What You Need Before You Start

Before picking a service, confirm three things: the game schedule, your home market, and your budget. The Pittsburgh Pirates play in the National League Central and the Cleveland Guardians play in the American League Central, so every Pirates vs Guardians game is an inter-league matchup. These games are distributed across a mix of local regional sports networks, national cable channels, and exclusive streaming platforms. Which channel airs any given game depends on who bought the broadcast rights for that specific date.

Here is what to gather before the first pitch:

• The exact game date, time, and broadcast network — find this at mlb.com or in the MLB app on the game matchup page
• Your physical location — Pittsburgh and Cleveland home markets have local blackout restrictions on MLB.TV
• A streaming subscription, live TV plan, or cable package that includes the right channel for that broadcast

Checking the broadcast info first prevents you from subscribing to a service only to discover that tonight's game airs on a completely different platform. The MLB app sends pre-game alerts that include the broadcast network, which is a simple way to stay ahead of this.

Streaming Without Cable: MLB.TV, Peacock, and Apple TV+

MLB.TV

MLB.TV is the official streaming product from Major League Baseball. A full-season subscription costs $149.99, or you can pay $24.99 per month. A single-team subscription runs $109.99 per season and gives you every game for one team. The key restriction: MLB.TV blacks out in-market games. Fans inside the Pittsburgh or Cleveland market cannot watch their home team live on MLB.TV — those rights belong to the local regional sports network. The blackout lifts 90 minutes after the game ends, so on-demand replay is available after that delay. Out-of-market fans, such as a Guardians fan living in Phoenix, can watch every Guardians game live with no restrictions.

Peacock

Peacock holds the rights to a slate of Sunday morning MLB games each season, branded as Sunday Leadoff. A Peacock Premium subscription runs $7.99 per month. These are exclusive broadcasts — no cable channel simulcasts them at the same time. If a Pirates vs Guardians game falls in this Sunday slot, Peacock is your only live option. Check the MLB national broadcast schedule at the start of each month to see which games land on Peacock.

Apple TV+

Apple TV+ streams Friday Night Baseball during the regular season, featuring two games each week on an alternating schedule. The subscription costs $9.99 per month. Friday Night Baseball games are exclusive to Apple — they do not appear on cable or regional sports networks at the same time. If a Pirates vs Guardians matchup is selected for a Friday night slot, Apple TV+ is the only way to watch it live.

Cable and Satellite: RSN and MLB Extra Innings

Regional Sports Networks by Market

If you have a cable or satellite subscription that includes regional sports networks, you can watch in-market games without any additional cost beyond your existing bill. In Pittsburgh, most Pirates games air on SportsNet Pittsburgh. In Cleveland, most Guardians games air on FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes, which was previously called Bally Sports Great Lakes and, before that, SportsTime Ohio — same channel, rebranded multiple times. These channels carry in-market home and away games throughout the season. When the Pirates and Guardians face each other, both local RSNs may carry the game simultaneously, one showing the Pittsburgh broadcast feed and one showing the Cleveland broadcast feed.

MLB Extra Innings

MLB Extra Innings is an annual add-on available through most cable and satellite providers, including Comcast Xfinity, DirecTV, Spectrum, Cox, Charter, and Dish Network. The package costs approximately $170 to $200 per season and gives you access to every out-of-market game — every game not being broadcast by your local RSN on a given day. This is the cable equivalent of MLB.TV, with full out-of-market coverage. To add it, call your provider's customer service line or log into your account portal and search for sports add-on packages. DirecTV occasionally bundles it as a free promotion during the early weeks of the season.

How to Handle MLB.TV Blackout Restrictions

Blackouts are the most common complaint among MLB.TV subscribers. Here is exactly how they work and how to work around them when you are traveling.

How Blackouts Are Enforced

MLB.TV detects your location using your IP address and, in the mobile app, device location permissions. If either signal places you in the Pittsburgh or Cleveland market, the live game feed is replaced with a blackout screen. The blackout applies regardless of your subscription tier — both monthly and season-pass subscribers face the same in-market restrictions.

Using a VPN When Traveling

A VPN routes your internet traffic through a server in a different city, making MLB.TV see a non-blackout IP address. This is most useful for fans traveling away from home who want to watch their team. Steps to watch a blacked-out game with a VPN:

1. Subscribe to a VPN service such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Mullvad.
2. Open the VPN app and connect to a server in a city outside the Pittsburgh or Cleveland blackout zone — Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, or any major US city works.
3. Open the MLB app or go to mlb.com after the VPN connection is active.
4. Log in to your MLB.TV account and start the game stream.
5. Keep the VPN connected for the entire game — disconnecting mid-stream triggers a new location check and may end the broadcast.

Using a VPN for this purpose violates MLB.TV terms of service. MLB monitors for VPN traffic and has suspended accounts that are flagged. Use this approach at your own discretion, primarily when you are genuinely away from your home market.

Live TV Streaming Services with RSN Access

Live TV streaming services are a middle ground between standalone apps and full cable. They carry local channels, national cable networks like ESPN and FS1, and in some cases regional sports networks. Here is how each major service handles MLB coverage in 2025:

• Fubo TV starts at $79.99 per month and includes regional sports networks in most markets. This makes it one of the better options for in-market Pirates or Guardians coverage. Enter your zip code in the Fubo channel finder before subscribing to confirm your RSN is included.
• DirecTV Stream starts at $84.99 per month and carries regional sports networks in most markets. It has historically maintained the strongest RSN coverage among live TV streaming services. Confirm channel availability for your zip code on their website.
• Hulu + Live TV costs $82.99 per month and includes ESPN, ABC, and national Fox channels. RSN availability through Hulu has declined because of carriage disputes in recent years. Check your local RSN is still active in your area before committing.
• YouTube TV costs $72.99 per month and includes ESPN, Fox, and FS1 for national broadcasts, but does not carry regional sports networks in most markets. It is suitable for nationally broadcast Pirates vs Guardians matchups but not for regular in-market games.

RSN carriage deals change frequently. A channel available on a service today may be dropped when contracts expire. Always check the current channel lineup on each service's website rather than relying on older reviews.

How to Watch on Any Device

Smart TVs, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV

Download the MLB app from your device's app store for MLB.TV streaming. Install the Peacock app for Peacock-exclusive games, and the Apple TV app for Friday Night Baseball. Fubo TV, DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV all have apps available for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and most smart TV platforms. Log in with your subscription credentials after installing.

iPhone and Android

Download the MLB app from the App Store or Google Play. It supports live streaming with an MLB.TV subscription and includes free audio radio streams for every game without any paid subscription. Peacock and Apple TV+ each have standalone mobile apps. Live TV services including Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Hulu, and YouTube TV are all available as apps on both iOS and Android.

Web Browser

All major services stream in a web browser with no additional software required. MLB.TV is at mlb.com, Peacock at peacocktv.com, and Apple TV+ at tv.apple.com. Live TV services have their own web players as well. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge all work without plugins. Enable hardware acceleration in your browser settings for smoother high-definition playback on slower machines.

Free Radio Option

The MLB app includes free live radio for every game, even without a paid subscription. Pirates games broadcast on KDKA-FM 93.7 in Pittsburgh. Guardians games broadcast on WTAM 1100 AM in Cleveland. Both radio feeds are available in the MLB app's audio section regardless of your subscription status, making this a zero-cost fallback when video is not an option.

How to Find Broadcast Details for Any Game

Different games have different broadcasters, so confirming the broadcast for your specific game before it starts saves real frustration. Here is the fastest way to find broadcast details for a Pirates vs Guardians game:

1. Open mlb.com or the MLB app on any device.
2. Navigate to the full season schedule for the Pittsburgh Pirates or Cleveland Guardians.
3. Click or tap the specific game to open the matchup detail page.
4. Find the TV and Streaming section — it lists every broadcaster carrying that game, including national cable networks, regional sports networks, and exclusive streaming platforms.
5. If the listing shows only a streaming service like Peacock or Apple TV+, that game is an exclusive broadcast — no cable or RSN will carry it live at the same time.
6. If it shows ESPN, Fox, or FS1, you can watch on cable, satellite, or any live TV streaming service that includes those channels.
7. If it lists only the local RSN, you need that channel through cable, satellite, Fubo, or DirecTV Stream — or you can wait 90 minutes after the game ends for the MLB.TV on-demand stream to become available.

The MLB app also surfaces broadcast details in real time on game days. Open the Scores tab, tap the Pirates vs Guardians matchup, and the broadcast network appears at the top of the game detail screen. Enabling game alerts in the MLB app settings triggers a notification before first pitch that includes the broadcast information directly in the alert message.