MASN (Mid Atlantic Sports Network) is a cable network responsible for carrying Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals games, and MASN 2 is an alternative network that broadcasts content that’s not broadcast on the main MASN channel. In this guide, we'll take a look at how you can watch Orioles and Nationals games broadcast on MASN 2 without cable.
Can I watch MASN 2 online with a streaming service?
If you want to watch MASN 2 online without cable, we’ve got some bad news. Currently, no internet TV service such as Sling TV, Hulu With Live TV, Fubo, or DirecTV Stream offers MASN or MASN 2.
Unfortunately, it seems that MASN has no desire to negotiate with these internet TV providers, despite the fact that it’s offered on traditional cable and satellite pay TV services in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.
However, you’re not totally out of luck. If you want to watch MASN 2 live without cable because you’re a Nationals or Orioles fan, you do have another option – streaming MLB.TV and using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) like ExpressVPN to change your location so that you avoid blackouts on Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles games. Read on to get all the details.
Watch The Nationals and Orioles with MLB.TV
While you can’t watch MASN 2 live without cable, you can still watch Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles games with a bit of a workaround involving MLB.TV.
MLB.TV is the streaming service offered by Major League Baseball, and it’s the best way to stream MASN 2 without cable. With this service, you can purchase a pass to watch a single out-of-market MLB team for $59.99/year, or upgrade to a premium package to watch all out-of-market games for $69.99/year.
This may sound too good to be true. So, what’s the catch? Well, MLB.TV is supposed to only be for out-of-market teams. That means that if you try to subscribe to the Washington Nationals or Baltimore Orioles, and you live in the Baltimore-Washington area, you can’t watch most of the games due to blackout restrictions.
Luckily for you, there’s a way around this. A VPN (Virtual Private Network). Read on to learn more.
Using a VPN with MLB.TV
A VPN is a service that lets you connect your computer or streaming device to another computer located in a different geographical area. Essentially, you can change the place that it looks like you’re connecting from.
In other words, you can set up a VPN to connect your computer to a server in Toronto, Canada. Then, when you access a web page or a streaming service like MLB.TV, it will think that you are physically located in Toronto.
Using a VPN like ExpressVPN, it’s very simple to get around MLB.TV blackouts. You may not be able to watch MASN 2 live without cable, but with this method, you can easily watch the Washington Nationals or Baltimore Orioles.
All you have to do is sign up for MLB.TV and pick the subscription package you want. Then, just sign up for a VPN service like ExpressVPN, and download a VPN app onto your computer or mobile device.
Next, you will simply need to set your VPN to an area where the Orioles or Nationals are not subject to blackout restrictions, and connect. For example, if you’re located in Baltimore, you could connect to a VPN server in Chicago to eliminate the blackout restrictions, and watch the Orioles or Washington Nationals without cable. You can look at this blackout schedule for more information.
My VPN isn’t working with MLB.TV. What’s happening?
MLB.TV, like other streaming services, is aware that some customers may be trying to use VPNs to avoid blackout restrictions, so they sometimes detect VPNs and block these connections. This can happen with any VPN service, including ExpressVPN.
We recommend trying a different VPN server, or contacting the customer support team of the VPN you're using to inquire about a server that may work with MLB.TV.
Is it legal to watch MLB.TV with a VPN?
We know the above method may seem a little bit sketchy. But it’s actually completely legal. There is no law or rule that restricts your ability to avoid blackouts of sports games by using a VPN like ExpressVPN, so doing so is completely legal and above-board, and it's a great option for cord-cutters who are sick of paying high rates for cable TV networks like MASN and MASN 2.
Eric Liston • Author
Eric Liston is a content writer based in Columbus, Ohio. Since 2015, he’s been writing about technology, cord-cutting, and helping everyday people save money. He also has expertise writing about medicine, dentistry, insurance, and a variety of other industries. No matter what he’s writing, his focus is always on simplifying complex concepts and making them approachable for everyone. When he’s not slamming away on his keyboard at his home office, you’ll find Eric reading sci-fi novels, improving his disc golf game (he just hit his first 400-foot drive) and playing video games on his gaming PC.
Desiree Wu • Editor
Desiree is a full-time Honours Business Administration student at Ivey Business School at Western University. She also served as an Editorial Intern at Flixed. Desiree is based in London, Ontario.
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