How the Angels Moving to MLB.TV Will Work and Impact Fans

The number one question surrounding the Angels future broadcast deal is "how will I be able to watch the games?" Already burdened with either too many subscriptions or a cable TV plan loaded with channels they don't watch, the last thing fans want is yet another monthly expense to watch their favorite team.

Yesterday the Sports Business Journal reported the Angels are still looking at an independent broadcast deal but are expected to join the third of the league that has their games produced and distributed by MLB.tv. Just how would that work out for Angels fans? Let's take a look at the Padres who have already gone a full season plus under MLB's umbrella.

Here's how the system works.

Major League Baseball produces the games and makes arrangements with local networks and TV/satellite carriers to deliver the games to fans. Generally the on air talent remains and the look of the broadcast has little change. MLB media has advanced technology and the picture and graphics are sharp and deserving of a top flight professional sports league.

In San Diego, the Padres have a channel dedicated to their games on every major carrier. They also have an in market option for MLB.tv that cost $99.99 for the full season or $19.99 per month during the season. There are no local blackouts but the service did not stream games carried nationally. So if the Padres are on ESPN or Apple TV, for example, fans would need to subscribe to those services to see those games.

DirecTV, Cox, AT&T. Spectrum, and FUBO also have a Padres station that carries all of their games. Depending on a customer's channel lineup, this channel may be included at no extra charge. So for many fans who have these carriers they saw essentially no change in how they access games.

MLB also has a deal in place to air about 10 Saturday night games for free on local CBS 8 in the San Diego area.

Angels fans should expect a similar arrangement.

As the producers of Angels games, MLB would look to get all of the games on the air. Ideally this happens through an Angels channel that comes with most cable and TV packages. The goal would be to keep the games in front of as many fans as possible.

That path is not the most lucrative so expect an Angels centric option on MLB.TV as well. If a full season of Angels games costs around $100 then cutting the full cable bill might just become even more attractive for many fans and could actually save money.

Considering MLB is already spreading content around to multiple streaming services and national networks, there will still be a few games per year blacked out on the streaming service, but not many. And if the goal is to spread the content around while reaching a broad audience, Angels fans can expect to see a suite of games on a local network. Perhaps there's a blast to the past and Saturday night games are on KTLA 5.

Ultimately, if the Angels do what is expected and join the Padres and others under the MLB umbrella there could be little change to most fans. Instead of looking for FanDuel Sports (which might not exist soon) the Angels will have their own channel on most carriers. Fans with the MLB.TV package will have an option to buy the full season of Angels games along with the full out of market slate already available.

The downside is industry insiders speculate that teams operating this way are making about half of their previous broadcast revenue. If so, the days of Arte Moreno shelling out big bucks for free agents might be over.

But if you simply want to come home and flip on a game, that should not be a problem in 2026 if things go according to plan.