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Baseball fans near and far will rejoice over Opening Day, which is the official start of the 2024 MLB regular season. Beyond Opening Day, there’s a whole season to be played (162 games per team to be exact). While you can stream MLB games in a variety of ways, you should know how to watch MLB Network live for free to see as many action-packed regular season games as you can.
The MLB Network is an American television sports channel that launched on January 1, 2009. It airs live game coverage, daily shows, documentaries, and more. Major League Baseball (MLB) owns 67 percent, TNT Sports owns 16.67 percent, Charter Communications owns 5.44 percent, Cox Communications owns 5.44 percent, and NBC Sports Group owns 5.44 percent. Headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey, Tony Petitti, former executive producer of CBS Sports, was MLB Network’s first president. Rob McGlarry, who worked at MLB Network since 2009, succeeded Petitti.
Three other North American professional sports leagues have their own 24-hour cable network: NBA TV (1999), NHL Network (2001, but didn’t come to the United States until 2007), and NFL Network (2003). MLB Network soft-launched in 2008 and hard-launched in 2009 with the premiere of Hot Stove. In 2023, MLB Network came off of YouTube TV’s channel lineup due to its inability to reach a contract renewal agreement.
Don’t waste more time scrambling to get live games on your screen. Here’s everything you need to know on how to watch MLB Network live for free so that you can follow and root for your team all season long.
How to watch MLB Network live for free
MLB Network is available to stream on services like DirecTV Stream, Fubo, and Sling TV. DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial, and starts at $69.99 per month after the trial ends. MLB Network is available under the Choice, Ultimate, and Premier plans (not the Entertainment plan), with Choice starting at $84.99 per month. Fubo offers a seven-day free trial, and starts at $79.99 per month after the trial ends. While Sling TV doesn’t have free trials, it’s cheaper per month than the other options, with Sling Orange starting at $20 for your first month (it’s half-off right now). To access MLB Network with Sling, you can buy any of the base plans but must tack on the Sports Extra Package, which will cost you an additional $11 for Sling Orange + Sports Extra and the same goes for Sling Blue + Sports Extra. It’ll cost you an extra $15 for Sling Orange & Blue + Sports Extra. This more expensive plan and add-on give you access to the most baseball on Sling, though, with ESPN, TBS, FS1, FOX (in select markets), and MLB Network.
Best Overall Pick to Watch MLB Network: DirecTV Stream
Direct TV is our best overall pick to watch MLB Network for free for its free trial, price, and channel selection. DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial. DirecTV offers four plans: Entertainment, which costs $69.99 per month; Choice, which costs $114.99 per month; Ultimate, which costs $84.99 per month; and Premier, which costs $159.99 per month. MLB Network is available under the Choice, Ultimate, and Premier plans (not the Entertainment plan), with Choice starting at $84.99 per month.
As for other differences between the plans, Entertainment includes more than 75 channels, the ability to stream on unlimited devices in your home, unlimited cloud DVR storage, and a special offer on premium channels. Choice, which is the most popular plan, includes more than 105 channels, regional sports networks, and everything included in Entertainment. Ultimate includes more than 140 channels and everything included in Entertainment and Choice. Premiere includes more than 150 channels including premium channels like HBO and Starz and everything included in Entertainment, Choice, and Premiere. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to watch MLB Network with DirecTV Stream’s free trial.
- Visit streamtv.directv.com‘s packages page
- Click “Try It Free” for the plan of your choice
- Enter your information and payment method
- Search for MLB Network and start watching
Best Free Trial Pick to Watch MLB Network: Fubo
Fubo is our best free trial pick to watch MLB Network live for free. Fubo offers a seven-day free trial (two days longer than DirecTV Stream) and offers offers two plans: Pro, which costs $79.99 per month; and Elite, which costs $89.99 per month.
As for the difference between the plans, Pro includes 180 channels, 1,000 hours of Cloud DVR, and the ability to watch on up to 10 screens at once. Elite includes everything in Pro, as well as a total of 256 channels and 4K resolution. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to watch MLB Network with Fubo’s free trial.
- Visit Fubo.TV
- Click “Start Free Trial”
- Enter your information and payment method
- Search for MLB Network and start watching
Best Budget Pick to Watch MLB Network: Sling TV
Sling is our best budget pick to watch MLB Network based on its price and current deals. Sling offers three plans with MLB Network. First, Sling Orange + Sports Extra, which costs $51 per month but is currently half-off of your first month, bringing the price down to $31 for your first month. Sling Blue + Sports Extra costs $56 per month but is also half-off for your first month, bringing the price down to $33.50 for your first month. Last up and likely the best options for baseball fans is Sling Orange & Blue + Sports Extra. It costs $75 per month but only $45 for your first month thanks to the half-off promo. This more expensive plan and add-on give you access to the most baseball on Sling, though, with ESPN, TBS, FS1, FOX (in select markets), and MLB Network.
As for the difference between the plans, Sling Blue includes 42 channels and the ability to stream on three devices at a time, while Sling Orange + Blue includes 46 channels and the ability to stream on three devices at the same time. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to watch MLB Network with Sling.
- Visit Sling.com
- Click “Try Us Today”
- Create an account
- Choose your plan
- Enter your information and payment method
- Search for MLB Network and start watching
MLB Network Schedule
The MLB Network schedule is constantly changing and can be found here. To kick off the 2024 MLB regular season, MLB Network will air either the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers at 4:10 p.m. ET or the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays also at 4:10 p.m. ET. Later in the evening on Opening Day, catch either the Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks at 10:10 p.m. ET or the Boston Red Sox vs. Seattle Mariners also at 10:10 p.m. ET.
MLB Network Programming
Live Game Coverage
Regular Season
MLB Networks airs multiple regular season games each week. On the MLB Network schedule, look out for MLB Network Showcase for a weekly presentation of self-produced, non-exclusive games every other night. Additionally, look out for MLB Matinee for a series of afternoon games. You can also tune into various night games that are simulcast from one team’s local TV broadcaster. Every now and then, MLB Network will pick up some Minor League Baseball (MiLB) games, including Triple-A and Double-A games.
Postseason
Starting in 2012, MLB Network received the rights to broadcast a handful of postseason games. Currently, MLB Network carries Spanish-language broadcasts of the Division Series and League Championship Series assigned to TBS.
International
MLB Network self-produces coverage of the World Baseball Classic and the Caribbean Series. Starting in the 2015 season, MLB Network produces coverage of the MLB All-Star Game and the World Series.
Spring training
Last in MLB Network live game coverage is spring training games. They’re simulcasted from one of the team’s local TV rightsholder’s feeds.
Daily Shows
- MLB Tonight
- Hot Stove
- Quick Pitch
- MLB Now
- The Rundown
- Intentional Talk
- High Heat
- MLB Central
- Off Base
- Pregame Spread
Documentaries
- Baseball’s Seasons
- Inside the Moments
- Pride and Perseverance
- Rising Sons
- We Are Young
- Josh Hamilton
- The Pen
- The Club
- MLB Network Presents
- MLB’s 20 Greatest Games
Repeats
- Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns
- Cathedrals of the Game