I’m blacked out of my MLB game. Help! #
So you’ve purchased MLB.TV and you’re sitting down to watch your favorite team and you’re hit with the annoying blackout message.
[image will go here of blackout screen]
You might say to yourself, “I live in Las Vegas but I’m blacked out of Dodgers games? That doesn’t make any sense. Is there a way around this?”
Lucikly the answer is yes.
I have been bypassing MLB.TV blackouts since 2009. When I first started getting around blackouts, the only real option was to route your connection through a sketch free proxy server and hope you found a fast one so the stream didn’t buffer every 30 seconds. Today the tools are much better and easier to set up. Over the years the methods have had to change in order to combat MLB.TV’s countermeasures, but I keep track of the trends and you can consult this guide to stay up to date on the latest working methods.
Why does MLB.TV black out games? #
The short answer is because of broadcast agreements. Regional networks (like Bally Sports, YES Network, etc.) pay big money to MLB for exclusive rights to broadcast games in their territories. Those networks want you watching your team on their channels and seeing the commercials that pay them on those channels. Some networks, like the Dodgers’ SportsNet LA, are special channels that require an additional fee for providers like Direct TV or Dish Network to carry. If MLB.TV allowed customers who live in those territories to stream games it would undermine the value of the contracts it sold to these networks.
What games will be blacked out for me? #
There are a couple of scenarios under which you will be blacked out of an MLB game:
- Local blackouts - MLB assigns every zip code a “home territory” covering one or more teams. You can check which teams belong to your area by inputting your zip code on the form here: https://support.mlb.com/s/game-availability-locator
- Nationally broadcasted games - These will always be blacked out for MLB.TV customers connecting from the USA. Think Fox Saturday Baseball or games shown on ESPN. Postseason games also fall under the national broadcast blackout rules.
Okay. So what are my options? #
Over the past couple of seasons, MLB.TV has begun to offer team-specific subscriptions that aren’t subject to blackout restrictions, even if you live within the team’s area. You have the option to purchase a subscription (usually $99, but some teams are more) that gives you blackout-free access just to that team’s games, or, for a little more (usually $50), access to all other out-of-market MLB games as well.
Here are links for the 22 teams for which this option is offered:
- Angels -
- Athletics -
- Braves -
- Brewers -
- Cardinals -
- D-backs -
- Dodgers -
- Giants -
- Guardians -
- Mariners -
- Marlins -
- Mets -
- Nationals -
- Orioles -
- Padres -
- Phillies -
- Rays -
- Reds -
- Rockies -
- Royals -
- Tigers -
- Twins -
However, even with these team-specific packages, you will still not be able to stream games that are exclusively broadcast on national TV - that includes games on ESPN, Fox/FS1, TBS, Apple TV+, NBC/Peacock, or Netflix. For example, the Yankees vs. Giants Opening Night game on March 25 is a Netflix exclusive. Friday Night Baseball doubleheaders are exclusive to Apple TV+. Sunday Night Baseball has moved to NBC/Peacock for 2026. TBS has Tuesday night games all season. And ESPN still has 30 exclusive midweek games. Postseason games are also excluded — Wild Card games are on NBC/Peacock, the ALDS and ALCS are on TBS, and the NLDS, NLCS, and World Series are on Fox.
Well, I’ve already purchased MLB.TV for the season and I’m blacked out. What can I do? #
It is possible to bypass MLB.TV blackouts using a couple of methods. Both methods “trick” MLB.TV into believing that you are watching from a location outside of the blackout region. What’s great about these methods is that not only will you get around regional blackouts, but you will also be able to watch nationally blacked-out games!
VPN #
VPN works similarly in that your location is masked by the VPN service, but you also gain the additional protection of having all of your network information encrypted. This hides your internet traffic from even your own internet service provider, which is a nice security benefit.
Smart DNS #
Smart DNS is a less invasive method of bypassing blackouts. It works by rerouting requests MLB.TV makes to obtain your location making you appear to MLB to be connecting from outside the blackout region. Unlike a VPN, your traffic is not encrypted, which means there is no impact on streaming speed.