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As the World Series approaches, corporate greed is making it impossible to watch baseball

Our paywalled pastime and the cost of "fragmentation fatigue"

Published: Monday, 19 October 2026 at 11:42 AM
As the World Series approaches, corporate greed is making it impossible to watch baseball
Key Things to Know
  • The writer argues that corporate greed and fragmented broadcast deals make watching MLB games nearly impossible for fans.
  • Postseason games require multiple streaming services or traditional cable authentication, rendering standalone MLB.TV subscriptions insufficient.
  • A cited Kiplinger analysis estimated the annual streaming cost to follow a full baseball season reached $500 to $600.
The Story in 60 Seconds

The writer argues that Major League Baseball's fragmented streaming deals and corporate greed have made following the sport unaffordable and inaccessible for regular fans. Slicing broadcast rights across numerous platforms including Apple TV+, Peacock, Netflix, and traditional cable networks forces viewers into an expensive, confusing maze of subscriptions, especially during the postseason when the league's flagship MLB.TV app requires cable authentication.

According to the author, this distribution model prioritizes short-term television revenue over building a future audience, effectively alienating younger demographics and casual viewers. The column highlights studies estimating that following an entire season costs roughly $500 to $600 in streaming subscriptions, creating steep barriers that push even dedicated fans toward audio feeds and radio.

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