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It’s almost time to play ball! The 2025 Major League Baseball season kicks off later this month. The season technically begins with the MLB in Tokyo series on Tuesday, Mar. 18. But Opening Day won’t be until Mar. 27, where nearly every MLB team will play (the Rockies-Rays matchup has been pushed back a day). Are you ready to tune in? In case you’ve forgotten the slightly chaotic way that MLB games are distributed across channels, here’s a refresher on the best ways to watch MLB in 2025.
When does the 2025 MLB season start?
The 2025 MLB season begins with the MLB Tokyo series on Tuesday, Mar. 18, where the Dodgers and Cubs will face off in a two-game series at Japan’s Tokyo Dome. The official Opening Day will take place a little over a week later, on Thursday, Mar. 27.
What channel is baseball on in 2025?
MLB games air across ESPN, FOX, Apple TV+ (for exclusive streaming games), the Roku Channel (taking over MLB’s “Sunday Leadoff”) and a wide range of RSNs. So to be honest, it’s not very straightforward to keep up with your favorite MLB team. But it can help to be prepared! Here’s what we recommend to help you watch baseball in 2025.
DirecTV Stream’s new My Sports package will get you the essential channels for the 2025 MLB season, including Fox, FS1, ESPN, ABC and MLB Network. It also includes a subscription to ESPN+ (typically $12/month).
The pack costs $70/month, but you can try it all out for free for 5 days first. Every DirecTV subscriber, regardless of tier, enjoys access to an unlimited cloud DVR.
Pros
- Lower cost live TV streaming pack
- Included ESPN+
- Unlimited DVR
Cons
- No RSNs
- Limited channels
While Sling doesn’t offer a free trial these days, since the MLB season obviously lasts longer than your standard trial would, anyway, it ends up being a solid option to catch a lot of games in the season.
For $33 for your first month of Sling Orange and Blue, you can catch all the games on ESPN, ABC, FOX and FS1. The price of this package then goes up to $66/month.
Where to stream MLB games:
An MLB.TV subscription is a great way to catch all your favorite teams’ out-of-market games live. You can subscribe to just get access to your team’s games starting at $20/month (although that isn’t an option for every team), or upgrade to get games from all the teams (that aren’t blacked out) starting at $30/month or $150 for the year.
Friday Night Baseball features two games every week, exclusively on Apple TV+. Subscribers to the Apple streaming platform can watch marquee baseball games every Friday, free from local broadcast restrictions, plus access to a 24/7 livestream with MLB game replays, news and analysis, highlights and classic games, and MLB Big Inning, a live show with highlights and look-ins airing every weeknight during the 2025 regular season.
Apart from baseball, Apple TV+ offers tons of original shows including Ted Lasso, The Crowded Room, Hijack and Silo, plus movies like Ghosted, CODA, Tetris and more. An Apple TV+ subscription costs $9.99/month. The platform offers a one week free trial period for new users, and three months of Apple TV+ free with the purchase of an eligible Apple device.
The Roku Channel will be the home of MLB’s “Sunday Leadoff” series this year. While it’s easiest for those who own a Roku device or Roku TV to tune into The Roku Channel, the platform is free and technically accessible to all. If you have a smart TV, The Roku Channel should be available via the app store. You can also watch The Roku Channel on your computer or mobile device, totally free.
Some MLB coverage will stream on ESPN+ this season, it just depends on the game. So if you’re a general sports lover and want to occasionally tune into MLB games, an ESPN+ subscription could be an option. You can look ahead at the ESPN+ baseball schedule here.
ESPN+ grants you access to exclusive ESPN+ content including live events, fantasy sports tools and premium ESPN+ articles. You can stream ESPN+ through an app on your smart TV, phone, tablet, computer and on ESPN.com.
