Comcast says it will sell the 2021 MLB Extra Innings package for $129.99 beginning on March 22. The price represents a $40 decrease from its last pre-season rate. (Comcast had yet to set 2020 Extra Innings prices when the season was postponed in March due to the Coronavirus pandemic. But the cable operator charged $170 in 2019.)

The 2021 full season plan will be $129.99, or four installments of $32.50, while a half-season plan will be available for $89.99, or four installments of $22.50, a Comcast spokesperson told the TV Answer Man today. The Comcast Extra Innings web page does not include pricing information yet, only a notice that the plan will be available for ordering on March 22.

The lower price for the 2021 plan will likely come as a surprise to most baseball fans. DIRECTV in late January started selling the Extra Innings package for $183, which was a $5 increase over its 2020 pre-season price. But the satcaster recently changed the price of its 2021 plan to $129.96, or six installments of $21.66, roughly the same price that Comcast will charge later this month.

The $129 rate is comparable to what Major League Baseball charges for its online package of out-of-market games, called MLB.TV. The TV Answer Man has asked Comcast for an explanation for the lower price and will report back here if we get more information. But the reduced rate could be an effort to make Extra Innings more competitive with MLB.TV.

Both DIRECTV and Comcast will also include MLB.TV for free with their Extra Innings packages.

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Local blackouts still apply in the 2021 MLB TV and Extra Innings plans. You can not watch the team or teams in your local market with a MLB.TV or Extra Innings subscription. You can determine which teams would be blacked out in your zip code here.

Dish, Verizon and Charter have also offered the Extra Innings package in past years, but have yet to begin selling the 2021 plan. It’s unclear if they will offer the reduced rate as well.

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— Phillip Swann