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This week on PCWorld: Careful with MLB.TV subscriptions

Jared Newman   |   March 28, 2025
Photo by Joshua Peacock via Unsplash

There are too many ways to pay for streaming TV services now, and that includes MLB.TV.

Major League Baseball’s out-of-market streaming service isn’t just available directly through the league. You can also subscribe through Amazon Prime, Sling, and Fubo. (T-Mobile customers can also redeem a full season of MLB.TV for free this week.)

But unless you sign up for MLB.TV directly, you might wind up paying more, plus you’ll miss out on some major subscription perks unless you take extra steps to redeem them.

Read the full column on PCWorld →

Weekly rewind

DirecTV streaming vs. DirecTV Stream: Also at PCWorld, I’ve got a story comparing DirecTV via Internet and DirecTV Stream. Despite the similar names, these two services have some pretty important distinctions.

Most notably, DirecTV via Internet has two-year contracts and hidden fees. DirecTV Stream does not, and it also offers cheaper, more flexible “Genre Packs” that you can switch to any time. Almost everyone who’s interested in DirecTV’s service and doesn’t want a satellite dish should opt for DirecTV Stream instead. Read the full rundown here.

More baseball updates: Last week, I wrote that regional NBC Sports networks are available as add-ons for Peacock subscribers. Now, I’ve discovered that you don’t need Peacock after all, at least not for baseball. Instead, you can sign up through MLB for in-market Phillies ($25 per month), Giants ($20 per month), and Athletics ($20 per month). All three have an option to bundle MLB.TV for $20 per month extra, which is $10 less than than MLB.TV’s regular price.

I have updated my baseball streaming guide accordingly.

More bundling: One of the big pay TV trends to watch this year is the bundling of streaming services with larger cable channel packages. A couple new developments along that line:

  • DirecTV has added Max (with ads) to its $35 per month MyEntertainment package, which also includes Disney+, Hulu, and a bucket of non-sports channels. Read my previous coverage of this package here.
  • Spectrum’s TV Select package now includes Peacock (with ads), which can be activated here along with Disney+, Paramount+, Max, AMC+, and Vix.

DirecTV and Spectrum had announced these offerings earlier, but now they’re actually available. Expect more bundling to come as most of the value seeps out of traditional cable channels.

Kaleidescape profile: Finally, here’s a fun story I wrote for Fast Company about Kaleidescape, whose $4,000 TV box downloads and plays movies at Blu-ray quality. Clearly it’s not for everyone, but the company’s been in business for over two decades now and has survived by playing a different game than the big streaming platforms, and I respect that.

More catch-up

Save more money

This section of the newsletter has affiliate links, earning me a commission if you buy or subscribe to something in some cases.

T-Mobile customers: This is your week to claim a full season of MLB.TV. Once redeemed, you can watch out-of-market baseball games on any device, not just your phone. The only difference compared to a regular MLB.TV subscription is that it doesn’t include a live stream of MLB Network (which has its own subscription for such circumstances). Make sure to grab this offer by March 31.

Other notable deals:

  • Last chance to get four months of Hulu and Disney+ for $3 per month.
  • Peacock is still free for three months via this link.
  • See my full list of streaming deals here, updated every Friday.

Cord Cutter Weekly will always be free, but takes time to prepare every week. If you’d like to support this newsletter, you can buy me a coffee.

Thanks for reading!

Got cord cutting questions for me? Reply to this email to get in touch.

Until next week,
Jared

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