Save $50 on MLB TV with this hidden deal (Update)

Update (2/15/2014): The MLBPAA has quietly updated its website to say that the discount only applies to active or renewing MLBPAA members. If you didn’t sign up for an MLBPAA fan membership in years past, you will not be able to get this offer.

The original story continues below.

MLB TV is charging a record-high $150 for a subscription to its streaming service this season, but you can pay a lot less for out-of-market baseball with a crafty workaround.

For several years now, the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association has offered a 50-percent discount on MLB TV to its members, but you don’t need to be a retired baseball player to take advantage. Just sign up for a “Home Run Fan Membership” for $25 per year, and you’ll get a discount code that cuts the price of MLB TV in half.

MLB TV is charging $150 for the 2024 season, and the discount drops the price to $75. Factoring in the $25 cost of an MLBPAA membership brings the total to $100, which is $50 off the list price. (Students and military can also save another 35 percent on top of those discounts.)

T-Mobile customers should avoid this deal, as it’s partnering with MLB to offer free MLB.tv through 2028. (This is usually a limited-time offer, available to T-Mobile customers at the start of the season.) But for everyone else, this is the best price you’ll get without waiting for mid-season discounts.

Here are more ways cord-cutters can watch Major League Baseball without an expensive cable- or satellite-TV subscription.

How it works

The MLBPAA’s offer has been going on since at least 2020, according to this post on Reddit, but it’s gained wider attention over time thanks to additional posts around Reddit and coverage by Phillip Swann.

Still, I wanted to see for myself if the deal works as advertised, so I bought a one-year fan membership through the MLBPAA website. Within a few minutes of signing up, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to get the MLB TV discount. (A word of caution to Gmail users: This email showed up in my “Promotions” folder instead of my inbox.)

Strangely, there’s no coupon code or membership portal through which to redeem the deal. Instead, the welcome email links to a special landing page that anyone can visit, with a warning that only qualified members will receive the promotional price. Sure enough, signing in with my MLB.com account brought me to a checkout page with the 50-percent discount intact.

Fans of Minor League Baseball can also add an MiLB TV subscription for $12.50, down from the usual $25. The MLBPAA membership also comes with other benefits, such as discounts on MLB.com merchandise, Oakley products, and gym subscriptions, but I’ve yet to investigate any of those.

As a bonus, MLB TV subscriptions through MLBPAA are non-recurring, as is the MLBPAA membership itself, so you won’t get automatically billed for either subscription in 2023. That’s not the case when you sign up for MLB TV the usual way.

As Swann notes, the MLBPAA deal went away in mid-April during the 2022 season, though it remained available for much of last season. For 2024, MLBPAA just says it’s available “while supplies last.”

What you get

As in previous years, MLB TV only includes access to out-of-market baseball games, so you can’t use it to watch your local team. You’ll also won’t get games that air on national TV channels and those that are exclusive to other streaming services, such as Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+. (Swann notes, however, that MLB has never taken legal action against those who use a VPN to access in-market games, and the organization declined to comment when asked if it opposes this behavior.)

That said, MLB TV has always been a solid service for its intended use case of watching games that aren’t airing in your local market or on cable. Its video quality tends to be excellent, and its app offers neat features such as “condensed” game replays and the ability to hide scores.

Keep in mind that MLB TV typically reduces the cost of its service throughout the season, and in years past has offered a 50-percent discount on Father’s Day.

Still, this is a great deal if you can’t wait to start watching baseball again. And much like free Paramount+, free March Madness streams, wireless carrier freebies, and seasonal streaming sales, it’s another way to maximize cord-cutting savings for those who know where to look.

To learn more about how to cut cable and save money on your TV bill, sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter.