mlb.com

When it comes to cord-cutting, replacing sports is one of the most difficult jobs we have. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu all do a great job of providing unlimited entertainment, but they don't focus purely on sports. One particular service which offers sports content is Fubo TV. However, with FuboTV you can't get access to the four most popular leagues in the US - the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. MLB.TV is considered to have the best league package by many respected organizations. MLB Advanced Media, the brand that manages this network provides service to networking giants such as HBO. MLB.TV has a lot of hype surrounding it and for all the right reasons. We will try and uncover this baseball streaming network today.

MLB.tv not to be confused with MLB.com

MLB.com is the official website of Major League Baseball, while MLB.tv is a streaming service focused on providing coverage of games. MLB.com has a comprehensive approach with highlights, audio and video streaming, merchandise, tickets, game information, fantasy leagues, and baseball memorabilia all available on the site's .com extension. Thus, MLB.com is the parent domain of MLB.tv

History

MLB.tv is a subscription-based audio-visual service provided by MLB Advanced Media. It offers two different types of services - Basic and Premium - based on tiers. Each of these services allows users to watch and listen to quality baseball content using their Internet connection. The subscription is straightforward and as mentioned earlier, there are two tiers - MLB.tv All Teams and MLB.tv Single team.

If you choose the first package, you will gain access to all the teams and features available with the other packages as well as stats and in-game highlights for that team along with DVR control and archives. If you choose the single team option, you will have access to similar features but only for one team.

Design

I would definitely recommend MLB.TV to anyone who loves baseball. I appreciate MLB.TV website for its creative layout and user-friendly interface. The website is visually appealing with blue and orange accents throughout. Once you sign-up and login, you'll be able to explore a whole new world of baseball information. I have a single team pass as I follow the St. Louis Cardinals, and I would definitely recommend MLB TV to anyone interested in the sport. The website's content looks well written and the colors are calming. Upon first inspection of the website, I was impressed with its beautiful header which blends well with the menu on the right-hand side. There is a search bar at the top right of the page and below that is a list of fourteen menus - nine on the left and 5 on the right. The website's content looks well-written and is colourful, which I found to be calming.

The website News, Video, Scoreboard, Stats, Schedule, Roster, Community, Fans and Busch Stadium is on the left while Tickets, Mobile, Fantasy, Shop and Teams are on the right. The website has a lot of detail which is astonishing.

There is a small video player on the left of the screen and detailed player data can be found on the right. You can search by roster using the right option and find any player's stats, full name, birthdate, bats/throws, height, weight, bio, debut and college. Thus, you can potentially learn a lot about your team's players.

If you scroll down, you can find news stories, fantasy news and an image gallery for the particular player. What I like about this network is that it provides the same in-depth coverage in its app as well. You can find an app on iOS or Android store and sign-in within a minute.

The website is responsive and pretty quick on cell phones as well. The drop-down menus are on point and do not obstruct the browsing experience on cell phones regardless of your display size. My experience on Pixel 3a was quite decent. Though not as great as the desktop, it was pretty close.

One thing I want to inform you about is that a lot of people get bugged by the sign-up procedure on this network. But trust me, the sign-up procedure on this network is amazing. Just provide your email address, add the payment method and you're done. What's interesting is that you don't even have to create an account and can even subscribe as a guest.

Content

MLB.TV is solely dedicated to Major League Baseball and provides content specifically for fans of the sport in North America. If you're not familiar with baseball yet, consider this your gateway into the sport, as MLB.TV offers coverage of England's English Premier League, which is considered one of the world's top leagues. The only thing I don't like about this channel is that there's a blackout for local games. Local TV stations have broadcasting rights and as such, you won't be able to watch the game until it finishes. It's only after 90 minutes that you'll be able to stream it to the device. And that's quite late when you compare it with how the real-time internet works. It's beyond annoying, it's infuriating. If you suffer from the same issue, I would advise you to change your location via VPN, so you can stream in real-time without having to wait.

MLB.TV offers every regular game, minus two exceptions.

National broadcasts of games that are part of the playoffs or Sunday Night Baseball are not available to subscribers to cable networks in your area. If your home team is playing in either of these events, then the local market will be blacked out throughout the season.

Alternative means we can watch more games. These are two reasons why baseball fans resort to alternatives to buying MLB.tv packages. As baseball fans, we want to watch as many matches as possible and especially of the team we love the most. Alternative means that we can watch more games.

Though the app does not provide the same level of security and privacy as a VPN, I appreciate that it offers Advanced Audio features. Being able to listen to the radio while watching a live broadcast represents the classic baseball culture well.

Even though the TV networks are a little delayed, features such as the ability to watch highlights of previous matches keep you glued. If you keep all these frustrations aside, it is something that keeps you from wanting to change the channel.

Desktop/Mobile experience

Despite not being entirely satisfied with the network's streaming quality, I would have to give credit where credit is due and that is to the streaming quality at 16Mbps. I did not find any issues on the website at this speed. As opposed to using the higher speed of 32Mbps (which I generally use), I did not have any discrepancies when streaming on the network. The quality fluctuated a little, but there was no buffering or choppiness throughout the stream. From personal experience, it is better to use Ethernet cable when using this website. You should definitely try it out. I connected my Xbox and the streaming quality along with the stability was impressive.

Compatibility

The only positive of this platform is that it is highly compatible. Users can easily stream at 60 frames per second and can stream from any device. Based upon your internet speed you can even adjust between the SD and HD quality streams. By default, MLB.tv advises users to have at least 3 MBPS speed for a smooth experience. Here is a list of devices which are compatible with MLB.tv.

I presume you might have access to one of these devices. This makes accessing MLB.tv relatively easy.

Plans & Pricing

There are multiple ways to access MLB.TV. One way is to purchase the postseason package which allows access to all the games from previous seasons, live streaming of certain events, and other features. If you want to have access to all of the teams, you will need to either pay $118.99 per year or spend $24.99 per month. If you just want to follow a single team like me, you will only need to pay $91.99. However, I am thinking of changing my plan and having access to all teams at a lower price difference. Lastly, the prices for this year have gone up as compared to last year, but they are still within limits.

Suggestions I have for MLB.TV

I understand that broadcasting rights are quite complex and these deals aren't easy to break down. I think MLB.tv should work on real-time streaming for subscribers. Seriously, if you're paying the money, you will not compromise on the broadcast under any circumstances.

Conclusion

I believe that MLB.TV is a real and unique initiative because it is smooth to stream and very compatible. If you are interested in baseball, I do not see any reason why you should not take advantage of this service.