International baseball fans who were planning to stream the postseason are accusing Major League Baseball of a deceptive last-minute money grab.
On Thursday, some fans abroad, including many in the United Kingdom, discovered that if they wanted to watch MLB’s postseason, their subscription to MLB.tv’s package would no longer cut it. In a departure from the past in some countries, MLB was asking fans to pony up additional cash to one of MLB’s broadcast partners if they wanted to watch the games — and the fans said they didn’t know as much until the playoffs were about to start.
“What a self-defeating mess this is,” wrote the account @batflips_nerds, which has nearly 10,000 followers and represents a popular British baseball podcast. “So much good will and opportunity here in the UK and they push it behind another paywall. Definition of madness.”
A follow-up tweet read: “Just can’t get over this being communicated ONE DAY before the playoffs start. The decision is abject, the communications worse. A complete piss take of loyal fans.”
The Athletic reached out to a spokesperson at the commissioner’s office by phone on Thursday evening, and was told to email questions. The Athletic sent several. More than 24 hours later, the commissioner’s office had not provided a quote to explain the situation. A league spokesperson said MLB.tv refunds were available to affected fans who reached out via email.
British fan Joey Mellows
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