MLB to begin streaming in-market games for Angels, Dodgers, Padres and other teams
Major League Baseball is offering fans streaming options to watch in-market games for 20 teams, including the Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres – a significant change to meet the rapidly changing television landscape.
The Angels announced Tuesday their agreement with the league to make their games more widely available. The club said the option – Angels.TV – will be available for purchase for $99.99 for the full season or $19.99 per month through the MLB app.
“We are excited to partner with Major League Baseball to bring Angels games to their streaming platform,” Angels President John Carpino said in a statement. “Our priority is to make it as easy as possible for fans to watch Angels Baseball and MLB’s industry-leading app offers another great option to stay connected to the team.”
The league separately announced the move, which provides options for fans of other teams, through its MLB app. In-market games for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals will be offered through the app.
The games will still be available to traditional pay TV subscribers.
Spectrum, owned by cable giant Charter Communications, which distributes the Dodgers’ SportsNet LA, previously made Dodger games available as a streaming option through a separate app.
On Tuesday, ESPN announced it would become MLB.TV’s new streaming site, offering live out-of-market games on the ESPN app and ESPN.com.
“With MLB.TV now available through ESPN, we are taking a significant step forward in strengthening ESPN as the home of the MLB regular season while deepening the value proposition of the ESPN Unlimited plan – giving fans even more flexibility on how and where they watch throughout the season,” Rosalyn Durant, ESPN executive vice president of programming and acquisitions, said in a statement.
The move comes as traditional regional sports networks grapple with an exodus of pay-TV customers. Regional sports networks were once considered cash cows for the teams and television programming companies that owned them, but in recent years at least one regional sports network owner has filed for bankruptcy. This prompted MLB to step in to fill the void.
The league said it also supports television production of games for 14 teams, including the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.
