DIRECTV has just revealed the price for its 2017 MLB Extra Innings plan, and it’s lower than last year — by $1.20.
The satcaster is charging $172.74 for this year’s package of out-of-market MLB games, according to a DIRECTV web page just posted, compared to $173.94 for the 2016 plan.
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The price reduction may not seem like much, but the real discount came last year when DIRECTV and Comcast agreed in a settlement to a lawsuit filed by fans to offer the 2016 and 2017 editions of Extra Innings for roughly 12.5 percent less than the regular rate.
MLB, and some pay TV partners, including DIRECTV and Comcast, settled the lawsuit from fans who claimed that the league’s MLB.TV online package was both too pricey and too restrictive in regards to blackouts. The agreement for a lower price for the pay TV edition of Extra Innings for two years was part of the settlement.
Comcast, which offered the Extra Innings plan last year for $165, has yet to reveal its 2017 price.
As it did in 2015 and 2016, DIRECTV is including a free subscription to MLB.TV with the Extra Innings package. MLB.TV, which normally costs more than $100, allows subscribers to watch the games over the Internet on connected devices.
The satellite edition of the Extra Innings package offers up to 100 regular season games with most of them available in High-Definition.
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The DIRECTV plan also includes the MLB Strike Zone Channel, a highlights feed, and the Game Mix channel, which can display up to eight games on screen at the same time.
Several other TV providers, including Verizon and Cox, have offered MLB Extra Innings in the past. But they have yet to reveal details for their 2017 plans. Usually, the difference (if any) in the Extra Innings price among the providers is only a few dollars.
— Phillip Swann