By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of 4 TV magazines. Author of TV Dot Com.
TV Answer Man, is there any word on YouTube TV carrying the MLB Network this year with the baseball season coming up? That’s the one thing I need from them! — Danny, Philadelphia.
Danny, YouTube TV lost both the MLB Network and MLB TV in February 2023 in a carriage dispute. The blackout has irked baseball fans, and many have asked yours truly if there’s any chance that YouTube TV will bring the channel back before the 2024 season.
The answer: Unlikely.
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The YouTube TV team obviously doesn’t believe it will lose many subscribers without the MLB Network. It didn’t have the channel for the 2023 baseball season and the streamer says it still recently passed the eight million subscriber mark, which is far more subscribers than any other live streaming service.
How does YouTube TV keep adding subscribers when it doesn’t have MLB Network, a popular channel for baseball fans?
In case you haven’t heard, Google has the exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket for YouTube and YouTube TV. I think Google is confident that sports fans will stay with YouTube TV for the 2024 NFL season regardless of whether it has the MLB Network or not, just as they did in 2023.
The other factor here is that YouTube TV is not bullish on carrying niche sports networks; by example, it carries relatively few regional sports channels. The reason is that it wants to keep its program acquisition costs down which enables it to keep its monthly subscriber price down. (It’s now $72.99 a month.) Although they have limited audience appeal, niche sports channels are expensive to carry.
Danny, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
