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YouTube TV loses MLB Network and MLB.TV add-on

By Phil Nickinson Published January 31, 2023

YouTube TV no longer has access to MLB Network — with Spring Training set to begin in less than a month. In a note to subscribers, YouTube TV said that it was unable to reach a deal that would keep Major League Baseball’s network available on the service’s base plan.

“We have been working hard to renew our deal with the MLB Network to continue carrying their content on YouTube TV,” the note stated. “However, we have been unable to reach an agreement, and starting today, January 31, 2023, MLB Network content will no longer be available on YouTube TV.”

YouTube TV on Roku. — Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

In addition to the live shows on the linear channel, any recorded content also is now unavailable.

Adding insult to injury, the MLB.TV add-on also is no longer available as an option on YouTube TV. That add-on allowed subscribers to watch out-of-market games.

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The note from YouTube TV continued: “We apologize for the news and will continue conversations with the MLB to advocate on your behalf, in the hope of restoring their content on YouTube TV.”

This sort of carriage disagreement isn’t uncommon, and YouTube TV is no stranger to it either, despite its position as the biggest live streaming service in the U.S. with more than 5 million subscribers. The loss of MLB content likely will leave some fans searching for a YouTube TV alternative, but it’s doubtful that the service will suffer a massive drop in subscribers.

YouTube TV is available on every major platform, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, Android TV, on various smart TV, and in a web browser. Its base plan costs $65 a month, with options such as 4K Plus and various sports and entertainment bundles available from there.

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YouTube tests ad-free links to lure you into a Premium subscription

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YouTube Premium, despite its recent string of price hikes, has continued to grow and even diversify its subscription tiers with low-cost, watered-down plans. The most notable of its perks is ad-free video watching, which remains a core subscription driver for people who flock to the service for entertainment, work, or education.
The company has now started testing a new feature that lets YouTube Premium subscribers share ad-free videos with their friends, family members, or any other acquaintances. It’s not a free buffet situation, however, as the number of shared ad-free videos maxes out at ten per month.
The core premise is pretty straightforward. If you pay for an ad-free video-watching experience, can you share the same ten times each month. In hindsight, it’s a clever strategy to give more free users a taste of the ad-free nirvana, with hopes of eventually luring them into paying for a subscription.

How ad-free links work on YouTube?
The experiment is currently limited to YouTube Premium subscribers in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. However, it may never launch globally, or take a while to expand, if the history of such experimental features is any indication.

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Apple tvOS 19: everything you need to know

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Now that Apple's annual WWDC event is just around the corner, we'll soon learn what the company has in store for the software that powers its popular streaming device, the Apple TV. The next major version will be tvOS 19 and it's expected to get new features, a possible new design, and will push integration with Apple's other products deeper than before.
When will tvOS 19 be revealed?
Apple's WWDC 2025 is set to take place starting June 9. The first day of the event begins with the keynote address (usually at 10 a.m. PT), which lays out the overall vision for the future of Apple's software (with the occasional hardware announcement thrown in) including iOS 19, watchOS 12, macOS 16, iPadOS 19, and visionOS 3. That's also when we can expect the official announcement of tvOS 19.
What the rumors say

There has been very little speculation around tvOS 19 itself, however we may be able to take some clues from what folks are predicting will happen with iOS 19 and iPadOS 19. tvOS may be centered around the Apple TV, but it shares much of its DNA with the code that runs Apple's phones and tablets.

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YouTube Music lets you prompt your way to better playlists

YouTube Music on iPhone.

YouTube Music is adding flexibility to its relatively fresh AI “radio” feature. You can now tune your “Ask Music” stations to align better with your interests. This is just one of the new features coming to iOS.

First introduced last year as a quasi-alternative to Spotify’s AI Playlist feature, “Ask Music” lets you create custom playlists or “radio” stations by typing or speaking what you’d like to hear.