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Baseball is back this week.
And the Tigers, with Opening Day set for Thursday in San Diego, are putting together the finishing touches on their move to a new television platform, Detroit SportsNet.
The Tigers are moving to the MLB Media distribution umbrella for the 2026 season, with FanDuel Sports Network Detroit's parent company on the brink of shutting down.
The Tigers' locally produced television broadcasts will be available on streaming (through MLB.TV) and linear television, though the linear TV situation is, as expected, going down to the wire. Ben Fidelman, a Tigers vice president who oversees broadcast matters, clarified the situation in a long post on social media Sunday, explaining Detroit SportsNet is likely to be available via all cable companies that carried FanDuel.
"If you watched Tigers or Red Wings games through your cable package last year, there's a good chance no action will be needed to watch moving forward," Fidelman wrote in his post on X (formerly Twitter). "We'll share a full list of cable/satellite providers carrying DSN, along with channel assignments, soon after the agreements are finalized. Full disclosure: this could come as late as the morning of Opening Day."
FanDuel Sports Network Detroit was available on most major cable providers, as part of a higher-tier package. Fidelman said big cable companies, like Xfinity, DirecTV and others, are likely to be on board with Detroit SportsNet, with MLB Media handling the distribtution negotiations.
The channel numbers are expected to be in the same neighborhood as FanDuel Sports Network Detroit.
For customers who don't have traditional cable ― and cord-cutting is a major reason regional sports networks are floundering financially ― the streaming option is available through MLB.com. In-market fans can get all locally aired games HERE, starting at $19.99 a month or $189.99 a year.
More: Here's (almost) everything you need to know to watch Tigers on TV in 2026
Eventually, the subscription will include access to both Tigers and Red Wings games. The Red Wings are finishing this season on FanDuel, before moving to the MLB Media umbrella for the 2026-27 season.
Fans who have cable subscriptions so they can watch Red Wings games will have to pay two separate subscription fees if they want to watch both the Red Wings and Tigers ― for now.
Detroit SportsNet is expected to carry more than 140 Tigers games in 2026. The Tigers will be on national TV at least 16 teams this season, starting with Peacock's "Sunday Night Baseball" on April 5 against the St. Louis Cardinals. There will be no blackouts on locally produced Tigers telecasts, though Detroit SportsNet subscriptions will not include access to nationally broadcast Tigers games (Peacock, NBC, ESPN, Apple, TBS, etc.).
The Tigers open the season at 4:10 Thursday in San Diego; the home opener is at 1:10 Friday, April 3, against the Cardinals at Comerica Park. Time seems to be ticking to sort out the TV situation, but don't sweat it, the Tigers are telling their fans.
"One frustrating reality in sports media is that distribution deals often finalize right up against a hard deadline," Fidelman wrote. "Though it's not ideal, we've been told since the beginning that it would play out this way. All the other MLB teams transitioning away from FanDuel are in the same boat on this timeline.
"There's nothing to worry about here."
The Tigers and Red Wings broadcast teams will remain unchanged under the new Detroit SportsNet, with Jason Benetti back for a third season as lead play-by-play voice for the Tigers. He is expected to do more than 120 Tigers games, missing Sundays as the new lead play-by-play man for "Sunday Night Baseball." The last two seasons, he missed most Saturdays, as a national broadcast for Fox games.
[email protected]
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers' TV logistics going down to the wire
Continue reading...
And the Tigers, with Opening Day set for Thursday in San Diego, are putting together the finishing touches on their move to a new television platform, Detroit SportsNet.
The Tigers are moving to the MLB Media distribution umbrella for the 2026 season, with FanDuel Sports Network Detroit's parent company on the brink of shutting down.
The Tigers' locally produced television broadcasts will be available on streaming (through MLB.TV) and linear television, though the linear TV situation is, as expected, going down to the wire. Ben Fidelman, a Tigers vice president who oversees broadcast matters, clarified the situation in a long post on social media Sunday, explaining Detroit SportsNet is likely to be available via all cable companies that carried FanDuel.
"If you watched Tigers or Red Wings games through your cable package last year, there's a good chance no action will be needed to watch moving forward," Fidelman wrote in his post on X (formerly Twitter). "We'll share a full list of cable/satellite providers carrying DSN, along with channel assignments, soon after the agreements are finalized. Full disclosure: this could come as late as the morning of Opening Day."
FanDuel Sports Network Detroit was available on most major cable providers, as part of a higher-tier package. Fidelman said big cable companies, like Xfinity, DirecTV and others, are likely to be on board with Detroit SportsNet, with MLB Media handling the distribtution negotiations.
The channel numbers are expected to be in the same neighborhood as FanDuel Sports Network Detroit.
For customers who don't have traditional cable ― and cord-cutting is a major reason regional sports networks are floundering financially ― the streaming option is available through MLB.com. In-market fans can get all locally aired games HERE, starting at $19.99 a month or $189.99 a year.
More: Here's (almost) everything you need to know to watch Tigers on TV in 2026
Eventually, the subscription will include access to both Tigers and Red Wings games. The Red Wings are finishing this season on FanDuel, before moving to the MLB Media umbrella for the 2026-27 season.
Fans who have cable subscriptions so they can watch Red Wings games will have to pay two separate subscription fees if they want to watch both the Red Wings and Tigers ― for now.
Detroit SportsNet is expected to carry more than 140 Tigers games in 2026. The Tigers will be on national TV at least 16 teams this season, starting with Peacock's "Sunday Night Baseball" on April 5 against the St. Louis Cardinals. There will be no blackouts on locally produced Tigers telecasts, though Detroit SportsNet subscriptions will not include access to nationally broadcast Tigers games (Peacock, NBC, ESPN, Apple, TBS, etc.).
The Tigers open the season at 4:10 Thursday in San Diego; the home opener is at 1:10 Friday, April 3, against the Cardinals at Comerica Park. Time seems to be ticking to sort out the TV situation, but don't sweat it, the Tigers are telling their fans.
"One frustrating reality in sports media is that distribution deals often finalize right up against a hard deadline," Fidelman wrote. "Though it's not ideal, we've been told since the beginning that it would play out this way. All the other MLB teams transitioning away from FanDuel are in the same boat on this timeline.
"There's nothing to worry about here."
The Tigers and Red Wings broadcast teams will remain unchanged under the new Detroit SportsNet, with Jason Benetti back for a third season as lead play-by-play voice for the Tigers. He is expected to do more than 120 Tigers games, missing Sundays as the new lead play-by-play man for "Sunday Night Baseball." The last two seasons, he missed most Saturdays, as a national broadcast for Fox games.
[email protected]
@tonypaul1984
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Want to comment on this story? Become a subscriber today. Click here.This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers' TV logistics going down to the wire
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