The Seattle Mariners have announced their plan for streaming games for the 2026 season, offering a deal that in essence matches the Root Sports package debuted a season ago. For $99,99 a season (or $19.99 by individual month), fans will be able to subscribe to Mariners.TV and watch thru the MLB App on various devices, including phones, tablets, computers, and presumably smart TVs. The club noted that they WILL still have their games broadcast via traditional cable and satellite, and internet TV providers as has been the case, however they will be announcing the specific channels/providers between now and Opening Day.
Sign up for the new service begins February 10th.
This is, in essence, a continuation of the exact situation from a season ago, where in-market fans can now choose to subscribe specifically to this streaming service (Mariners.TV) for all non-national broadcast games, while MLB.TV will still be required (and fully functional) whenever out-of-market. If you’re watching the M’s from the Midwest, for instance, carry on as usual.
If you’re a traditional cable subscriber/user, this also may simply not be all that impactful to you. The M’s FAQ notes they “expect the channel locations will be located near other sports programming on your [TV] guide.” As such, between now and the start of the season, you’ll need to learn the new channel that will have M’s broadcasts, but it will likely be as simple as that: learn the new channel, write it down or add it to your favorites, accidentally type the old one every now and then like we all do when the calendar switches to January each year. RIP channels 30 and 627 in the households of my youth.
For those (like myself) who’ll be certain subscribers to this streaming service, it seems functionally identical to the Root Sports Stream experience, with the lone caveat that it will run through the MLB App. If you’re a reader of Lookout Landing, I’ll never assume anything, but it seems likely you have the MLB App. You will NOT have to purchase an additional MLB.TV subscription to purchase this bespoke, Mariners-specific version.
I’m no economist, but purely as a consumer, I’m constantly finding myself wanting a specific thing, and realizing it can only be acquired as part of a bundle or package. About $8.50 a month for the most central entertainment product to me and my life, with no other attached junk feels… reasonable? It remains to be seen what impacts the dissolution of ROOT has upon the broadcast itself, but this feels straightforward in a way that it could’ve easily not been.