Major League Baseball, for all its many faults (and there are a PILE of them), is surprisingly good at technology. MLB.tv — where one can purchase a $100 year-long pass to watch almost every baseball game they could want to watch — is probably the best example of that.
It’s long been available for streaming on the Internet, it made its way to mobile devices recently, and now it’ll be available on Apple TV, as will NBA League Pass Broadband.
So sayeth the league themselves, who promise the usual “regular season features” like: HD Quality (where available!), LIVE and archived games, home and away broadcasts, quick navigation to run scoring plays or a particular at bat, and much, much more!
It’ll cost you $99.99 for the “regular” version of MLB.tv and $119.99 for the “premium.” Upgrades of the latter include live-game DVR controls (very cool) and PIP/split screen, which are both probably worth it for the full year, especially if you’re going to be that invested in your baseball watching.
Additionally, NBA League Pass is now available for Apple TV as well — it’s either $64.95 (pick seven teams) or $99.95 (all 30 teams) for the full season.
There are a few downsides, though. (Aren’t there always?)
First, you’ve got buy an Apple TV, of course, but that’s only going to cost you about $95, which isn’t horrible. And, you REALLY want to make sure you only purchase the second-generation Apple TV (it’s the black one), because the first one won’t help you, as they don’t update the software on those. (Side rant — this sucks because the first-gen Apple TV’s have tons of storage, whereas the second-gen’s don’t, but you can’t use Netflix on the former either, sigh.)
Secondly (and most importantly), is the fact that some games will still be blacked out. This is devastating for a pile of reasons, but usually because people who buy the league pass want to see their favorite team. And if you live near your favorite team, that might not be happening.
MLB on Apple TV – [MLB.com]
NBA League Pass on Apple TV – [NBA.com]