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This appears to be the answer to the device support question. It is a paragraph from the MiLB renewal email I received today. Still just IOS and Android support for MiLB game viewing. No other devices mentioned.
“MiLB.TV users can watch games on their desktop and enjoy portability to compatible Apple® devices (iOS 14.0 or higher) and Android® devices (Android OS 8.0 or higher) by accessing their subscriptions on MiLB First Pitch, Minor League Baseball’s free app.”
I realize this isn’t strictly on topic, and I apologize for that. I’m considering YouTube TV, which doesn’t carry Bally sports net. I’m a die hard Cardinals fan, live in Springfield, IL, and I’m wondering if I get MLB TV, will the Cardinal games still be blacked out, even though YouTube TV doesn’t carry Bally sports? I realize I could purchase the Bally sports app, and see the games that way, but I wouldn’t be able to record, pause and fast forward the games, which is how I’ve watched them on DirecTV for years.
I’d appreciate it if any of you know about this, and, GO CARDINALS!!!
P.S. I’m a long time lurker and first time poster. I check in on this board every day, and it makes the offseason a little less tedious.
Jedi, I’m pretty sure (if I’m wrong, somebody please chime in) all that matters to invoke blackout on MLB.tv for you is your geographic location, as expressed by your Internet Protocol address. It doesn’t matter if you have 0, 1, or 20 alternatives at your specific residence to purchase the regional sports network, i.e., Bally. So, if you are in a Cardinal blackout location, either get Bally….or….connect to MLB.tv through a VPN. A VPN allows you to appear to be watching the game from somewhere other than your actual location.
Still just IOS and Android support for MiLB game viewing.
Good to know. So as we discussed, watching on a TV monitor is limited to casting or TV web browser.
Jedi, welcome to The Cardinal Nation.
Springfield, IL is not only blacked out for Cardinals games, it is also for the Cubs and White Sox, too. So you are considered in-market. Therefore, MLB.TV is no good for you to see any of those three teams (unless you want to try to circumvent their location checking).
To subscribe to Bally Sports Midwest you will need a cable, internet or satellite provider that still carries them. If YouTube still isn’t carrying Bally, which I think is correct, that won’t get you any closer to Cardinals games. The only streaming provider that I believe is carrying Bally is FuboTV.
The Bally app won’t help because they don’t have the streaming rights to Cardinals games.
Others can chime in, too…
P.S. Here is the link to enter your zip code and see which teams are blacked out in your area.
https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/subscribe#blackout-restrictions
I will prepare the syllabus for the “Economics of Baseball” course. 😀
Hope TMobile does their promotion again as I have gotten “free” MLB.tv the last few years. I watch using Roku on the television, and now and then on my iPad.
Good news from Baseball America.
For years, one of the frustrating hurdles of watching MiLB games has been that they aren’t easily available on televisions. While MLB has had apps for smart TVs for years, you can’t watch MiLB.tv games on your television through Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV or any of the array of smart TV providers.
For 2023, the First Pitch app for minor league games remains tethered to phones and tablets only. Subscribers can also go to MiLB.tv to watch games on their computer. But there is no First Pitch app for any smart TV and the First Pitch app cannot be cast from a phone to a television.
But now there is a workaround. MiLB games for a fan’s “favorite team” are going to be available in the MLB.tv app, which means that fans can watch those games on their televisions, just like the MLB games.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/milbtv-games-are-finally-sort-of-coming-to-television/
Thanks to Brian and Euro for the info, and for making me feel welcome. I’m a long time Directv sub who is addicted to Cardinals baseball, Miami dolphins football and I’m trying to figure a way to get the DirecTV experience of watching my teams with the ability to pause, forward, record, etc. All without having both DTV and YouTube services.
Thanks again for the info.
It wasn’t too very long ago when all home games were only broadcast on radio and very few select road games were televised. I normally listened in on radio and watched the TV broadcasts, but in the rare event I missed one, my coverage was limited to perusing the game article coupled up with a close and careful study of the box and line scores in the following day’s newspaper. With a little time and effort, I could almost recreate the previous day’s game pitch for pitch in my mind by closely studying the box score. I feel comfortable in stating that I didn’t miss more than 2 or 3 Redbird telecasts last season, but I still find that a close look at an old fashioned box score is both a worthwhile and enjoyable excercise. It’s both fun and satisfying to recreate an entire game in my mind by simply scanning up and down the numbers in the columns. When I’m done, I feel not at all unlike the satisfaction I receive by solving the Sunday edition of the NY Times crossword puzzle… Of which I’ve never once realized any success doing…Haha!
MLB Extra Innings is ordered through a cable or satellite provider. MLB.tv is ordered from MLB directly and is a streaming offering, meaning through your internet and a smart device (TV, tablet, phone, etc.)
If you live in your team’s market (not blacked out) and have a cable or satellite subscription, MLB Extra Innings will give you your local sports channels along with some number of out-of-market games each week. If you are out of market, then MLB.tv is the way to go because it has all out of market games.
I didn’t look for 2023 but last year, their prices were the same or within $10 for the season.
Brian, not sure if I understand the 2nd paragraph in your Extra Innings post. But I’ll describe for ZTR what I get with Extra Innings. If what we’re saying is inconsistent, it might be Extra Innings varies by provider.
I live in Virginia and get Extra Innings through Verizon Fios TV. The Nats and O’s are blacked out for me on Extra Innings, so I have to watch them on MASN, which also is part of my Verizon subscription. Extra Innings has been about $50 more per year than MLB.tv over the years. I prefer Extra Innings because I don’t have to stream it. It’s just another cable channel and has far superior recording, pausing, fast forwarding, replaying capabilities, etc. than streaming does. Also, it is much easier and faster to change channels on the cable set top box than it is to switch streams if you like to switch between games. I do that a lot, especially when the pennant races heat up. I also get all MLB games with Extra Innings — every game live, in HiDef, every day and night, so up to 15 games per day.
The other benefit is with Extra Innings I also get MLB.tv, so two for one. That way if I’m out shopping, dining, traveling a couple days to Mom’s, or whatever, I can watch the games via MLB.tv. I don’t rent a set top box in my exercise room TV, so if I want to watch a game while working out, I can stream it via MLB.tv. All of this is why Extra Innings is worth the extra $50 or so to me.
Good news on MiLB games being available for TV viewing for your favorite team! At some point in the next couple of years I want to road trip it to Springfield and Memphis and catch some live games.
Thanks Brian and Euro.
I have had MLB Extra Innings the past three seasons and I found that the Friday night Apple TV games were not covered and also some games that were on Bally were blacked out on MLBEI.
The problem for me was that I must live on the edge of the Reds and Cardinals RSN zone line because sometimes a game would be blacked out / not shown on MLBEI because it was on Bally BUT, even though my tv guide would say that the Cards game was being broadcast on Bally – when I tuned to that channel it would be the Reds game.
If MLBtv really, actually shows every single game with zero exceptions then that is probably the route I need to take. I can stream on all my tv’s.
ZTR, you hit in the key difference. MLB Extra Innings does not include all games. Some games that are not blacked out, they do not pick up. However, MLB.tv does include all games. Except in every case, if you are blacked out, you are blacked out no matter which package you buy.
So living on the edge of the zone doesn’t matter. Either you are in market or out. Scroll up on this page a half dozen posts prior and use the link to check where your zip code falls.
For Brian and ZTR,
I haven’t experienced the same as you two evidently…or maybe I don’t understand what you’re saying. For instance, take the Apple TV game last year where Pujols hit 699 & 700 against the Dodgers. Are you saying you could stream those “Apple games” via MLB.tv? I didn’t think so and thought that game was exclusively through Apple. If so, my Extra Innings package shows every game that MLB.tv shows.
As I said earlier, what you get through Extra Innings might vary by provider. I believe that is the case because several years ago, Verizon in my area allotted about 8 or 10 high def channels (forget the exact number) for Extra Innings games. All remaining games would be on standard def channels. They were allotted by order of start time. Of course that put many Cards games on standard def since their games start later than most. West coast games were actually less likely to be on standard def than the Cards because the early high def games would be finished and freed up for the very late games. Eventually their were enough customer complaints that Verizon allotted enough High Def channels for all Extra Inning games. Great for Cards fans here.
Bottom line though is I get EVERY game for ALL MLB teams on Extra Innings except for exclusive broadcasts such as Apple TV, Youtube TV, etc., plus the O’s and Nats games because they are in my region. My understanding is those same exceptions are also true for MLB.tv everywhere, so no difference between Extra Innings and MLB.tv for me.
The problem for me was that I must live on the edge of the Reds and Cardinals RSN zone line because sometimes a game would be blacked out / not shown on MLBEI because it was on Bally BUT, even though my tv guide would say that the Cards game was being broadcast on Bally – when I tuned to that channel it would be the Reds game.
How frustrating is this to be errantly impacted by TWO blackout zones? That would more than anything motivate me to go the VPN route to give MLB the finger.
I had MLB Extra innings for free last year from DirecTV, They had a free preview, for some reason, I wasn’t seeing it, I called, they couldn’t figure out the issue, so they gave me the whole season for free.
I live in Central Illinois. The only games that were blacked out for me were the Card’s, Cubs, and White Sox, which I could see on the regional sports networks. Like Euro, I too prefer the convenience of watching on a channel over a streaming app,
Euro said:
I haven’t experienced the same as you two evidently…or maybe I don’t understand what you’re saying. For instance, take the Apple TV game last year where Pujols hit 699 & 700 against the Dodgers. Are you saying you could stream those “Apple games” via MLB.tv? I didn’t think so and thought that game was exclusively through Apple. If so, my Extra Innings package shows every game that MLB.tv shows.
You are right. MLB.tv used to include all games (not blacked out in market), but now, it is all games that have not been sold exclusively to the Apples of the world. This is the same for the entire country.
On the other hand, I believe the number of games carried by Extra Innings depends on the provider and area. I would not assume all (non-blacked out, non-Apple, etc.) games are included. Double check for your cable or satellite provider.
For example, Xfinity says their EI package offers “up to 90 out of market games each week”. That may or may not be all of the out of market games played each week. As noted, it may depend on how many channels they devote to EI.
https://www.xfinity.com/learn/digital-cable-tv/sports/mlb/extra-innings
On the other hand, I believe the number of games carried by Extra Innings depends on the provider and area.
Brian, that’s what I think, it might vary by provider. Luckily for me, I get every game. The caution to ZTR is he still won’t get “EVERY” game with MLB.tv, which is what I think he was getting at. The exclusive broadcasts, e.g., Apple TV, and the regional blackout games will still apply to MLB.tv just like they do to Extra Innings.
ZTR, just curious, did you also get MLB.tv login credentials as part of your subscription to Extra Innings? That’s handy to have.
Good point, forsch. Being in one zone with four teams in it could be worse than straddling two zones and being caught in both.
I’m in a great zone with the O’s and Nats because most years neither team does much for me, although pre-covid I used to drive there occasionally to watch other teams that interest me. Not because of covid now, but it just got me out of the groove of going. This year, Cards play 3 at each so I’ll probably go back again.
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