Baseball Fans Could Face Huge Monthly Streaming Tab in 2026

Conservative News DailyAugust 16, 2025
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A recent report highlights that streaming all nationally televised Major League Baseball (MLB) games next season could cost fans approximately $103.94 per month. This total combines subscriptions to multiple streaming services, including Peacock, Fox One, Netflix, ESPN Direct-to-Consumer, HBO Max, and apple TV+, due to MLB’s distribution of games across various platforms. Critics warn that this fragmentation risks pricing out fans and diminishing the overall value of MLB broadcasting rights. Thay argue that the broad spread of games across numerous services could also reduce media partners’ incentives, as fewer subscribers may sign up for streaming platforms to watch limited coverage. Similarly, streaming all NFL games is even more expensive, with estimates exceeding $110 per month. Despite the high costs of streaming, attending MLB games in-person remains costly, with family outings costing several hundred dollars depending on the stadium.

Somebody has to pay the salaries of Major League Baseball players, and new rates show that fans who watch baseball on TV will be at the head of the line.

A report on Outkick said that pulling together all the pieces currently in play would mean that a fan wanting to stream all nationally televised baseball games next season would cost $103.94 per month.

Outkick broke that down as follows: Peacock (NBC games): $10.99 per month; Fox One: $19.99 per month; Netflix: $22.99 per month; ESPN DTC: $29.99 per month; HBO Max (TBS games): $9.99 per month; Apple TV+ (Friday night games and possibly Sunday night games): $9.99 per month.


In analyzing the cost figures, Outkick’s Bobby Burack wrote, “MLB risks pricing fans out by distributing games so broadly.”

Burack noted that when it comes to TV, “streaming is now arguably more expensive for sports fans than cable.”

Giving everyone a piece of the pie could turn out to be bad business, he argued.

“Moreover, leagues like MLB risk diminishing their value to media partners by fragmenting their broadcast windows between multiple services,” he wrote.

“Broadcast corporations don’t just pay for TV ratings anymore — they’re also banking on sports leagues driving subscribers to their streaming platforms. But how many people will sign up for Apple or ESPN DTC to watch one game a week, when that game is just part of a season split among several outlets?” he wrote.

The NFL is not exactly a bargain for TV fans, either.

Outkick said an NFL fan who wanted to stream every game of the 2025 season would fork over $671.64, or $111.94 per month.

When USA Today crunched the numbers, it estimated the total for the full NFL season would be between $811 and $883.

Although baseball on TV is pricey, Action Network noted that the price of attending a game makes it look cheap.

The estimate for a family of four to go to Fenway Park to watch the Boston Red Sox is $366.71, while visiting the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium is $355.66. That’s based on four general tickets, two beers, two soft drinks, four hot dogs, and parking.

At the low end of the estimates for four people to see a game are the Arizona Diamondbacks at $157.59 and the Miami Marlins at $160.22.




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Conservative News DailyAugust 16, 2025
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