You may soon be able to watch your local teams’ home games without cable TV, as the MLB is considering launching a web-based streaming service that will do exactly that (via New York Post). Shrinking viewership rates may be the main factor behind the potential streaming service. As the New York Post points out, the MLB viewership has dropped 12 percent this year in comparison to 2019.
The MLB already offers MLB.TV, a streaming service for out-for-market games. Unlike MLB.TV, the planned streaming service will only focus on local games that you can currently only view via regional cable. MLB.TV would still be available if and when the new streaming service launches.
Having both MLB.TV and the new service would, in theory, let you view both local and out-of-market games without paying for regular cable, preventing you from having to deal with broadcast blackouts. This still isn’t the perfect solution — ideally, there would be one streaming service that lets you watch any game you want. That probably won’t happen anytime soon, though.
The new streaming service would give the MLB the chance to win back cable-cutting fans, airing the same games that you’d normally see on cable TV but without the added costs of cable. The New York Post reveals that subscriptions for the service would vary based on location and could range anywhere from $10 to $20 / month. The MLB has experimented with having Facebook and YouTube stream games in the past, but having a dedicated service for home games will make them more convenient to access.
And as an added bonus, the MLB might not be the only sports league streaming on the service either — the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League may partner with the MLB on the platform, which could launch as early as 2023.
