MLB Network
MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with TNT Sports, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox Communications having minority ownership.
The channel's headquarters and studios are located at their leased facilities in Secaucus, New Jersey, a building owned by Hartz Mountain Industries which formerly housed MSNBC's studios. MLB Network's studios also house NHL Network, which came under the management of MLB Advanced Media in mid-2015 and transferred most operations from the network's former Toronto home base.
Tony Petitti, former executive producer of CBS Sports, was named the network's first president. Petitti served as MLB Network's president until December 2014, when he was appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball. Rob McGlarry, who worked as Senior and later Executive Vice-president of Business Affairs at MLB Network since 2009, was named the network's second president.
, MLB Network is available to approximately 31,000,000 pay television households in the United States, down from its 2013 peak of 71,000,000 households, though the network is also available separately through the league's app, either as a monthly offering or bundled into its streaming service, MLB.tv.
History
Major League Baseball became the fourth major North American professional sports league to launch its own 24-hour cable network. NBA TV dates back to 1999, the NHL Network to 2001, and the NFL Network to 2003. However, MLB Network is carried in the most households of these four networks, as it is available on all of the top-ten video operators in the United States.MLB Network soft-launched on December 16, 2008, with a rolling automated loop of archival programming and promotions for the network for cable systems that carried the network's transmissions leading up to the January 1, 2009 launch. The channel fully launched at 6:00 p.m. EST with the premiere of Hot Stove.
In April 2012, MLB Network's standard definition feed shifted to a 16:9 letterbox format. Both of the network's SD and HD feeds now show the same format.
On April 4, 2016, MLB Network debuted a new on-air graphics package optimized for the 16:9 format, replacing the previous on-air look used since the network's New Year's Day 2009 launch.
On January 31, 2023, MLB Network was removed from YouTube TV's channel lineup after they failed to reach a contract renewal agreement.
In July 2024, MLB Network launched a direct-to-consumer streaming service, featuring the network bundled in with radio play-by-play for $5.99 a month, or as part of a MLB.tv subscription.
Carriage
The network has signed contracts with numerous cable and satellite carriers, including DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon Fios, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, and U-verse TV. In a deal that was pioneered by other sports league owned channels, MLB tied carriage of MLB Network to the ability to carry the popular out of market MLB Extra Innings package. In return, cable and satellite providers were offered a minority share of the new network.Satellite radio
The network also features a radio arm on Sirius XM, MLB Network Radio that simulcasts some MLB Network television content such as MLB Tonight and Hot Stove among its own schedule of original programming and podcasts, along with national play-by-play from games broadcast by Major League Baseball on ESPN Radio or highlight coverage from other team radio networks; formerly known as MLB Home Plate before the 2010 season, it took its current name on April 4, 2010.Carriage Outside USA
Canadian carriage
At launch, no announcement was made about MLB Network availability in Canada, home of the Toronto Blue Jays. Network officials had been in contact with Blue Jays owner Rogers Communications about making MLB Network available in Canada, but emphasized prior to the channel's launch that a deal was not imminent.In August 2008, Rogers secured Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approval for a Canadian digital channel tentatively called "Baseball TV". This license could have been used to launch a localized version of MLB Network with domestic advertising and additional Canadian content, along the lines of NBA TV Canada, which is owned by the parent company of the Toronto Raptors but uses much of the content of the league's U.S. channel NBA TV. It was reported initially that Rogers intended to pursue this approach to bring MLB Network to Canada. However, the licence was issued on the condition the channel launch by August 2011, which did not occur.
Rogers ultimately agreed to sponsor MLB Network's request to be added to the CRTC's list of approved foreign television services, which would permit Canadian cable and satellite providers to import the American feed, as has occurred previously with similar niche-sports services such as Big Ten Network, NFL Network, and Golf Channel. The application was published for public comment on June 13, 2012 and was approved on November 21, 2012. In the interim, the Rogers-owned Sportsnet One aired selected programs from MLB Network, including Quick Pitch and Intentional Talk.
MLB Network was added to Rogers Cable systems in Ontario on January 8, 2014, in both standard and high definition. On June 3, 2015, SaskTel announced that it would begin carrying MLB Network. As of 2017, it is also available on MTS and Vidéotron.
On March 23, 2017, MLB Network launched on Bell Fibe TV and Bell Satellite TV.
Shaw Cable, the dominant carrier in Western Canada, does not offer MLB Network.
As of 2018, MLB Network is carried nationwide in Canada on the DAZN streaming service.
Availability outside the United States and Canada
MLB Network is also carried by paid-tv providers in Bahamas, Caribbean islands, Panamá and other Latin American countries.High definition and 4K
The 720p high-definition simulcast of MLB Network launched simultaneously to the regular channel. After much discussion, MLB Network decided to use the 720p format instead of 1080-line-interlace because it believes 720p shows the motion of baseball more accurately and will degrade less when recompressed by cable operators to save bandwidth. As Mark Haden says: "That's our best shot of maintaining quality to viewers." All studio programs and original shows are shot in HD, as well as all self-produced games such as those of the 2009 World Baseball Classic and Thursday Night Baseball, as well as simulcasted locally produced games and contracted game packages it handles such as YouTube and Apple TV+'s Friday Night Baseball. The network also remastered 30 World Series films in high definition.On April 14, 2016, it was announced that 25 MLB Network Showcase games would be broadcast in 4K ultra-high definition exclusively on DirecTV in the 2016 season, beginning April 15.
On-air staff
Programming
Live game coverage
Regular season
MLB Network airs several live games a week. These games are blacked out in the participating markets of the two teams. Blacked-out markets receive an alternate game or pre-taped programming.- MLB Network Showcase: MLB Network's weekly presentation of self-produced non-exclusive games each every other night. As of September 25, 2025, Matt Vasgersian, Paul Severino and Rich Waltz provide play-by-play. Normally, as of June 10, 2023, Dan Plesac and Tom Verducci provide color commentary with Al Leiter, Sean Casey, Harold Reynolds, or Bill Ripken also providing occasional color commentary. Normally, Tom Verducci, Jon Morosi and others handle on-field reporting.
- Other night games: MLB Network airs games on every night, simulcast from one team's local TV broadcaster. On Tuesday nights, MLB Network features one game coverage if available, with an early East Coast game, a later West Coast game or both if TBS elected to not air any games that night due to a doubleheader on another week or none because TBS is airing games in both slots.
- MLB Matinee: MLB Network airs a series of afternoon games throughout the regular season. As with night games, these matinee games usually but not always feature simulcasts of the home team's local telecast. In some cases, MLB shows the road team's broadcast.
- Minor League Baseball: MLB Network will occasionally pick up Minor League Baseball games being broadcast by its cable TV partners. This has included Triple-A and Double-A games along with minor league all-star games.
Postseason
Starting in 2014, as part of Fox's new eight year rights agreement, MLB Network would air two Division Series games from the league assigned to Fox for each postseason.
This arrangement was originally announced as continuing with a new rights deal in 2022. However, starting with the 2022 postseason, MLB Network returned the English-language rights to these games to Fox, and then took the Spanish-language rights to whichever postseason series are carried by TBS instead. In 2024, MLB sub-licensed these Spanish-language rights to TelevisaUnivision.
In 2025, due to the rain delay of the Mariners-Tigers game, MLB Network simulcast that game in English to allow FS1 to air Blue Jays-Yankees on time to maximize availability. Mariners-Tigers was also shown on FS2.