Fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates who plan on tuning into the club’s series finale vs. the Atlanta Braves on Sunday morning will need to be aware of a notable broadcasting deviation.
Sunday’s game at 11:35 a.m. will not be featured on SportsNet Pittsburgh, whether via one’s normal cable bundle or newly launched subscription to the channel.
Instead, the Pirates and Braves will be featured on Roku’s “MLB Sunday Leadoff.”
In May, Roku announced a multi-year exclusive acquisition to broadcast Sunday MLB games. This Sunday will mark the debut of the Pirates on Roku.
The game will be easily accessible on Roku devices or TVs.
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For those without a Roku device, several options (all free) remain.
First, the game can be streamed (minus any sign-up, free trial or subscription) at therokuchannel.com.
“With free games available to anyone, MLB games on Roku will be widely accessible to fans,” said Noah Garden, MLB deputy commissioner, business and media in a release. “Since Roku serves as an entertainment gateway for millions, this partnership offers a valuable new promotional and distribution platform for MLB games and content.”
Downloading the Roku Channel app, available on smartphones, Amazon Fire devices, Samsung TVs and Google TVs, is also an option.
For those unable to watch live, a full replay will be available on Roku devices and the Roku Channel six hours after the game ends.
Pirates fans can also look forward to seeing and hearing a familiar figure during the broadcast.
Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Matt Capps will provide color commentary Sunday alongside play-by-play man Brandon Gaudin of Bally Sports, with Wiley Ballard reporting from the sideline.
Note: SportsNet Pittsburgh will air the first of 10 scheduled Altoona Curve games this Sunday at 6 p.m. The Curve host the Akron RubberDucks at Peoples Natural Gas Field. Curve broadcasters Jon Mozes and Preston Shoemaker will be on the call.
