Mariners streaming option
Fans can yell at their TV for much less money now.
The Mariners announced Friday a new streaming service through ROOT Sports. Those in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, and parts of Idaho can watch the Mariners for $20 a month, or roughly $120 per season.
These areas were previously "blacked out" from streaming Mariners games on MLB dot tv. The only way to watch in-market games was with cable, or a streaming-cable-hybrid platform like Fubo. These options were relatively expensive, given many viewers had no interest in watching anything else on those services. For instance, here's the cost per month for Fubo:
One season under the new service now costs roughly the same as one month of Fubo -- an 80% discount, an extra $500 per year to spend on something else. Some fans with specific cable packages will likely save a lot more. It's been cool to see the flood of comments on Lookout Landing from people saying they're cancelling their service and exorbitant monthly bill.
The other angle here is this probably eliminates a chunk of Mariners-funneled piracy on less than reputable sites, or those configuring network workarounds to MLB's blackout restrictions. As Darren Gossler points out:
The Three Golden Tenants to defeat piracy that I've been touting for years.
- Make it easily accessible - Check
- Make it widely available - Partial check, but they're allowed time to get there. Give me an Xbox app!
- Make it affordable - Check
About damn time the #Mariners took our money.
— Darren (@goose1701.com) March 21, 2025 at 11:30 AM
And piracy aside, Goose's last point is kind of the point. People want to watch the Mariners in an honest way, and they're willing to pay a reasonable price to do so. The Mariners are finally letting people pay them for their product.
This is among the first major win for Mariners new business boss Kevin Martinez, who was promoted to President of Business Operations in October. The Seattle Times emphasized Martinez was an instrumental part of pushing for the new service, though Martinez downplayed his role.
“We made it by opening day,” Martinez told The Seattle Times. “It’s a great feeling. It’s something everybody’s been working really, really hard on. We didn’t know if we’re going to get there, and we did. And I’m just super, super grateful.
While the Mariners continue to catch flack for their self-imposed payroll cap, they have found ways to appease fans in other ways. They've invested significant money in the stadium, they've kept tickets relatively affordable, they've expanded the value menu at the ballpark, and now they've introduced a realistically priced streaming option.
For me, this is massive. I simply don't have an extra $100 every month to spend on the Mariners, despite following the team being my top hobby. And even if I did, the price feels like a bit of a scam. I tried Fubo at times in the past, and it wasn't a good product -- it doesn't have all the features a $100 per month streaming service should offer. The interface is confusing and buggy, the full screen option didn't work, I couldn't easily switch between devices, and I even had trouble simply paying for the service. (I got a sign up offer for a free month, which apparently I'd gotten the year before, and because my IP was the same, they blackballed me when I tried to re-enlist, even though they were the ones offering the deal. I was begging them to take my $100 and they wouldn't.)
My plan for the year was to (grudgingly) buy Fubo when I could afford it, and then listen on the radio when I couldn't. This worked fine last year and I stayed engaged all summer. But in 2023, my budget was a bit shorter and I tuned out for most of the season. I don't have to worry about that now. I can fit $20 a month in my budget.
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