A question for people with a local MLB team

[Aeson]

MLB= Major League Baseball

Can you watch your local team play without paying an additional fee? Subscribing to a package?

Last season the Atlanta Braves started airing games on a local channel, but it's still not available to everyone. This season they're starting their own network, again it's not available to everyone. I want to watch, but I don't want to pay for it. Sometimes if Fox is showing the Braves as a national game I can watch.

When I was a kid Braves games were available to everyone through Turner Broadcasting. After he sold the team, it became harder to watch the games. It's even difficult to find the game on the radio.

 

[aco175]

I think the Red Sox is on a local channel every night in season. It used to be TY38, but I'm guessing things get bought up and moved.

Although I do not watch baseball, or basketball but they seem on TV a lot as well. I still have cable so I see things while flipping through.

 

[sevenbastard]

I don't care much about MLB, but here in Seattle the games were on a special channel Root sports, but they ended it (or are ending it ?) this year.

I think it kills viewership for casual fans. Im not jumping on the Mariners bandwagon if I have to pay extra even if I could 100% want to support a player called Big Dumper.

 

[Velderan]

The Minnesota Twins have a streaming plan you pay something like $100 a season to watch all the games that aren't blacked out because they're being aired somewhere like ESPN. No idea how good the service is, I just hear it frequently mentioned in the hockey fanbase as a "gee this would be nice to have".

 

[Aeson]

It's not just hear in Atlanta? That's disappointing.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

One team yes, one team I believe has at least a good portion of their games relegated to a pay service.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I’m in D/FW, home of the Texas Rangers. For most of my time here, Rangers games were watchable on broadcast TV or on basic cable channels. But at some point, they went to a premium channel that I wasn’t going to pay for.*

Well…that company went bankrupt in 2024-25. Right now, the team is trying to rebuild its TV presence. So there have been a few games broadcast on local TV or non-premium sports channels.



* and when I can’t see the games, I stop buying the merch.

 

[Aeson]

Fox Sports* = Bally Sports= FanDuel Sports.
It transitioned over the years. They aired regional sports, so for me it was primarily Braves and Hawks and south eastern college sports. When they went defunct it left most teams scrambling to find an alternative. It looks like they're all going to a format where fans have to pay a premium to watch.

Last year they had a deal with a network that broadcasts over the air to show 20 something games. I'm not able to pick up the channel with my antenna. I save a ton of money, but I'm limited on what I can watch.

* Separate from Fox Sports One which is a competitor to ESPN.

 

[Aeson]

I’m in D/FW, home of the Texas Rangers. For most of my time here, Rangers games were watchable on broadcast TV or on basic cable channels. But at some point, they went to a premium channel that I wasn’t going to pay for.*

Well…that company went bankrupt in 2024-25. Right now, the team is trying to rebuild its TV presence. So there have been a few games broadcast on local TV or non-premium sports channels.



* and when I can’t see the games, I stop buying the merch.

I've been a Braves fan since childhood, but I never bought any merch. It's harder to stay connected with the team if you can't watch the games on a regular basis. I understand the feeling of not wanting to buy the stuff though.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I've been a Braves fan since childhood, but I never bought any merch. It's harder to stay connected with the team if you can't watch the games on a regular basis. I understand the feeling of not wanting to buy the stuff though.

I’ve always been big on buying merch to display my fandom. And with the Rangers, their team colors (red, white & blue) lend some additional seasonal wearability.

But both of my Rangers caps come from an era when they were red, with the team logo- “T”- in navy & white. So I haven’t worn it outside of my backyard in at least a decade, to avoid any mistaken impressions IYKWIMAITTYD.

The most recent era has had a blue cap, but I’ll be damned if I’ll give them my money when I can’t watch the team.