How Much Does MLB.TV Cost?

Published on February 21, 2026 | Prices Last Reviewed for Freshness: March 2026
Written by Alec Pow - Economic & Pricing Investigator | Content Reviewed by CFA Alexander Popinker

MLB.TV is Major League Baseball’s out-of-market streaming package for regular-season games.

For MLB.TV cost in the U.S., the 2026 bill depends on whether you pay monthly or buy the season up front, and whether you also need a separate local-team product because of blackout rules and local TV rights. As of February 2026, the main out-of-market choices are $29.99 per month or $149.99 for a season, with a discounted seasonal rate of $134.99 for existing ESPN Unlimited customers, as laid out by ESPN Fan Support.

Here’s how the main players connect: MLB owns MLB.TV and sets the out-of-market rules, while ESPN now sells and supports MLB.TV inside the ESPN app in the U.S. An ESPN Unlimited subscription can qualify you for a discounted seasonal MLB.TV rate, but local TV rights still sit with regional sports networks (RSNs) in many markets, which is why blackouts exist. You can still watch through the MLB app and related MLB digital platforms, and some packages also reference programming like MLB Big Inning and access to MLB Network as part of the broader viewing mix.

Expect to pay $29.99 per month or $149.99 for seasonal access in 2026, and then check blackouts and local-team options before you treat that as your real total.

Important numbers

• Base seasonal MLB.TV is $149.99 for the 2026 season in the U.S., per the ESPN Press Room announcement.
• Base monthly MLB.TV is $29.99 per month (recurs monthly through October for the season), per ESPN’s MLB.TV help docs.
• Common add-on local in-market team streaming for MLB-distributed clubs is $19.99 per month or $99.99 per season, and a local plus MLB.TV bundle is $39.99 per month or $199.99 per season, per MLB’s 2026 “how to watch” guide.
• Entry discount for existing ESPN Unlimited customers is $134.99 for the 2026 MLB.TV season, as reported by AP News.

MLB.TV is priced per season or per month, and your location and team choice can add a second line item if you want live local games inside a club’s home TV territory.

Those location rules also change what “all games” means, because some matchups are carried exclusively by national partners or local rightsholders.

How Much Does MLB.TV Cost?

In 2026, MLB.TV is presented as a seasonal plan at $149.99, a monthly plan at $29.99, and a discounted seasonal rate of $134.99 for existing ESPN Unlimited customers. The monthly plan is the one that can surprise people, because it’s described as recurring through the season unless you cancel.

Buying through ESPN can make the viewing experience simpler if you already use the ESPN app, but it does not change the rights boundaries that cause blackouts and national exclusives.

Team local streaming plans

In 2026, MLB is also selling in-market streaming for certain clubs inside their home territories, and those plans are priced differently from MLB.TV. In the MLB-distributed setup, local plans are listed at $99.99 per season or $19.99 per month, and the local-plus-MLB.TV bundle is listed at $199.99 per season or $39.99 per month.

The local pass is only relevant when you are inside the club territory and want live local games without paying for a cable-style bundle. That can reduce blackouts for that club’s locally controlled games, but it does not add nationally exclusive windows or postseason rights inside the same product. MLB also notes that some pricing and packages vary by market for certain clubs distributed through partnerships with RSNs, and that select regular-season and postseason games are exclusive to national media partners and therefore excluded from MLB.TV and club products, per the MLB in-market streaming press release.

What you’re actually buying

MLB.TV is built for fans who live outside a team’s local TV territory and want live access to regular-season broadcasts with the option to pick the home or away feed. It is not a replacement for your local regional sports network when that network holds the in-market rights, so a nearby team can be blocked live even if you pay for MLB.TV. The closest substitutes are a pay-TV bundle that carries your RSN and national channels, or a team-specific in-market product where MLB distributes the local games. The key difference is rights: MLB.TV follows out-of-market rules, and team products follow in-market rules inside the home territory.

What we verified

• 2026 seasonal and monthly MLB.TV rates, plus the ESPN Unlimited discount, match the published February 2026 pricing.
• The monthly plan is described as recurring monthly through and including October.
• Local in-market and bundle pricing appears as $19.99/$99.99 (local) and $39.99/$199.99 (bundle) for MLB-distributed clubs, with market exceptions.
• ZIP-based blackout checking is the primary tool MLB uses to show local restrictions.
• Blackout policy language frames restrictions as driven by rights tied to local distribution.

Blackouts and the ZIP-code check

MLB.TV’s biggest pricing trap is paying for a season and then learning your favorite team is blocked live because you are inside its home TV territory. MLB’s support pages tell customers to enter a ZIP code to see local restrictions, which you can do with MLB’s Check for Local Blackouts tool.

Blackouts can also show up when a service thinks your location is wrong, which can happen on work networks or while traveling. MLB’s blackout policy page outlines how MLB frames these restrictions and what to do if you believe your territory determination is inaccurate.

What MLB.TV still will not show

Even if you handle local access correctly, MLB.TV still sits alongside national partner windows. Some games (including select regular-season matchups and postseason windows) can be exclusive to national partners, which can add a second viewing path depending on your team’s schedule and your market.

That’s one reason distribution can look scattered across a season. For a “where are the games” snapshot that reflects the modern patchwork, see this 2026 viewing roundup from Tom’s Guide.

Price breakdown table for the main 2026 options

The cleanest way to shop is to separate out-of-market access from in-market access and then decide which one you need for your viewing habits. The table below uses the published 2026 prices and sticks to the items that have firm numbers.

Mini real cases

These examples use the published 2026 prices and focus on the driver that changes the bill: territory rights, local availability, and whether a bundle is even sold for the club you want. The fastest way to avoid buying the wrong thing is to start with the ZIP-based blackout check, then map the team you want into out-of-market or in-market first.

• Out-of-market fan who lives away from their team: MLB.TV seasonal at $149.99 is the core line item, but local blackouts can still hit if you move back into the territory midseason.
• In-market fan whose club has MLB-run local streaming: the local plan at $99.99 per season can cover local games in the territory, and MLB.TV may be unnecessary unless you want other teams daily.
• Local plus league-wide viewer who wants both: the published bundle price is $199.99 per season, and it can undercut buying the two items separately where the bundle applies.

Hidden costs and double-pay traps

The most common surprise is paying for MLB.TV and still needing another service for a subset of games because of rights windows, local RSN control, or national exclusives. If you are building a budget that includes national channels, it can also help to compare a skinny live-TV service and an RSN option in your market, such as pricing discussed in our guides to Philo TV cost and FanDuel Sports Network cost.

Worked total example

Suppose you live inside the territory of a club with MLB-run local streaming and you also want full out-of-market access to the rest of the league for the season. Using the published prices, a local plan at $99.99 plus MLB.TV seasonal at $149.99 totals $249.98 if bought separately.

If the local-plus-MLB.TV bundle is available for your club at $199.99 for the season, that’s the simpler “one purchase” route where offered.

1. Local in-market club plan: $99.99
2. MLB.TV seasonal: $149.99
3. Total if separate: $99.99 + $149.99 = $249.98
4. Total with bundle: $199.99
5. Dollar difference: $249.98 − $199.99 = $49.99

Computed insight one is the ESPN Unlimited discount on seasonal MLB.TV. The seasonal rate drops from $149.99 to $134.99, which is $149.99 − $134.99 = $15.00 in published savings for 2026.

Computed insight two is the bundle math. Buying local ($99.99) plus MLB.TV ($149.99) separately is $249.98, while the bundle price is $199.99, a difference of $49.99 where the bundle applies.

Who this cost makes sense for

MLB.TV can be a clean purchase when the rights line up with how you watch. The product is built around out-of-market viewing, so the most valuable scenario is the fan who lives outside their team’s territory and wants live regular-season games without paying for a full pay-TV bundle. If you are shopping because your local team is blocked on MLB.TV, the decision often comes down to whether your club has an MLB-run in-market product at the published prices or whether your market still routes through an RSN with different packaging.

• Makes sense if you live outside your favorite team’s home territory and want live out-of-market regular-season games.
• Makes sense if you want home and away broadcast feeds plus game archives in one plan.
• Makes sense if you already have ESPN Unlimited and want the published seasonal discount for 2026.
• Makes sense if your club offers MLB-run in-market streaming and you want local games without an RSN bundle.

• Doesn’t make sense if your priority is your local team and your market still blocks it live on MLB.TV with no MLB-run local option.
• Doesn’t make sense if you want a single plan that covers every national exclusive and postseason game with no partner products.
• Doesn’t make sense if you only need a short window and you do not want monthly recurrence through October.
• Doesn’t make sense if your team is in the “vary by market” group and you have not checked the local packaging first.

Article Highlights

• For the 2026 U.S. season, published MLB.TV prices include $149.99 seasonal, $29.99 monthly, and $134.99 seasonal for existing ESPN Unlimited customers.
• Local in-market streaming for MLB-distributed clubs is listed at $99.99 per season or $19.99 per month, with a bundle at $199.99 per season or $39.99 per month where offered.
• Do the ZIP-based blackout check before paying, because local territory rules can block live video for your nearby team.
• National exclusives and some postseason windows can sit outside MLB.TV and club plans in the U.S., which can add a second viewing cost.
• If you need both local and league-wide access, the published bundle can save about $49.99 versus buying the two items separately where the bundle applies.

Answers to Common Questions

Is MLB.TV monthly or annual in 2026?

Both are offered in the U.S. for 2026, with a monthly option and a seasonal option, and the monthly plan is described as recurring through October.

Can I watch my local team live on MLB.TV?

Not always. Local teams can be blocked live based on your home TV territory, so doing a ZIP-based blackout check is the fastest way to see likely restrictions.

Does ESPN Unlimited have to stay active to keep MLB.TV?

The discounted seasonal rate is tied to eligibility at purchase time, but MLB.TV is sold as its own subscription and the viewing rules still follow rights and territory restrictions.

What does the local plus MLB.TV bundle include?

Where offered, it pairs a club’s local in-market service with the out-of-market MLB.TV package, using the published monthly or seasonal bundle price.