With the 2026 Major League Baseball season soon to begin, fans may be wondering how, exactly, one may watch all the action in this, the era of constantly shifting platforms and rights deals and so forth. As always, we’re here for those with nowhere left to turn.
What follows is a brief primer on how to watch MLB games in 2026. Given the recent changes to the league’s local and national broadcast contracts — meaning, mostly, the collapse of Main Street Sports, which handled several teams’ broadcasts, and the new deals at the national levels — the process is different from seasons past, which is why we’re having this conversation. So come with us, won’t you, as we explore the magic of color television.
Watching in-market games
If you live in an MLB team’s geographical broadcast territory, then you’ll watch games in-market. Most teams — 22 of the 30, specifically — have their broadcasts produced by MLB or at least distributed by MLB. The other eight remain independent (for now).
Also note that some teams also broadcast their games via agreements with local cable providers and in some cases over the air for a limited number of games each season. Before you subscribe to your favorite team’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, be sure you check to see what’s already available to you depending upon your viewing setup. Here’s where to get more info on in-market streaming for your preferred squadron:
Again, the above are your options if you live within a team’s given broadcast territory and want to stream that team’s games. Also to repeat, if you’re a cable or satellite subscriber, then you may already have access to your favorite team’s games, depending upon what level of package or tier you have. Those platforms linked above are for cord-cutters or those who don’t have access to games via cable or satellite.
Watching out-of-market games
If you want to watch a team’s games when you don’t live in the broadcast territory — think, for example, of all those Yankees fans in Florida or, increasingly, Dodgers fans in Japan — then you’ll need to take a different route.
That route is an MLB.tv subscription — or the related Extra Innings package if you have a pay TV provider and don’t want to add the MLB.tv app — which gives you access to all out-of-market games, albeit with blackouts for local teams. For example, if you’re Red Sox fan living in Phoenix and you subscribe to MLB.tv, then you’ll be able to watch every MLB game except those involving the Diamondbacks, which would be your in-market team.
As for getting access to MLB.tv, there’s a new wrinkle or two since MLB sold the rights to the popular service to ESPN in November. The process for giving them your money is different depending upon whether you’re a past MLB.tv subscriber or not. Here’s how MLB.com explains it:
Existing MLB.TV subscribers
These subscribers will be renewed automatically through their MLB.TV account. They can continue to access the streaming content in the MLB App, just as they always have or utilize their MLB.TV subscription within the ESPN App.
Existing ESPN Unlimited subscribers
MLB.TV will be available as an add-on feature. These sports fans will have the opportunity to purchase an MLB.TV subscription for $134.99 per season instead of $149.99. They will have the option to stream MLB.TV through either the MLB or ESPN App.
New MLB.TV customers (w/o an existing ESPN Unlimited subscription)
These customers can subscribe to MLB.TV directly through ESPN platforms. They do not need to additionally purchase an ESPN Unlimited subscription, though they will receive ESPN Unlimited free for one month. Should they choose not to continue their ESPN Unlimited subscription beyond the free trial, it will not impact their MLB.TV subscriptions. They will have the option of streaming MLB.TV through either the MLB or ESPN App.
MLB Extra Innings viewers
Nothing has changed with regard to the MLB Extra Innings package. Consult your provider for pricing.
Sounds easy enough, right? (Note that it does not sound all that easy.)
National broadcasts
In addition to in-market and out-of-market viewing considerations, MLB also has a mostly new stable of national partners for its signature events. Here’s where to find games for this season:
- Opening night (Yankees at Giants, 8:05 p.m. ET, March 25): Netflix
- Tuesday night baseball: TBS
- Friday night baseball: Apple
- Saturday night baseball: Fox
- Sunday morning baseball: Peacock (begins May 3)
- Sunday night baseball: NBC/Peacock (Peacock streaming only when the NBC broadcast would conflict with NBA or NFL games)
- Regular-season weeknight games: ESPN (30 games total)
- First hour of MLB Draft (July 11): NBC
- Remainder of MLB Draft: MLB Network, Peacock
- Futures Game (July 12): NBC
- Home Run Derby (July 13): Netflix
- Field of Dreams Game (Phillies vs. Twins, Aug. 13): Netflix
- Wild Card round of postseason: NBC/Peacock
As has been the case in the recent past, Fox will broadcast the All-Star Game and the World Series. FS1 will have the NLDS and NLCS in the playoffs, and TBS will have the ALDS and ALCS. Select broadcasts are also available to stream on fubo (Try for free). Got all that? Of course you don’t.
Simplicity is an elusive quality these days since leagues like MLB are now so heavily committed to splitting their inventory among so many different rights-holders, but such is the modern condition. So, yeah, maybe bookmark this page. Â
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