Every year, the situation for watching the Philadelphia Phillies, like all Major League Baseball teams, gets a little more complicated for the consumer. As the League attempts to maximize its bottom dollar through exclusive deals, national broadcast commitments, and app-exclusive games, fans are left with no one definitive way or venue from which to watch all 162 games of the season for their team.
As Opening Day is upon us, let’s take a look at the current Phillies’ schedule and break down the options fans have to support their favorite team in white and red pinstripes.
The Phillies’ Overall Broadcast Schedule
Of the Phillies’ 162 games this season, 149 will be broadcast by the NBC Sports Philadelphia crew. Tom McCarthy, John Kruk (fresh off a new contract extension), Ruben Amaro Jr., Ben Davis, Mike Schmidt, Taryn Hatcher, and now Cole Hamels will be heard season-long on the NBC family of channels (NBCSP, NBCSP+, and NBC10).
Currently, 10 games will be broadcast via traditional national broadcasts. FOX will broadcast six Phillies games nationally, while ESPN will feature the Phillies four times in Sunday Night Baseball’s final season. Depending on the wills of the networks, there is always the possibility that one of the networks picks up additional games throughout the season.
Then, there are the app-exclusive broadcasts. As of publishing, the Phillies will be in three app-exclusive broadcasts this season: two on Apple TV+ and one on Roku.
While a majority of these games are spread out across the season, the Phillies’ entire series against the New York Mets in late June will be broadcast nationally. Apple TV+ has the game on June 20th, while FOX and ESPN have the rights to the respective games on June 21st and June 22nd.
How to Access the Phillies Across Platforms
Let’s start with the basics here: If your television provider has the NBC family of channels (NBCSP, NBCSP+, and NBC10), then you can watch 149 Phillies games already. Congratulations! If your provider also also FOX and ESPN, then you get another 10 games, no questions asked!
If you have decided to cut cable (including the main TV-streamers such as YouTube TV) then you have two new options this year. NBC Sports Philadelphia and MLB.TV has partnered together to offer a Phillies.TV subscription plan for $24.99 per month, allowing fans to watch all 149 local broadcasts in-market. Their out-of-market package remains unchanged. Additionally, NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcasts will now be available on Peacock for $24.95 per month as an add-on to a Peacock subscription. Neither of these packages would include national broadcasts, which you would need to consult FOX and ESPN’s streaming options for.
Speaking of streaming, the good news is that Roku’s Sunday Leadoff games are streamed at no additional cost. So, on Sunday, August 17th, you can stream your 11:35 A.M. Phillies contest over brunch for free on the Roku app or at TheRokuChannel.com. The two games on Apple TV+, meanwhile, will require a subscription. Typically, you can find a short trial for AppleTV+, but given that the Phillies’ two games on the platform are spread out on April 4th and June 20th, consider a subscription for a few months and check out Ted Bundy while you’re at it.
At the end of the day, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. The days of streaming are upon us, and just like paying for the “sports package” in days of old, you might just need to pay to watch certain Phillies games this season over your existing service. And if not, consider going to a sports bar for the night, listening on the radio, or maybe catching up with some of your non-baseball fan friends!
Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
