Major League Baseball is ramping up its efforts to address the ongoing issue of blackouts with an ambitious direct-to-consumer initiative.
But despite its progress, a lot of fans are still left out in the cold.
SportsNet New York (SNY), home to the New York Mets’ broadcasts, announced the launch of a standalone streaming service on Tuesday. Now, fans can stream the broadcast team of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling directly, without needing a traditional cable package.
SNY’s shift allows cord-cutters to enjoy Mets coverage while also addressing the growing problem of blackouts. The move places SNY as the 22nd team broadcaster to offer in-market streaming outside of cable, making it the ninth to launch a standalone service this year.
While this is groundbreaking for Mets fans and helps chip away at the blackout issue, it also leaves out-of-market fans in the lurch. If you read the fine print, this is strictly for in-market fans, or as The Athletic’s Evan Drellich notes, it includes those in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania.
This solution has a key limitation — it’s only available to in-market fans.
So, if you’re in, say, North Carolina, you’re out of luck.
As a die-hard Mets fan raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, this has been an issue for as long as I can remember. While MLB.TV has been a godsend for fans like myself outside their home market — and still is— offering access to out-of-market games is not without its limitations.
No matter how much you pay for the package, you still can’t watch specific teams based on your location.
For example, MLB’s blackout policies affect teams like the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds in Charlotte. In a state where the Braves are a logical local team for many, MLB places these teams under the umbrella of the Orioles and Nationals’ territories. This means that fans are shut out of watching the games when these teams face off, even if they’ve paid for an MLB.TV subscription.
And if your cable package doesn’t include access to these games, it only adds to the frustration.
This issue isn’t unique or confined to just the Carolinas. Fans in Iowa are similarly frustrated with blackout restrictions, as they’re locked out of local broadcasts for the Cardinals, Cubs, Royals, Twins, White Sox and the Brewers.
For fans living far from their home team, it’s a maddening situation, especially when driving several hours to see a game isn’t always an option.
Ideally, MLB would eliminate territorial blackouts altogether, but that’s easier said than done.
That said, the situation is not entirely MLB’s fault. While they have acknowledged the blackout problem, they don’t control the local television rights for each team — that power remains in the hands of the individual clubs.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has clarified that he believes teams must prioritize broader reach. He’s pushing for a future where the league has more control over these local broadcast deals. If MLB had the full reins, Manfred argues, it could make it easier to negotiate league-wide streaming packages.
“We made clear to the clubs that blackouts were a problem, and that reach should be a priority,” Manfred told The Athletic. “And I think they were responsive to us making those arguments.”
So, while SNY’s standalone streaming is another positive move in the right direction, it doesn’t fix MLB’s archaic blackout policies. And until territorial blackouts are fully eliminated, fans will continue to be stuck in limbo, paying for access they can’t use.
