How to live steam Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays on YouTube
It’s a getaway day as the Boston Red Sox host the Tampa Bay Rays for the finale of their three-game series looking to cap off a sweep of the reigning American League champions. Boston has built some momentum from a thrilling extra-innings walk-off win last night which should fuel them in their quest to reach the .500 mark for the season.
You won’t find this game on NESN though. Nope, it’s not on ESPN, FOX or any other station your cable provider gives you access to. The series finale between these division rivals will be aired exclusively on YouTube.
MLB Network will produce the broadcast, which is one of 21 major league games that will be exclusively shown on YouTube this season. The site include several popular features, including the option for fans to vote for the YouTube Player of the Game award, in-game polls and a chat for fans to discuss the game.
The game can be found online on the official MLB YouTube page and the Red Sox YouTube page.
Those who own a Smart TV or a streaming device (i.e. Roku, Fire Stick, PlayStation, Xbox, etc.) can download the YouTube app to view the game on their television.
Here are some additional details for catching today’s game:
Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Location: Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Start time: 1:10 p.m. EST
Pitching probables: LHP Ryan Yarbrough (Rays) vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (Red Sox)
TV channel: None
Live stream: YouTube (free)
Radio: WEEI 93.7 FM
Broadcasting games on YouTube is an interesting experiment that allows free access to view games for those who don’t have a cable subscription. Fans from outside of the New England market without access to NESN can watch the game without having to pay for the expensive MLB TV package. MLB has often been criticized for making it more difficult for fans to watch games and the annoying blackouts that are a hindrance to MLB TV subscribers. Involving YouTube as a platform to watch games seems to be an attempt to move in the right direction.
On the other hand, the change will frustrate a portion of the fan base that expects to see the Red Sox on NESN. Not everyone has access to a device that will allow them to stream the game on their television. As hard as it is to believe in 2021, some fans don’t own a computer that they can use to watch the game online. Fans that might not be the most tech savvy might struggle to figure out how to stream the game even if they do have the ability to do so.
It might be an adjustment for some fans but it’s only for one game and the potential for exposing the game to a larger group has more benefits than drawbacks. It’s worth a shot for MLB to test this strategy to see if it will be viable to expand on this partnership in the future.