Reese Kaplan -- Seeing Games If You're Out of Town

In many ways it’s a wonderful world in which we live where we can stream movies on our mobile devices 24X7 from services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and others.  These solutions are fantastic for people who are on-the-go frequently and cannot be home to watch in more conventional ways. 

Fortunately, the same holds true for those folks who do not live in the NYC broadcast area but want to see Mets games live as they happen.  There are a number of methods available to do so with varying costs and inconveniences.  Let’s have a look.

MLB.TV

It’s natural for Major League Baseball to want to get it’s slice of the pie from online games.  MLB.TV has been around since 2003 when a single season package cost $79.95 to see the entire slate of major league games via your computer.  As technology evolved, so too did MLB.TV which added smartphone and tablet support.  Now you have a choice of $91.99 yearly for a single team or $118.99 yearly for all teams.  I have used this technology via a smart TV as well so I can see games on a big screen.  It’s pretty decent but I find myself at least twice during the game needing to restart the service.  There is also audio-only for occasions like driving in the car. This service is designed for folks needing out-of-town access, so you might have to find a VPN that will make it appear you are out of the NYC area if you indeed want to use it.  (Check with your nearest 12 year old or computer geek if you don't know what a VPN is or how to implement one).  

For T-Mobile subscribers, each of the past several years the MLB.TV subscription was made available for free.  Considering T-Mobile is already a relatively low-priced carrier, getting the $118.99 yearly package at no additional charge effectively lowers your bill by about $10 per month if you were inclined to get it.  (Hint for those folks of a certain age – T-Mobile also has an over-55 plan which costs me just $60 per month for two lines of unlimited voice, text and data plus service in many foreign countries).  Watch for your T-Mobile Tuesday offer about a week before opening day.   

Slingbox (and other streaming devices)

These hybrid devices connect both to your TV provider and to the Internet.  Then an app is installed on your mobile devices or PC to allow you to access whatever is on the home TV (even the DVR in many cases).  You get an on-screen remote control to allow you to select channels.  Just tune to SNY or wherever the game is being broadcast and you can see for free with no monthly fees.  The only cost is the one-time purchase of the streaming device which can range from about $39 to $399 depending on whether you want current generation and the brand you select.  For many years I placed one of these devices in my brother’s New Jersey home and watched games here in El Paso. 

SNY

If you reside within an area that carries SNY feeds via cable or satellite, then you can use the NBC App to livestream Mets games on your mobile devices.  The rub here is that you must authenticate with the user ID and password of your provider to verify you are indeed an SNY subscriber.  This service is available for free anywhere within the USA when you are mobile.  However, without the local service you’re sunk unless, of course, someone happened to provide you with a user name and password (not that I’m advocating such shenanigans, of course). 

MLB Extra Innings

This package is available with many satellite and cable providers.  It is expensive but does allow you to stream from mobile devices with an app.

FuboTV

A sports-oriented service, it claims to provide Mets games but at north of $40 per month after the initial trial, it’s probably not worth considering. 

Audio Only -- TuneIn.com

On this service you can receive live and archived audio broadcasts of Mets games as well.  There is a free app for livestreaming radio stations, a Pro app which adds some features such as recording, and a $7.99 per month Premium subscription which removes advertising.  

Have you found other methods that work for you?