MLB

MLB Review: Free Pitch Tracking, Paid Streams Still Fenced by Blackouts

What Stays Free Now That Game of the Day Lives on ESPN

Gameday follows each pitch with stats and data visualizations, in-game highlights post for every game, Film Room searches millions of archived clips, and select Minor League games stream at no cost. The scoreboard, redesigned in March 2026, also names where each game is broadcast. What disappeared this season is a free big-league game. In 2025, a free account unlocked a daily Free Game of the Day; in 2026 that slot became an ESPN Unlimited exclusive inside the ESPN app, worth more than 150 out-of-market games a season. Even the league's own network streams here only after a pay-TV login.

MLB+ at $5.99 a Month: Radio for All 30 Teams

At $5.99 a month, billed all twelve months, or $59.99 a year (US prices, subject to change), this is the cheapest paid tier, and it replaces the old audio pass with home, away and, where available, Spanish-language radio for all 30 clubs, free of blackouts. It adds the league's 24/7 network, live Minor League games and the Big Inning whiparound show, and every Postseason game can be heard live. On iPhone, CarPlay now lets you choose a team's radio feed. The weak spot is reliability: 2026 Play reviews describe streams stopping with an error message and ads cutting across the commentary.

MLB.TV at $149.99 a Season and the Blackouts It Cannot Lift

The out-of-market package costs $149.99 a season or $29.99 a month in the US (prices may change), or $134.99 for ESPN Unlimited subscribers. Since February 2026 ESPN sells it with a free month of Unlimited, and one subscription plays in both apps through account linking; the ESPN app adds multiview and catch-up to live. Blackouts follow your physical location, which the league says may be read from your IP address, and games exclusive to national partners, such as Sunday Night Baseball on NBC and Peacock, never appear. In October the price drops to $29.99, yet Postseason games play only with a pay-TV login. League Pass in the NBA app follows the same out-of-market model.

Eight Data Types Used to Track You, Plus Location-Gated Streams

Ads are confirmed twice: Google Play shows a Contains ads badge and Apple's age rating lists advertising. Apple's privacy label names eight data types that may be used to track you across other companies' apps and sites, among them purchases, location, search history and identifiers. On Google Play, the developer declares that precise location and device IDs may be shared for analytics and advertising; data is encrypted in transit, and deletion can be requested. Because rights checks depend on where you are, a June 2026 reviewer reported playback refusing to start until location and Wi-Fi scanning were on. For local teams, 22 of 30 clubs sell in-market streaming without blackouts, most at $99.99 a season.