You can also join the conversation on our Facebook Page
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Jeff says
Hi,
Literally the single reason I keep cable is to watch Mets games on SNY which I pretty much exclusively watch via DVR on delay by 30m-60m so I can skip all the commercials immediately, or skip past call challenges and other game delays, like rain delays.
So the only way I can cut cable, is not to be able to just stream Mets games live, but to ALSO be able to watch them on a delay with the ability to hit a FF button on a remote and jump past any delays/breaks.
You’ve detailed a few options to stream – but how can I DVR them and have full control over the speed at which i watch the content?
MLB.tv controls are total crap, if you don’t skip before it goes to commercial break, you are forced to wait, in silence, until the game comes back on, even if watching on delay! You can’t easiliy move back and forth without long hanging delays while the player reloads the content – about the only thing it’s good for is if you missed a big play, you can easily jump back 30 seconds, wait for it to reload, and watch what you missed. That’s it, otherwise it’s mostly useless and pales to watching the game with my Verizon FIOS DVR which has recorded the livecast on SNY.
Help me cord cut?
Thanks!
Dennis Restauro says
With the exception of sports you can watch over the air, pay-TV with a DVR currently provides a better experience than any of the streaming solutions. Sorry, I don’t have better news for you.
sick of paying for channels I don't watch says
We are currently under the fox sports north blanket. We are in rapid city SD. We get fsn from our cable provider but we don’t use cable for anything but mn twins baseball and nfl football. I tried the sling tv trial tonight during the game and it said the broadcast was off air. Am I missing something or does fsn black out the games because we are within the network?
On Hulu tv it simply does other programming while the game is on.
So frustrating.
Dennis Restauro says
That’s odd. It’s possible they have a weird agreement. Try a free trial with Sling TV. The Blue package includes the FOX RSN in your area.
Mark DeWeese says
Hi Dennis. Thank you for this article. I am about to bite the bullet and get the Overplay VPN and MLB Single Team for the Nats. I have a brand new Samsung smart TV that came with the MLB app. I also have a 2009 model Samsung TV that I use a Roku on. Will I be able to use the Overplay and MLB subscriptions on both TV’s? Will I be able to use them simultaneously? Thanks Dennis.
Dennis Restauro says
You can check out their support page. It will detail all the apps and device compatibility. They have pretty decent support.
Lisa says
Hi Dennis,
I wanted to say thank you for such detailed information. My husband and I have been seeing our cable bill slowly creep up, but because of my husband’s love for all things baseball, we never seriously considered getting rid of his access to baseball through cable. When I say he loves baseball, I mean his life’s dream is to visit all of the stadiums (he is at 12 now), he buys the scorecard at each game to keep track of how the players perform and constantly checks out MLB Trade Rumors. We are in the suburbs of Chicago and finally, finally, in the most Cubbish way ever, got to see the team we have always loved and rooted for, win the World Series last year. I wanted to paint a picture of how big of a deal viewing baseball on TV is in our household. :)
Earlier this week we cut the cord. I was able to convince my husband to let go of his firm attachment to watching all things baseball on cable only because of your detailed, step by step guide. Without your guide, my husband and I would probably have continued crabbing at one another about our expensive cable bill but would never have done anything about it. Your guide was easy to follow and exactly the instructions and encouragement we needed to cut the cord. We were able to use your instructions as we signed up for MLB.TV and the Overplay. Having my husband’s beloved access to baseball in place, we were able to cancel cable the next day.
So far everything has worked out great, including having two young children in the house who expect to be able to watch a show on any random whim. We thought about using Sling TV but decided to try without for the time being. We have not noticed any difference without cable in our house except that it takes an extra minute to get the tv set up and logged into Netflix or Amazon to watch a show. While some people may find this slightly longer time an irritant, I find that it actually helps me in not wasting my time by mindlessly turning on the TV for background noise and getting caught up in whatever’s on.
As we went through the experience of cancelling cable, we used your motto from a few podcasts ago where you had said something along the lines of ‘if we were unhappy with cutting cable, we could always sign up again- it’s not like they wouldn’t take our business again.’
My husband is a happy baseball man and if for any reason he is unable to watch baseball through your many options listed, he will be content enough to listen to the game on the radio.
Thank you again for helping us to cut the cord and save money.
Dennis Restauro says
Thank you, Linda. Comments like this mean so very much to me. We really appreciate it.
Brent says
Are IP spoofs like this app specific or device specific? In other words will it effect my Sling or watchespn on the same appletv?
Dennis Restauro says
The Overplay Smart DNS is app specific. It even lets you specify various locations to be in for different apps.
Miriam says
Hi Dennis, As this post is quite old, I am unsure if you are still replying to comments….i will just hope you are and go for it!!
I just set up SmartDNS and subscribed to MLB.TV and am quite happy that I can now watch Colorado Rockies baseball (more so b/c the Rox are doing pretty well so far this year!).
I am writing to ask you to fill us in on the “workaround” to also watch post-season games…..sometime before the postseason rolls around.
Thanks much in advance.
Dennis Restauro says
Hi, Miriam. One of the reasons I hold comments in moderation is so I am sure to address each one. Even if it’s a post I wrote 3 years ago. I will definitely update everyone when it comes postseason time.
terry wilt says
regarding watching local baseball, I’ve followed your advice but am still having trouble. I received a free ROKU device with my subscription to Sling TV, signed up for MLB.TV, subscribed to Overplay, and made sure to input the correct ISP to reflect UK address on my Wifi and set MLB to show my location is the UK. However, in ROKU settings, my IP address continues to show local IP address, so when I try to access MLB to get local Houston Astros, and selecting the opposing teams broadcast channel option, I still get local black out lingo. Astros are on ROOTSW and is tied exclusively to Comcast. Any idea why I can’t get ROKU to read the IP address I input from Overplay on my laptop?
Dennis Restauro says
I find the Roku set up a bit complicated. You need to set it up at the Router. Here are the instructions. Personally, I just run it on my laptop. If I want to watch it on the TV, I just use the TV as a second display over an HDMI cable.
terry wilt says
Thank you Dennis. I was thinking that might be it after trying everything I could think of for about the 10th time. First 2 times should have told me I was travelling down the wrong path. I’ve been jacking around with this for 3 weeks. If changing the DNS on the router affects my wife and kids viewing in any way I’ll be in big trouble, but don’t see why it would. I appreciated your reply.
terry wilt says
And I can’t seem to get the game to play on my laptop, which is where I installed the ROKU account and installed the Overplay to and MLB.TV
Dennis Restauro says
You need to follow the instructions for setting it up on your laptop. It takes a small change in the network settings. Once that is done it should work like a charm. If you are having issues, contact their support. I’ve found them pretty good to deal with.
terry wilt says
I got it now. What I was missing is that I have to use my laptop to get Overplay (the UK feed) to work in order to watch local blackout. I kept trying to pull up ROOT on my TV using ROKU. Works great on TV, but not local feed. You mentioned several times in your responses “laptop”. It just didn’t sink in. All good now, thanks for your help
Dennis Restauro says
No problem!
Mike Hunt says
You should try PlaySation Vue. I get all the Red Sox games, including both home games and road games with no waiting period to watch the games. You can watch it live as it occurs and there’s an online DVR as well. I already have SlingTV but my local sports channel CSN wasn’t on SlingTV so I got this to watch the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins as well. Patriots games are on national TV which I get through my digital antenna.
Mike says
Thanks for the concise directions, very helpful.
My situation is a that I use PIA for my VPN and have been able to Chromecast to my TV even when the Nats are at home, (by the way I pay the full price for MLB.TV) I connect to PIA’s California or Toronto site. It seems now MLB (along with NHL) are able to block my Chomecast because of the Verizon wireless IP address.
I’m thinking of purchasing a DD-WRT Wireless router and installing the PIA openVPN.
Think that’ll work?
Dennis Restauro says
It may, I don’t see why it wouldn’t as long as you are comfortable with the DD-WRT configs.
Richard says
Dennis,
Many thanks for putting this incredibly informative and helpful post together. I love MLB.tv but had previously used some not great and/or legal sites to watch Orioles games here in DC. (I followed your recommendations for VPN and DNS in no small part because you’re wearing an O’s hat in your picture.)
Quick question: I can now get the Orioles games on my laptop but if I try to put them on my TV via Chromecast the “blackout” prompt appears. Is this because there’s a separate DNS on the Chromecast? (Apologies, not *that* tech savvy.)
Regardless, Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer on the laptop is a huge step-up.
Thanks again!
Richard
Dennis Restauro says
The way the chromecast architecture works, the stream has to pass through the chromecast. You are correct. The chromecast isn’t behind your smart DNS.
I love watching the O’s on my laptop, but if you need to get them on the TV you can connect your laptop to the TV through an HDMI connection.
Jenn says
Thanks for the info!
An update for your readers – although Sling has the rights to stream some NBC markets, those on your list of 20 teams are not all available. I live in the Philadelphia market, and our NBC owned regional sports channel (CSN) is not available. Based on the Phillies broadcast schedule,I’ll be able to see able 10 games this season – those that are broadcasted on local NBC. I don’t even need Sling for that….my antenna will do just fine!
If you want to watch MLB on Sling, be sure your NBC RSN (regional channel) is available. Right now the Sling website lists the following markets: CSN mid-Atlantic, CSN Chicago, CSN California, and CSN Bay Area.
https://www.sling.com/programming/sports
Dennis Restauro says
Thank you Jenn,
I updated the list in the article. Not offering the CSN with the Phillies is unreal. Comcast is based in Philadelphia! The MLB.TV workaround should still work.
Chris Martin says
Thanks a lot for this article.
I used a VPN to watch the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles last year on MLB TV. Unfortunately this year I’ve had nothing but problems and I’ve tried multiple VPNs. Everything I’ve tried the video quality has been great but I’ve had a massive lag problem. I’ve tried connecting to servers on the east coast but outside the Nats/Os blackout area and I always get the blackout message.
I’d much rather upgrade my internet speed than pay Comcast for MASN. I think I might actually dislike MASN more than I dislike Comcast. What’s the likelihood that the lag would greatly lessen if I upgrade my Internet speed? Currently I’m (according to Google’s speed test) getting 5.79 mbps down and 3.50 up with a 22 ms latency.
Dennis Restauro says
It’s really hard to say without knowing your network. However, my gut tells me that live streaming at that speed with a VPN would cause some lag. Personally, I would try a faster connection.
bret brock says
Im trying to understand how Overplay works. I signed up for the subscription with OverPlay, and provided my email.
I changed the DNS information on my AppleTV.
How is the “connection” made by OverPlay?
How do I “download” smartDNS to appleTV?
Dennis Restauro says
Once you set up the DNS you have to log into your overplay account on their website. They should let you know if everything is set properly. It’s a smartDNS so no download is required unless you are using the VPN.
bret brock says
I got it working…..pretty surprised and happy. +1 for AppleTV+OverPlay+MLB.TV
Bret says
I understand all the of the great suggestions, I was just looking for a success story combing Overplay with AppleTV before I get started. I have the MLB.TV subscription….I was going to delete the “App”, then reinstall it after subscribe to Overplay…..
Any success stories with AppleTV, anyone? anyone? Bueller? : )
Andy says
Is this work around still working with how MLB.TV is now using GPS to find out where people are? Before I spend the money, that would be great to know :).
Dennis Restauro says
They only use GPS on mobile devices. It works fine on browsers, Xbox, Apple TV, and PlayStations. I personally use my laptop and just plug it into the TV if I want to watch on the big screen. It is supported on Sony Smart TVs but I haven’t tested it. It also works on a Roku, but it requires a router config (which could be considered complicated if you typically don’t mess with router configs)
Karen4755 says
No need to pay for the premium MLB because the games are still blacked out. I live in WV, 2 hours south of Pittsburg & can’t watch the game on my cell phone. ROOT usually carries the game, but they are airing the Penquins game. I’m forced to watch the statistics on MLB.com on my phone.
Dennis Restauro says
The article does explain how to get around this.
KYle says
I signed up for SmartDNS to bypass blackouts. I think it might be working although it is just saying on MLB.TV “Getting current location…” for about 5 mins. Before it would just say I was in a blacked out region. Is this common to have to wait over 5-10 mins for it when using this service? if so I just need to know how much lead time.
Dennis Restauro says
Which device are you attempting to watch on?
Jason says
This article was helpful but I signed up for Overplay and it’s been a complete mess. I don’t even know where to begin. To add insult to injury they don’t even publish a phone number to call for help so I’m basically stuck with a subscription I cannot even use. Have been waiting around for these people to respond to an email. Ridiculous.
Dennis Restauro says
Did you look at the instructions?
Robb says
fuboTV also offers a way to watch the MLB season similar to Sling.
Dennis Restauro says
Yes, It says that in the article.
Marvilyn says
I used to have DirectTV and loved being able to simply change channels to go from watching the Nats on MASN to watching the Cards on Season Ticket (or whatever DirectTV called the package that feeds all games). I am now a FIOS subscriber with Tivo (the system that works best with my whole-house AV set-up – sorry, not technical so not describing it well). Last year, I subscribed directly with MLB but I hated having to flip from FIOS to watch the Nats on MASN to streaming MLB to catch the Cards. I bit the bullet and paid $199 to Verizon yesterday after being assured I’d be able to simply change the channel to switch games but am having trouble figuring out where (which channels) those other games will be shown. Is this simply due to FIOS not revealing channels to me yet because the season hasn’t started? Where are those channels and will they eventually become apparent? (I’m asking you instead of Verizon because you seem more knowledgeable and responsive!). Thanks
Dennis Restauro says
Sorry, I don’t have Pay TV. I couldn’t begin to tell you.
McCombs says
We have direct tv with 3 tv’s hooked up. We would like to get MLB.tv and watch through our downstairs LG smart tv. Can you advice us how to stream the games? We have not to date done any streaming with the LG smart tv. Thanks for any assistance!
Dennis Restauro says
Here is a list of LG TVs that support MLB.TV, check to see if yours is on the list.
Jennifer says
Thank you for sharing this! I thought I was going to have to give up my Giants when I booted Comcast; it’s so nice to know I have options!
Dennis Restauro says
Sure thing! Thanks for reading.
Waingro says
Thanks for the GREAT write up! I have a question, I am in Houston and want to watch the Astros for 2017. I cut the cord last year and used Notelly along with the MLB.tv app on my FireTV. It was good until about halfway through the season and then just stopped working for some reason.
I’d love to use the option you have illustrated but would hate to spend all the money on the app for a year along with sub to the SmartDNS and still have it not work.
Are you currently using this setup? And any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Dennis Restauro says
I used this setup last season. I’ll likely start it again in April when the season starts. I know it’s a bit more pricey, but I tend to just purchase the service on a month to month basis just in case.
Waingro says
I appreciate the quick reply. I look forward to an update as to it’s effectiveness when the season begins.
I read several conflicting reports and MLB.tv does all it can to stop us from using these workarounds to watch our home teams.
Dennis Restauro says
Mobile will always be an issue with MLB.TV. They force you to turn on your geolocation and use that to see where you are. They also have a way of figuring this out on a few OTT devices. The way I do it, is on my laptops browser with my laptop using the smart DNS. I have an HDMI out on my laptop so I just connect it to the Big Screen.
Andrew says
Just as an FYI – if you are T-Mobile customer, T-Mobile gives a year’s subscription to MLB.TV just for being a customer. This is the 3rd or 4th year in a row they’re doing it. Starting April 4th, if you just sign up for the service using your phone with 4G (not using wi-fi), it’s completely free.
Dennis Restauro says
Thanks Andrew. That must have flown under my radar.
Dennis Restauro says
I just tested it and it works for me.
Devon Pack says
If I subscribe to MLB.TV can I watch it on multiple roku’s at the same time? We have 3 TVs in our man cave and will often have sports on all three at once. Easy to do with my DirecTV boxes but I’m wondering if I cut the cord can I do it this way with my Rokus. Thanks!
Dennis Restauro says
Local blackouts are problematic. I use a smart DNS and just plug my laptop into any TV I want to use. I never tried running it to 3 TVs at the same time though. I’m not sure what the live streaming experience would be.
FRANCIS COSTELLO says
How will this impact my subscription to Celtic TV which restricts viewing Celtic marches from the U.K. and RoI?
Dennis Restauro says
What specifically?
Oedi says
I wish I knew the reason MLB requires a cable subscription to *pay* to watch postseason games on MLB TV. Guess there’s just some sort of exclusivity deal in the contracts with Fox Sports and TBS, but I wish they’d just tell us why it’s this way for the playoffs but not during the regular season.
Dennis Restauro says
It’s the way TV licensing works in the U.S. It’s a mess.
Roger says
It’s because each MLB team negotiates TV deals with the local sport networks in each city. This is the real money that an MLB team uses to pay for their players. The gate receipts are a pittance compared to what teams get from their TV deals.
When the regional sports network for your area pays the team so much money for the broadcast rights they don’t want to lose viewers to streaming services, because it will cause their viewership numbers to go down, and they won’t be able to get as much money for their commercial time. They also can’t command as much money from cable/satellite providers.
So, the agreement for the television deals states that local games cannot be streamed. MLB is working a deal this season whereby streaming of local games will be available on most, if not all teams. As of now 27 of the 30 teams are on board. But the deal still requires you to have cable or satellite, so it’s pretty useless, IMO.
Dennis Restauro says
Not necessarily. The methods in this article explain how to watch without cable or satellite.
Scott says
Trying to make sense of what I need to watch the Cubs throughout the playoffs. I live in the jungle in Hawaii and have no cable, which is required to stream most of the games live I just found out. As recommended I got a Roku and a subscription to Sling to get FS1, TBS, Fox. Now MLB is hitting me with blackouts for all the national televised games because I don’t have cable. Is the DNS option going to allow me to stream all playoffs and WS? or is the VPN option required? or both? or am I SOL?
Dennis Restauro says
You shouldn’t have Blackouts on Sling TV. Its odd if you are. You will see them on MLB.TV (which can be handled with an out of country VPN or Smart DNS), but Sling TV should be fine.
GiantsFan28 says
Thanks for the detailed post. I have a few questions.
1. How long are the games available to watch after they air? A day? A week? All season?
2. Who are the announcers for the games? I like my teams announcers and would love to hear them.
I’m considering cutting cable so do appreciate all of your advice regarding doing this. Thanks!
Dennis Restauro says
1. You get the entire season archived.
2. The announcers are the normal announcers from both home and away broadcasts depending on what feed you want to watch.
Thanks for reading!
Dustin says
Hello, I have read that allthough it is legal to change dns settings to another state or country mlbtv is aware people are doing this. The result is that they are closing subscribers accounts. Have you heard anything about this and if so is there a way around it? Thanks for the help.
Dennis Restauro says
This is the first I’ve hear. If it’s true then I recommend using the VPN option.
James Marvel says
When signing up for SmartDNS for MLB.TV on the Xbox One, how do you link the accounts? Or in other words, how does you Xbox One know that you have signed up for SmartDNS? Go O’s!
Dennis Restauro says
Follow the instructions on their website on setting up the Xbox One. You should then navigate to their website on the Xbox. Since you have the right DNS settings they will recognize your device and allow you to configure your smartDNS settings on their page. I use it on my Mac, so I haven’t actually experimented with getting this set up on an Xbox, but it should work.
I’m loving this season so far.
James says
In the “Profile” tab in my account, they ask for a DynDNS Hostname, where would I find this? Thanks for the help! Gausmen getting beat up in Seattle!
Dennis Restauro says
This only matters if you are using a dynamic DNS hostname. If you don’t know what it is, then you most likely don’t have to worry about it.
Byron says
Hey Dennis, this is a great and helpful article. I have one question, though. If I already have signed up for an MLB account (using my regional IP address) can I still successfully use smart DNS or will that service only work for new MLB accounts?
Sorry if you answered above and I missed it and please keep getting this info out there!
Dennis Restauro says
I haven’t tried it. It should work, unless they are flagging locations.
AK says
If you’re a Samsung Smart TV user (2015/2016 versions) Don’t bother subscribing. MLB.tv refuses to fix the issues they’ve had with their service since before opening day. Constant buffering and blank screen issues, and if you address the issues on their forums, the moderators lie about it being fixed “soon” then block you. A quick read through the forums will show countless people having issues regardless of the device they are using. Until MLB.tv atteps to provide a stable service, avoid this product at all costs.
Dennis Restauro says
I’ve honestly never had an issue, but I usually just use my laptop since I’m the only one that likes to watch baseball in the house.
Dawn says
Just as an FYI, Overplay’s Smart DNS does not support Amazon Fire TV for MLB TV. Anybody else have any other Smart DNS services that would support the Amazon Fire TV/MLB TV combination?
Dennis Restauro says
I will look into an alternative for Fire TV.
Dawn says
Dennis, while doing some research, I found this tidbit from the Unlocator website:
“Please note that we don’t support MLB on iPads, iPhones, iPods, Android devices including Amazon Fire TV and Fire Sticks. The reason is that this version of the MLB app uses location services on the devices, which can’t be bypassed via the network. On some devices GPS info is used on other devices the Google Play Location Service API is used. Either way none of these can be bypassed by VPN or DNS.”
Dennis Restauro says
That makes sense. I tend to just use my laptop. However, the Roku works just fine as no location service is used.
Dawn says
Yeah, I thought about using the Roku (which I have), but having to delete then re-activate the account just for MLB TV is burdensome.
I’m going with using an old MacBook, streaming it through Safari and using cables to hook it to my TV.
BTW, thanks for a great website! I’m finally cutting the cord, which should save me $52/month.
Go O’s!
Yankee of New Hampshire says
Thanks for the explanation. I’m cutting cable in a month or so….I can pick up all 5 broadcast channels with a decent antenna…even being 56 miles from Boston! Baseball and Fox news were the only 2 programs I would miss. After reading about mlb, I’ve decided I don’t need baseball. So…as I join the folks who dont watch baseball (like my teenage son and his friends), I’ll remember how it happened. Gosh…$100 a year, and the games are still full of commercials! Yep…time to go!
Lennie says
I have sling tv and watched one game on fox sports Midwest. Now, it says that the programming is subject to blackout. Haven’t been able to watch one since
Dennis Restauro says
Here is the info on regional blackouts with Sling TV. They should follow the same rules that the cable company would follow for that network. I would contact there support to verify.
Steve says
I got the new package w Fox Sports Detroit. Haven’t been able to see one Tigers game – all blacked out. What a joke!
Dennis Restauro says
You’re the second person I heard say this. I would opt for the other method. The blackout workaround works fine.
DLARA says
Hi,
I am not very technical, and trying to find the least expensive solution. Maybe I do not undertand the difference between MLB.TV and the Mlb extra inning packages. I have Verizon Fios and they only offer the MLB extra inning package at 199.00 per season. This makes me beyond angry since DirectTV and Comcast cost is lower 179.00 and have a single team option also. I only want to watch Red Sox in PA.
So if I were to purchase the MLB.TV single team (red Sox) option can I connect my iphone to my HDTV using a HDMI cable and watch the game on my Samsung TV. Ever since I switched to Verizon my smart TV (samsung) will no longer allow me to steam media thru app on the tv. So I wonder how the game will look on the TV if it comes from the iphone on the MLB.TV progeam
thanks for your help
Dennis Restauro says
Your smart TV should work with any internet service provider. Did you put the TV back on the network after you switched?
Timber says
I wait tables at night, so I will be watching the majority of games the next day, anyway. Is there a way around subscribing and just watching archived games somehow? And not just highlights, but the entire game?
Dennis Restauro says
Sorry Timber, you have to subscribe to catch the games.
ART says
I am a Dodger fan who lives in Nevada. I would gladly subscribe to MLB-TV but every team in California and Arizona considers me “in market’, so I am blacked out. I am currently with Dish and there is a MLB-TV App on the Hopper, for what little good it does me. Is there someway to make the Hopper think I am in Lower Slobbovia or somewhere? Is it possible to use one of the DNS Masking Sites to watch MLB-TV on my PC?
Dennis Restauro says
Yes. Overplay can be used in the browser on PCs and Macs.
Georgie Ziff says
Hi Dennis,
So I am trying to use the Smart DNS VPN/MLB.TV/Roku to watch my local baseball team. I created an account at Overplay.net. According to their instructions, I reset my IP address on my computer, did a factory reset of the Roku, cancelled my Roku account, opened a new Roku account with Paypal, created an MLB.TV account, ensuring it was listed as “United Kingdom”, added the channel to Roku…and then tried to watch a local baseball game and was blocked out.
This from Overplay: “Since Roku does not allow you to manually change your DNS settings you will have to configure your router with our DNS in order to use our SmartDNS with your Roku player. If you’re not sure if your router has this functionality please contact our support team.” I contact Overplay about my AT&T router Imade by ARRIS, but no response. Do I need to reconfigure the router? Or delete everything and start from scratch?
Suggestions?
Thanks!
Dennis Restauro says
You need to set the DNS IP address on the router to the two specified in the setup instructions. I’m not sure which model of Arris router you have, but if you google “change arris (model number) DNS settings” you should find documentation similar to this.
Chuck Stiff says
I have been a baseball fan for 60+ years. My wife and I currently live in Brush Prairie, Washington. We are 164 miles from Safeco Field which is a 2 hour and 42 minute drive north on I5 according to Google Earth. We recently dropped Direct TV which was costing us over $100 per month. The plan was to utilize an antenna pointed at Portland to receive local network TV and sign up for MLB-TV Single Team to watch the Mariners. That was the plan until I tried to watch the opening day game between the Mariners and Rangers in Arlington, Texas. When I tried to connect to the game I received a message that we were in the blackout area. According to MLB-TV we are in the blackout area for both home and away games. They suggested that we move to Tennessee if I want to watch Mariner games. I cancelled our MLB-TV subscription. I was a baseball fan for 60+ years.
Dennis Restauro says
Did you check out the section on getting around the blackout?
Georgie says
I realized that I should have downloaded software for the Smart DNS VPN to work, so I did that, but cannot connect; error message “invalid connection”. Tried emailing tech support at Overplay, but no response. Should I delete all accounts (Overplay/Roku/MLB.TV) and start all over from scratch?
Frustrated…
Dennis Restauro says
I would start over. It’s important that the setup steps happen in a certain order. That said, if you are having trouble with the VPN you may just want to try the SmartDNS without the VPN. Thats would lose the security benefits from the VPN, but it will circumvent the blackout.
Mick says
Hello – I have cable through Direct TV, my in market team is the Mariner’s. I would like to watch the games on my ROKU through the MLB.tv app, which I also have a membership for to watch the Dodgers, (out of my market).
So, does MLB.tv blackout the “in-market” games if I could put in my local cable password and prove I have cable too, but prefer to watch the games on MLB.tv?
Thanks Mick
Dennis Restauro says
Hi Mick, I don’t have cable so I can’t test it, but as far as I know it’s blacked out through MLB.tv whether your have a cable subscription or not.
Ed Weingartner says
The Twins have a lousy radio station that can only be picked up clearly in my car. They don’t stream the broadcasts the way other teams in town do. And, of corse, you can only watch them on cable. Very frustrating for this long-time partial season ticket holder.
Dennis Restauro says
It’s awful what they do to fans. The SmartDNS works like a charm though.
Anne Lamar says
Is there some way to watch mlb channel on my roku 1. When I go to the mlb channel I get a message that says I cannot get the mlb channel on my CLASSIC Roku !
Dennis Restauro says
I haven’t found anything indicating that it wouldn’t work, but I only did a few searches. Is the Roku firmware up to date? You can check by doing this.
Brad says
Dennis, why aren’t you heeding your own advice and using DNS or VPN to watch the Orioles on mlb.tv?
Dennis Restauro says
Circumventing the blackout violates MLB.tv terms of service.
ricky says
How likely is it that MLB TV would notice, and take action?
Dennis Restauro says
I haven’t heard of anyone facing repercussions. But I’m just one person and don’t have a legal background.
Cecile says
I am still a little confused as I have read conflicting information. I would like to purchase mlb.tv, specifically the one team package since I don’t live in my home state. I could watch my team and probably not experience any blackout because there are never any baseball games aired where I live on local tv. There are, of course, games aired on ESPN and the like. I am not a cable or satellite subscriber (I cut the cord several years ago) and therein lay my question. Do I have to be a tv subscriber of some sort? I would be watching the games either on tv through my roku or on my iMac. I have seen answers ranging from yes you have to be a subscriber, you only have to be a subscriber for post season or you don’t have to be a subscriber. Can you please clarify before I buy?
Thanks
Dennis Restauro says
You don’t need cable to watch the regular season on MLB.TV. The playoffs are a different story because the rights are exclusive to a single network.
Cecile says
OK thanks
Don W says
I found this site as a cordcutter who watched the Mets via mlb.tv in Chicago for the last few years but has now moved to New Jersey and am facing the blackout restrictions. More to your point, I wanted to mention that if your team is playing in your media market, or sometimes just the next media market, you will still be blacked out. I still found it well worth it, but it was annoying if the Mets were playing inter-league in Detroit and i was blacked out in Chicago. Also, games on National TV (Fox Saturday Game of the Week, ESPN Sunday night baseball) are always blacked out, which is a pain if you are cord cutting and get bad OTA reception. Final word of advice, pay all upfront and then change your billing info so it won’t work when they go to autocharge you in the middle of the off season next year. Twice I have checked off “Do not renew” and twice they’ve just done it anyway.
Overall I recommend it very highly, I just wish they were more upfront about the fact you are actually buying about 90% of your team’s games and no postseason.
Dennis Restauro says
The smartDNS will make it looks like your IP originates in the UK, so . . .
Jimbo says
I’m a little late to this party but as a newcomer to MLB.TV this year (and a die-hard fan) I have explored this ad nauseum and I’ve found a few tips.
But I hope others will see this and heed my advice and it will save them all kinds of trouble.
First of all, I am using Windows 8.1 and this is exclusively how I watch the games. Like a DUMMY, I kept going to MLB.tv as my starting sport and watching the games from their starting page – because they encourage this! BIG mistake.
Here’s what you should do instead: get the Windows app from the Windows’ store. It’s free. Install it. Work exclusively from the app. The app is >>100<< times more stable than booting from the html page; the picture is twice as clear and there's a nifty schedule for every team. There are many little things wrong (at least as I type this) but if you want to watch your team with a good picture in a stable environment, this is by far your best bet.
Many of the functions simply do not exist in the app (I have yet to see ANY scores on any scoreboards, there is no picture-in-picture, no multiple screen options and a few other things). It's not perfect. But a stable environment (and a GREAT picture) it is. Get the app!!!
Dennis Restauro says
Thanks Jimbo! I forgot to mention the windows App. I have a Mac so it slipped my mind, since they don’t have one for the Mac. There is one currently being tested so I’ll be able to try it soon.
Steve says
Dennis great article thanks. Last year I bought a subscription to [email protected] through ITunes for $19.99. It included one free MLB game per day. Now it wasn’t always a game I wanted to watch but it was free. In addition At Bat has great highlights and game recaps so if you can live without watching a whole game it is perfect. Right around August MLB offered full access for $ 24.99 through the playoffs. With Sling you get all of ESPNs and TBS games and with Sling now available on the ChannelMaster DVR+ it is much easier to navigate.
eric says
Great article, and thanks for it. I gave MLB.TV a try a few years ago when I went cable-free for a little while. I was using a laptop at the time. I found to my great frustration that if you browsed the site to find the game you wanted to watch after it had started or ended, they would present the scores way too prominently, so I’d know the outcome before watching the game, which was rather self defeating.
Curious to know if you’ve had this experience using one of the streaming solutions (FireStick, Chromecast, etc.)?
Also, until they break the requirement for a cable login to watch the postseason, it’s hard to see how this is a viable option.
Thanks….
Dennis Restauro says
I currently use Roku 4, but had a good experience on Apple TV. I don’t recall seeing the scores, unless I turned them on.
Dan VanAtta says
Any news on 2016 rules for MLB.com Premium? Will price increase?
Dennis Restauro says
Havent heard anything yet. Check back I will surely have an update when Spring Training starts.
Dan McGarr says
Okay, so we’ve been trying to cut our cord for maybe two years now. Because our TV provider is VERY expensive, but we live live baseball. I thought this was a perfect fit, until all my friends told me you need a paid cable subscription to use this! But according to your article I shouldn’t have to. Can you clear this confusion?
Dennis Restauro says
You can watch out of market regular season games without a cable subscription. But check back next season as the rules may change.
Jennifer says
I really want to cut the cord with FIOS, but need to be able to watch the Orioles. Right now I believe that can only be done via MASN (our regional sports network) and that is only accessible via a cable company. For my husband, this is a complete deal breaker. Are there any other options to be able to watch the Orioles live without a 90 minute blackout delay? I am sick of spending $270 per month on cable/internet/phone.
Dennis Restauro says
Sorry Jennifer, I’m in the same boat. I’m a huge Orioles fan, and loosing MASN was the hardest sacrifice when cutting the cord. I actually went old school and listen to games on 105.7. I also go to The Yard more.
Jackie says
Great article… Started reading to try to find a way to get the Orioles games. Such a bummer for us Os fans… I wish Amazon or Apple TV would pick up MASN. :(
Dennis Restauro says
You can use the blackout work around. It works for me.
cabletvsux says
Use frontrowsports streaming from the UK and screw the cable companies. Screw MLB.tv for changing their policy in the post season to force a cable tx subscription.
Moe says
Hmmm So where do I do that? Do I do that on the MLB website or on the Apple Tv?
Every time I get close it seems to lead me to enter in a Pay TV Provider. I am sure I am doing something wrong!
Thanks
Dennis Restauro says
I looked into more and you are correct. It’s the Post Season licensing. The article was written for the regular season. It appears this year MLB.TV wasn’t able to offer the post season package without a cable TV sign in. You should be able to watch after the blackout delay. For a live experience Sling TV will give you the games airing on TBS and the ability to stream FOX Sports 1 online.
Moe says
Oh no worries at all! Thanks fo your help!
DSBklyn says
If I understand correctly, we would be able to subscribe to a low-level cable package with just basic channels (not including MLB) and separately subscribe to MLB.TV to watch games on our TV through a streaming device, such as Chromecast. We live in an area that is well outside the blackout area for the teams we follow, so should also be able to watch those games live, correct? Am I missing anything here?
Dennis Restauro says
No cable is needed for MLB TV. You can subscribe and watch it through the devices mentioned.
Paul says
So, why does mlb.tv say you need to have a paid tv subscription and forces you to prove your credentials after purchase?
Dennis Restauro says
You need to log in with your MLB.TV subscription account. No cable TV is required.
Moe says
I purchased it today for 9.99 for the post season. I just tried to watch it on my Apple TV and it is saying I need a pay TV provider. So either it has changed or it is not working with 9.99 deal they have going right now.
Dennis Restauro says
Your Apple TV MLB.TV app is not linked. You need to go to “Subscribe” and then enter your subscriber login.
Russ says
We have a large household with 2 – 4 TVs going at any given time. I won’t mind buying an Apple TV for each room, but I a package of subscriptions for each would exceed my DirectTV bill. I know that NetFlix allows 2 concurrent screens with their base subscription and that I can bump that to 4 screens for $4 more per month. Do you have any articles that list the simultaneous usage restriction for the many other services you recommend (Hulu, Sling, HBO Now, the various sport subscriptions, …)?
Also, I’m thinking about how I can leverage an external HD antenna (like the Mohu Sky) for the whole house (I assume that all 4 TVs could watch a different program via the antenna simultaneously), but I think that my internet service would need the same coax cable. Does antenna installation require a new cable run from outside throughout the house?
I have just started researching this idea of cutting the cord and I have found your site to be the most informative by far. Thank you for providing such valuable information.
Dennis Restauro says
You need to run a separate coaxial for the antenna. Here is a guide on using one antenna for multiple TVs.
I know Sling can only be used on one device at a time, so I wouldn’t use it on multiple TVs (although the cable box rental fees come close to the price of Sling on multiple TVs.) We have used Prime, Hulu Plus, and Netflix. Sometimes we have 3 devices going at once and have never had an issue, but maybe we are just lucky. I’ll do some research and address it in an upcoming post.
Thanks for reading!
mike says
i dumped dish last december and used their co-ax cable to run my 3 tv.s you may need an amp for very long cable runs, i am very happy with my results.
Butt Sealit says
Or head to a pirate site and watch for free (and blackout free)
Dennis Restauro says
Yes, that’s entirely possible, but I would check with your country, state, or province statutes to ensure you are within the law when doing so. :)