Some Cable + Satellite Providers Offering Free Access To MLB Network To Watch Twins-Yankees Game

The Minnesota Twins are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017 after winning the AL Central for the first time since 2010. While fans are excited about watching their hometown team take on the Bronx Bombers in New York, that excitement was tempered when it was announced that the game would be broadcast exclusively on premium cable channel MLB Network.

On many pay TV services, MLB Network is not readily available and is often an extra charge, which made fans upset that a playoff MLB game would be made so difficult to access for fans that don't already have (or want to subscribe to) the network.

Some pay TV providers have stepped in to make fans happy though. Twins Baseball President Dave St. Peter tweeted on Wednesday that a number of TV providers will be offering MLB Network for free for a limited time to allow fans to catch the game.

In the tweet, it was revealed that DirecTV, DISH, Midcontinent, Sling TV, and other providers would be offering free access to the network for a limited time.

Notably missing from this list is (Charter) Spectrum, which is a major provider in the Twin Ports area. A number of people have been tweeting at Spectrum, asking them to follow suit with other providers that are offering a "free preview" of MLB Network for the opening of the MLB Playoffs. MLB Network is available for Spectrum's Silver and Gold packages, but not their basic package.

As far as Mediacom customers in the area, the company's website doesn't list MLB Network as an available channel in their Northern Minnesota TV packages, even as an upgrade option.

We'll see what happens with Spectrum between now and Friday evening, but the good news is that only one Twins game is scheduled on MLB Network in this series. The remainder of the games in the series will be on FS1, which is much more available on most pay TV providers without upgrading to a different package.

For Twin Cities area cable subscribers, Comcast added themselves to the the "free preview list" yesterday afternoon. We'll see if Spectrum follows suit.

The schedule of Twins/Yankees games are as follows (all times in Central Time):

• Game 1: Twins @ Yankees - 6:07 pm Friday 10/4 on MLB Network
• Game 2: Twins @ Yankees - 4:07 pm Saturday 10/5 on FS1
• Game 3: Yankees @ Twins - time TBD Monday 10/7 on FS1
• Game 4: Yankees @ Twins - (If necessary) time TBD Tuesday 10/8 on FS1
• Game 5: Twins @ Yankees - (If necessary) time TBD Thursday 10/10 on FS1

If the Twins advance to the next round of the playoffs, those games will be broadcast on FOX or FS1.