I legitimately couldn’t watch a single game of the MLB Wild Card Series. Not one! In the 2026 postseason, with the World Series just around the corner, I was stuck listening to my team, the Boston Red Sox, on the radio. Yeah, the radio. Like it’s 1955. And why? Because I just couldn’t access NBC.
Cord-Cutting Doesn’t Mean Cutting Off Your Team
I jumped on the cord-cutting train almost a decade ago. It felt like the smart move, right? Save some cash, ride the streaming wave, and catch all the games digitally. Now, here we are in 2026, and I’m following postseason baseball the same way my grandpa did. Being an out-of-market fan, like me living here in Seattle but repping Red Sox Nation, is supposed to be easy in this digital era. We’ve got apps, clips everywhere, condensed games, highlights, the works! But nope. My location in the Emerald City means I’m locked out of NESN 360, the Red Sox’s own network, even though I bleed for them. And get this: even Sox fans who are technically in New England but live in Fairfield County, CT, are out of luck too. It’s a mess!
You’d think an MLB.TV subscription, the official league package, would cover all your bases, wouldn’t you? Isn’t that what the name kinda promises? Turns out, not even close. For a true baseball fan, catching every game these days is a brutal grind. You’re either shelling out a fortune to attend games in person, which let’s be real, isn’t always happening, or you’re trying to piece together a puzzle of multiple subscriptions that also cost a small fortune. It’s a constant battle to figure out which outlet is broadcasting what, on which day. If you don’t want to resort to illegal streams or just missing out entirely, your only other options are listening on the radio or watching Gameday’s slightly delayed simulation of each at-bat. None of that sounds like a good time, does it? And it definitely doesn’t help MLB grow its fanbase, which is supposedly the goal!
“Expand Our Reach,” They Said. “Invite Everybody,” They Said.
Seriously, it’s wild to hear what MLB execs have been saying versus the reality. Back in 2025, when they rolled out those big new broadcast deals with ESPN, NBC, and Netflix, Rob Manfred himself said it was “a great opportunity to expand our reach to fans.” And Karin Timpone, the MLB executive vice president and chief marketing officer, echoed that, saying, “The number one thing we’re trying to do is invite everybody to be a fan.” Sounds awesome, right? So why am I constantly hitting walls?
I can’t tell you how many Friday nights I’ve fired up the MLB app, ready to watch the Red Sox or some other killer matchup, only to get slapped with an exclusive Apple TV+ paywall. Then, on other days, or at different points in the season, it’s a completely different national media deal locking me out. It’s like a constant shell game, and the fans are always the ones losing. How are you supposed to “invite everybody to be a fan” when you’re making it this hard, this confusing, and this expensive just to watch the damn games?
As the World Series approaches, it’s just mind-boggling to think about how many fans are probably struggling through this same ridiculous setup. We just want to watch our teams! Maybe someday MLB will figure out how to make their broadcast strategy actually work for the fans they claim they want to reach, instead of just making it harder every year.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Over the Monster.
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