In recent months, T-Mobile has been generous with the perks it offers loyal customers, especially as it struggles to prevent them from switching carriers. As T-Mobile wrestles with rising competition, it is sweetening the deal by bringing back a free customer benefit valued at about $150.
In 2025, T-Mobile’s postpaid phone churn, the percentage of customers who canceled their service, reached 0.9%, an increase from the 0.84% churn it had in 2024, according to its latest earnings report.
The heightened customer losses come after T-Mobile raised prices for some of its legacy phone plans earlier last year and later made additional changes to its offerings that irritated some customers.
U.S. consumers have become more sensitive to high phone plan bills amid economic pressures. A new survey from Oxio found that more Americans are reassessing their loyalty to their phone carriers and are warming up to the idea of exploring nontraditional wireless service options as they seek lower prices and value in their phone plans.
About 58% of U.S. consumers in the survey said that a bill increase triggers them to reevaluate their phone plan. While 79% said they value affordable pricing the most from a mobile provider, 75% have a positive or neutral opinion of nontraditional phone carriers.
“Last year, our research signaled that consumers were open to change,” said Oxio CEO Nicolas Girard in a press release. “In 2026, that openness became action. Consumers are not passively renewing mobile plans. They are actively evaluating them, comparing value, scrutinizing pricing, and reassessing providers more frequently.”
Free customer perk returns to T-Mobile
Throughout 2025, T-Mobile has rolled out several free perks in its T-Life app to discourage customers from leaving.
In March last year, through its T-Mobile Tuesdays program in the app, the carrier offered customers a deal that allowed them to purchase a three-piece chicken tender combo from Wingstop for only $0.01; however, the offer ended abruptly and early due to high demand.
Related: T-Mobile customers set to receive a significant network upgrade
In May, T-Mobile also began offering customers $25 off any Uber Eats order of $30 or more, another deal that ended prematurely due to high popularity.
In July, it gave customers the opportunity to snag a free DoorDash subscription (DashPass), and the following month, it rolled out a six-month free trial of Apple TV+.
After seeing high demand for these perks, T-Mobile is once again pulling this lever.
Just in time for baseball season, T-Mobile is offering customers a free, full regular-season subscription to the MLB.TV app, a perk valued at $149.99 and has been offered annually since 2016.
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The app allows viewers to watch out-of-market games (live or on demand) and listen to live radio play-by-play for all Major League teams. Viewers can also stream documentaries and World Series films, receive the latest baseball news and highlights, and more.
“We are always looking for ways to give our customers more of what they love – and our customers love baseball! They streamed MILLIONS of hours of MLB.TV in 2025, so obviously we wanted to extend this free offer for another season,” said T-Mobile in a statement on its website.
The freebie will be available in the T-Life app from March 24 to March 30, and it is offered to all qualifying customers.
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T-Mobile’s new free perk appeals to shifting consumer behavior
The latest free perk from T-Mobile targets a growing consumer trend, which involves more Americans turning to streaming over traditional TV options like cable and satellite TV to watch live sports.
According to a recent survey from Reviews.org, many Americans prefer watching live sports through streaming apps due to cost and the customization options these platforms offer.
How Americans are watching live sports in 2026:
- Approximately 88% of Americans watch live sports.
- Streaming is the primary way Americans watch live sports (47%), while cable/satellite options fall behind (33%).
- The estimated total monthly spend on live sports is roughly $122.93 per household.
- Specifically, households spend an average of $79.80 per month to watch sports through traditional pay TV and an extra $43.13 per month for on-demand streaming.
- Also, 57% of Americans stream sports using Amazon Prime Video, while 44% use ESPN, 41% use Hulu, and 38% use Peacock.
- About 68% of Americans watch the NFL, making it the most-followed sports league in the U.S. The NBA comes second (55%), followed by MLB (54%).
- Nearly 75% of people agree that live sports are becoming too expensive to follow their favorite teams and leagues.
Source: Reviews.org
“Still, it’s apparent that people are increasingly turning to streaming for watching live sports because they can customize their options to keep up with their favorite teams and leagues without overpaying for add-ons and extra channels,” wrote Trevor Wheelwright, TV, streaming, and internet expert at Reviews.org, in the survey release.
Related: T-Mobile launches bold new offers to win back customers
