Roku has become the exclusive host for Major League Baseball (MLB) Sunday Leadoff live games. They started their multi-year agreement on May 19, Roku now offers free Sunday MLB games on The Roku Channel. Additionally, they’ve introduced an all-new MLB Zone, providing baseball enthusiasts with a way to find live and upcoming games, nightly recaps, highlights, and access to a fully programmed MLB FAST channel, among other features on the Roku platform. Most Sundays during the season, Roku will broadcast the day’s first games, enjoying an exclusive airing window.
Numerous methods exist for accessing MLB Sunday Leadoff games on Roku at no cost. Further details are provided below. Moreover, MLB.TV subscribers who pay can view all 18 games without any blackout restrictions, from any location globally.
“As television programming, live sports, and the leagues have fragmented across networks, apps, and multiple packages, Roku—home to all of them—plays an increasingly crucial role for viewers and advertisers,” said Charlie Collier, President, Roku Media. “With this deal, Roku delivers free, live, weekly Sunday baseball and 24/7 baseball curation, destinations, and channels across our platform. The lead-in to all of television is now the lead-off for Sunday baseball as well. It’s a terrific partnership.”
MLB Sunday Leadoff will be streamed every Sunday on The Roku Channel and TheRokuChannel.com from May 19 to September 15. The series begins on May 19 with the St. Louis Cardinals hosting the Boston Red Sox. Featured matchups include the Baltimore Orioles, with rising stars Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, facing off against the New York Yankees, featuring Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, on July 14; and the defending National League champions, the Arizona Diamondbacks with Corbin Carroll, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers, boasting talents like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, on September 1. The broadcasts will be produced in collaboration with Major League Baseball, with market-focused broadcast teams each week. Chip Caray (play-by-play), Will Middlebrooks (analyst), and Alexa Datt (reporter) will call this Sunday’s game. The complete MLB Sunday Leadoff schedule on Roku is available at the end of this press release.
“With free games available to anyone, MLB games on Roku will be widely accessible to fans,” said Noah Garden, MLB Deputy Commissioner, Business and Media. “Since Roku serves as an entertainment gateway for millions, this partnership offers a valuable new promotional and distribution platform for MLB games and content.”
The all-new MLB Zone is the ultimate destination for fans to explore, find, and stream all things MLB. It features an enhanced MLB FAST channel that offers premium sports content 24/7, including the latest highlights, replays of MLB Games of the Week, Minor League Baseball games, and more. Additionally, viewers can locate Sunday games in the MLB Zone by navigating to the Sports section from the Roku Home Screen menu or utilizing Roku Search.
The Roku Channel is readily accessible for free streaming without the need for a subscription or sign-up. It is available on Roku devices, TVs, TheRokuChannel.com, and via the Roku app on iOS and Android devices, as well as Amazon Fire TVs, Samsung TVs, Google TVs, and other devices running Android TV OS. As of Q4 2023, The Roku Channel has reached an estimated 120 million people in U.S. households and has risen to be among the top 10 streaming apps in the U.S., per the Nielsen Gauge Report. Additionally, it ranks as the third most popular app on the Roku platform in terms of reach and engagement.