My disdain for MLB.tv has been well documented over the past couple years, particularly in light of its failure to serve the growing market of cord-cutters across the country. That goes double for Cubs fans, many of whom live under the shroud of an archaic blackout map that leaves them in a doughnut hole when it comes to local and national coverage.
Even though it’s a streaming service, MLB.tv is still subject to the same regional blackouts as broadcast television. As such, fans who live inside the region considered local for a given team — and who aren’t using an IP masking service or a jail-broken Fire Stick or other device — are only able to watch teams other than their own via the subscription service.