Cardinals-Padres series TV arrangements annoy MLB fans

— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) May 9, 2026 Rob Manfred’s legacy, right here. Four games, four platforms, four different booths calling games, a goddamn treasure map to figure out where to go and how to watch. Great work everyone.

— rich (@rich\_roberts) May 7, 2026 As Awful Announcing’s Manny Soloway put it, “When you have multiple media rights partners who all want the piece of a marquee series, this is what it looks like.” This is a very interesting PR problem that is unique to baseball.

When you have multiple media rights partners who all want the piece of a marquee series, this is what it looks like.

But if you put a series entirely on one network, you leave money on the table.

— Manny Soloway (@sportsontvguy) May 7, 2026 Along with Fox (and FS1), ESPN (and ABC), and Apple, MLB games are on Netflix, NBC (and Peacock, NBCSN), TBS, and MLB Network in 2026, with many of the games being national television exclusives. For an MLB fan to watch all of a team’s televised games, it requires access to numerous streaming services/television networks, along with a subscription to MLB.TV or a particular local market’s RSN or MLB-produced offering. That’s just a reality of the times, unfortunately, and we see it across all sports now.