Ken Rosenthal and Alanna Rizzo dedicated part of their latest Fair Territory episode to trying to understand why the Angels aren\u2019t televising a single spring training game, and they couldn\u2019t come up with a good reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dork of the week once again is the Angels, not for what they\u2019re doing on the field, Ken, but what they\u2019re doing to our colleagues, their television partners,\u201d Rizzo said. \u201cThey are not televising a single spring training game on television\u2026 I understand they don\u2019t have to televise all 30 or 32 or whatever it is, but to not televise a single spring training game, it just seems another, another lazy approach by the Angels.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re keeping your product away from your fans.\u201d@Ken_Rosenthal<\/a> and @AlannaRizzo<\/a> can\u2019t seem to wrap their heads around why the Angels aren\u2019t televising any Cactus League games. pic.twitter.com\/zVgA1piN6Y<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The Angels announced earlier this week<\/a> that they won\u2019t televise a single spring training game. Fans who want to watch will have to hope the opponent broadcasts and makes it available via the MLB app. Otherwise, they can listen on radio. The only exception is the Freeway Series against the Dodgers, which will air in Southern California because the Dodgers have their broadcast operation running.<\/p>\n Rosenthal admitted he didn\u2019t know all the details of the Angels\u2019 television situation, which has been in peril since January. But he knew enough to call out the problem.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know all the details here, Alana, but you\u2019re keeping your product away from your fans,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if the idea of spring training and televising spring training games is to get people excited for the regular season, well, the Angels are failing in that regard.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, their team isn\u2019t all that exciting to begin with, but that\u2019s the point. The televising of spring training games is largely promotional. It gives fans an appetite, gets them ready for the season, gets people interested in some of the new players that you might have. So, from that perspective, I don\u2019t understand what the Angels are doing. Again, I don\u2019t know all the particulars, the ins and outs of the television arrangement, but not to have any spring training games televised, not good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt also, as you mentioned, takes the product away from the fan base, but it also, you know, if the broadcasters are not here, it takes away their opportunity to interact with the players and start thinking of some storylines and establish those relationships perhaps with new players,\u201d Rizzo added. \u201cIt\u2019s just unfortunate all the way around. I\u2019m assuming it\u2019s a cost-cutting measure, but I\u2019m not certain about that.\u201d<\/p>\n The Angels\u2019 television situation has been in flux since January, when all nine MLB teams still under contract with Main Street Sports Group terminated their deals<\/a> after a proposed sale to DAZN collapsed. Most of those teams moved immediately<\/a> to MLB\u2019s in-house production and distribution setup. The Brewers, Marlins, Rays, Royals, Cardinals, Reds, and Tigers all announced their plans within days.<\/p>\n The Angels didn\u2019t. Reports surfaced<\/a> that they were exploring launching their own regional sports network, which would require buying out Main Street Sports\u2019 stake in their joint venture and building their own production infrastructure from scratch. The Angels finally announced on Feb. 10<\/a> that they were partnering with MLB to stream games to in-market fans, but beat writer Jeff Fletcher reported earlier this week<\/a> that cable distribution details are still being worked out.<\/p>\n That uncertainty apparently extends to spring training. Maybe it\u2019s cost-cutting, like Rizzo speculated. Maybe the production logistics couldn\u2019t be sorted out in time. Either way, fans are the ones who lose.<\/p>\n The Braves have plans to launch their own regional sports network<\/a>, too, and their production infrastructure isn\u2019t fully operational yet either. They still announced last week<\/a> that they\u2019re broadcasting 15 spring training games through Gray Media\u2019s local television stations across 26 markets in the Southeast, all free over-the-air. Atlanta found a partner to carry Grapefruit League games while they work on the bigger pieces. The Angels either couldn\u2019t make that happen or didn\u2019t prioritize it.<\/p>\n The Angels have put their fans through 11 straight years of missing the playoffs. They botched the Mike Trout era. They\u2019re in a rebuild that offers very little reason for optimism. Not televising spring training is just one more thing on the list.<\/p>\n \t