You’re sitting on the couch, beverage in hand, ready for first pitch. You open the app, click your team, and—nothing. Just a spinning wheel or a message about "territorial restrictions." Honestly, it’s the ultimate baseball fan heartbreak. If you’ve been looking at the mlb.tv all teams yearly subscription, you’ve probably realized that while it’s the gold standard for catching out-of-market games, the 2026 season is a bit of a different beast than previous years.
The landscape for streaming baseball just got a whole lot more complicated. We aren't just talking about blackouts anymore; we’re talking about a fragmented mess of six different national partners. But for the true diehard who needs to see the Dodgers in April and the Orioles in September, the "All Teams" package is still the big kahuna.
The Real Cost of a 2026 Season
Let’s get the money out of the way first. Historically, the mlb.tv all teams yearly subscription has hovered around that $149.99 mark for the full season. While MLB typically confirms the final price point in February right as Spring Training games start popping up, early indicators suggest we're looking at that same ballpark range.
Last year, we saw a mid-season drop to $139.99 in May and $119.99 in June. If you're a bargain hunter, waiting until the All-Star break usually cuts the price in half. But let’s be real: who wants to miss three months of pennant races just to save seventy bucks?
If you only care about one squad, the Single Team package usually runs about $20 cheaper, but it’s a trap for most fans. Why? Because for that extra twenty, you get literally every other game in the league. It’s the difference between watching your team and being able to flip over to see a no-hitter in progress in the 9th inning somewhere else.
The New National Rights Nightmare
Starting this 2026 season, Major League Baseball has basically partitioned itself like a digital pie. If you have the yearly subscription, you need to understand what you don't get. This year, the national rights are split between:
- NBC/Peacock: Taking over the "Sunday Night Baseball" mantle and the "Sunday Leadoff" morning games.
- Netflix: Yeah, you read that right. They’ve grabbed "Opening Night" (Yankees vs. Giants on March 25) and the Home Run Derby.
- Apple TV+: Continuing their "Friday Night Baseball" doubleheaders.
- FOX/FS1 and TBS/Max: Still holding onto their usual weekly slots.
Basically, if the Yankees are playing the Red Sox on a Sunday Night on NBC, your mlb.tv all teams yearly subscription will be dark for that game. You'll need the local broadcast or the national streamer's app. It's annoying. It’s expensive. But it's the reality of modern sports.
The Blackout Boogeyman
The biggest misconception about the yearly subscription is that it replaces your cable package. It doesn't. Not even close.
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If you live in Chicago and want to watch the Cubs, the All Teams package will black you out 100% of the time for live games. Why? Because MLB protects the Regional Sports Networks (RSNs). The only way around this is if you live "out-of-market." If you’re a Cubs fan living in Nashville? You’re golden. If you’re a Cubs fan in Wrigleyville? You need Marquee Sports Network, not MLB.TV.
However, there is a silver lining for 2026. MLB has been taking back the rights for certain teams whose RSNs went belly up. Fans of the Diamondbacks, Rockies, Padres, Guardians, and Twins can often buy a special "In-Market" bundle through MLB.TV for around $99.99 that actually does let you stream local games without a cable sub.
Why the Yearly Sub Still Wins
Despite the headaches, there’s a reason people keep paying for the mlb.tv all teams yearly subscription.
- The Library: You get access to an insane archive of games. If you missed a Tuesday night game because of a late meeting, it’s there for you 90 minutes after the final out.
- Multiverse Viewing: On a big desktop monitor or a high-end Apple TV, you can pull up four games at once. It’s basically like having a Vegas sportsbook in your living room.
- Big Inning: This is basically "NFL RedZone" but for baseball. It whips around to every game, showing every home run and bases-loaded jam. Honestly, for many, this is the best part of the whole subscription.
- Minor Leagues: Your sub includes access to MiLB.TV. You can watch the Triple-A prospects before they ever hit the Bigs.
Hidden Discounts You Should Actually Use
Don't pay full price if you don't have to. MLB is actually pretty generous with certain groups. Military members and Veterans can usually snag 35% off through GovX. Students get a similar deal through ID.me, often making the mlb.tv all teams yearly subscription actually affordable on a college budget.
And then there’s the T-Mobile Tuesday's thing. For the last several years, T-Mobile has given away the full season for free to its customers in late March. If you’re on T-Mobile, do not—I repeat, do not—buy a sub until you check that app during the week of Opening Day.
Technology Requirements
One thing people forget is the bandwidth. If you're planning to stream in 4K, you need at least 25 Mbps of dedicated speed. If you have the kids playing Fortnite in the other room and your spouse on a Zoom call, your baseball stream is going to look like a Lego movie.
Also, the 2026 season sees a big shift: MLB.TV is integrating more deeply with the ESPN app infrastructure. For years, the MLB app was a bit... glitchy. The move to a more robust backend should, in theory, stop the crashing during the World Series.
Making the Call
Is it worth it?
If you’re a displaced fan living three states away from your home team, yes. It's the only way to live. If you’re a fantasy baseball junkie who needs to track every pitcher's spin rate in real-time, it’s a necessity.
But if you only watch your local team and you live in their city, you might be better off looking at a local streaming option like Victory+, FanDuel Sports Network, or your specific team's standalone app.
Check your zip code on the MLB website first. They have a tool where you put in your numbers and it tells you exactly which teams are blacked out. Do this before you drop $150. Trust me.
To get the most out of your 2026 season, your first move should be verifying your local blackout status on the MLB's official lookup tool. Once you know which teams are "off-limits," wait until the final week of February—that's when the "Early Bird" pricing and the T-Mobile announcements usually drop, potentially saving you a hundred bucks or more right out of the gate.