Watch Baseball Online: Best Sites For Streaming MLB Live

To watch every MLB game online you need a streaming service with the following channels:

  • MLB Network
  • Fox / FS1
  • TBS
  • ESPN / ESPN2

Here’s how the top streaming sites rank when it comes to streaming those MLB channels:

Fox / FS1 / FS2

TBS / TNT

ESPN / ESPN2

ESPN Bases Loaded

Total Channels

133

113

135

Prices

$44 – $49

$20 – $50

$35 – $50

Free Trial

7 Day Free Trial 7 Day Free Trial 7 Day Free Trial

Top Pick: DirecTV NOW

When it comes to streaming MLB, DirecTV NOW hits it out of the park.  They are the only streaming service that has all the MLB broadcasting networks available, including the MLB Network.

MLB Channels on DirectTV NOW

  • MLB Network
  • Fox, FS1, FS2
  • ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNNEWS
  • TBS / TNT

Prices and Packages

For access to all the MLB channels listed above you have to spend $50 per month.  There is also a $35 package but this dosen’t have MLB Network.

Here are the key features of each DirecTV NOW package:

  • $35 package – ESPN, TBS, and FOX, plus 70 other entertainment, news, and sports channels.
  • $50 package – Adds the MLB network, ESPNU, ESPNNEWS, The Tennis Channel, and over 20 additional channels.
  • $60 package – Adds NBA TV, NHL Channel, FS2, Sportsman Channel, Olympic channel, NBC golf, and 19 additional channels.  
  • $70 package – Adds Starz movie channels, Univision tDN.

MLB Broadcaster Programming

In case you need to brush up on the broadcasting schedules, heres what and when each of the MLB channels play:

MLB Network Programming

  • Regular Season: Five to Fourteen games per week (with blackouts for the local areas of the two teams)
  • Post Season: Division series (if not played on FOX)
  • Daily shows and baseball news: MLB tonight, Hot Stove, Quick Pitch, MLB Now, The Rundown, Intentional Talk, High Heat, and Clubhouse Confidential.
  • Additional Programming: Documentaries, Classic baseball games, Baseball IQ (Trivia Game Show), Spring training, some minor league games, some college games

ESPN Programming

  • Regular Season: Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday night baseball.  Select games on opening day, memorial day, labor day, and independence day.
  • Post Season: one of the two wild card games (TBS getting the other).
  • Additional Programming: some spring training games, Home Run Derby, Taco Bell All Star Legends and Celebrity Softball game

FOX – On FOX you can catch 12 regular season Saturday games (down from 26 in previous seasons).  40 games will be aired on FS1, with a few overlapping games aired on FS2.  In the postseason you can catch the all-star game, two league division series, one championship series (the other on TBS), and of course the world series.  Fox also owns all the spanish language rights to the MLB which they air on Fox Deportes.

TBS / TNT – TBS broadcasts a regular season game every Sunday afternoon.  TBS does not have exclusive rights to these games and they are blacked out in local markets.  During the postseason TBS will broadcast all American league games in Even years and all National League games in odd numbered years. TNT only provides playoff overflow coverage, when two games overlap.

Team Schedules and Streaming

For more details on individual team schedules check the official team site below.

American League

  • Baltimore Orioles – orioles.com
  • Boston Red Sox – redsox.com
  • Chicago White Sox – whitesox.com
  • Cleveland Indians – indians.com
  • Detroit Tigers – tigers.com
  • Houston Astros – astros.com
  • Kansas City Royals – royals.com
  • Los Angeles Angels – angels.com
  • Minnesota Twins – twinsbaseball.com
  • New York Yankees – yankees.com
  • Oakland Athletics – athletics.com
  • Seattle Mariners – mariners.com
  • Tampa Bay Rays – raysbaseball.com
  • Texas Rangers – texasrangers.com
  • Toronto Blue Jays – bluejays.com

National League

  • Arizona Diamondbacks – dbacks.com
  • Atlanta Braves – braves.com
  • Chicago Cubs – cubs.com
  • Cincinnati Reds – reds.com
  • Colorado Rockies – rockies.com
  • Los Angeles Dodgers – dodgers.com
  • Miami Marlins – marlins.com
  • Milwaukee Brewers – brewers.com
  • New York Mets – mets.com
  • Philadelphia Phillies – phillies.com
  • Pittsburgh Pirates – pirates.com
  • San Diego Padres – padres.com
  • San Francisco Giants – sfgiants.com
  • St. Louis Cardinals – cardinals.com
  • Washington Nationals – nationals.com

How To Stream MLB for Free

If you don’t have the budget for a streaming site there are still some other ways to watch baseball online for free.

Twitter

Official MLB Twitter Live Stream

In 2018 Twitter made an announcement that they would start streaming one regular season MLB game every week.  The schedule is announced only one month ahead of time and usually the game falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday afternoon.  

So far in 2018 they have streamed the Athletics vs Rangers, Yankees vs Mariners, Rays vs White Sox, and Angels vs Astros.

The MLB twitter feed also compiles tweets from all 30 teams and puts them in one place.  Its a great way to get highlights, replays, and funny moments of the league.

Facebook Live

Official MLB Facebook Live Stream

Of course Facebook has to compete with Twitter and they too signed a deal with the MLB to stream 25 games during the regular season.  

If you miss a game the streams can be replayed for months after the original live stream.  Theres also a weekly MLB recap feature that runs every week, which is a good way to catch up on what’s been going on in the league.

The games on Facebook are different than the games streamed on Twitter, so between the two sites it is possible to watch 50 regular season games. You can also watch both from your mobile phone or tablet.

Not bad for free high definition streaming.