How To Watch
There are many different ways to watch M-League, both current and past games. Much of the M-League content is on AbemaTV.
Table of Contents
Navigating AbemaTV
When visiting AbemaTV for the first time, you will be greeted with a terms and conditions and privacy policy screen. Scroll down to read the English version, click the box next to “I agree” and press the “Next” button.
Next, AbemaTV will ask a few details about yourself to give you show recommendation (or you can just put in random information if you want to).
After pressing the yellow button, it will instruct you to enter your age and gender (male, female, other). The screen after will instruct you to choose your interests. After choosing Mahjong (麻雀), you will gain access to the website with the mahjong channel being the recommended live channel.
Live Games
During the M-League season, games are typically broadcast on the ABEMA Mahjong Channel. All live games can be watched for free.
Broadcasts typically start at 19:00 JST and last until around midnight. However, games can go longer or shorter than the broadcast time.
Broadcasts are usually allotted a 5 hour timeslot on ABEMA, but usually last around 3.5 to 4 hours. If a broadcast last longer than the allotted time (usually around midnight JST), the broadcast will move to the ABEMA Mahjong 2 Channel.
Past Games
Past games can be watched under the M-Leaguer category under the word 本編 for all seasons. It can take games 12-24 hours after the broadcast start to show up here.
Recent past games can also be watched by selecting their broadcast timeslot on the ABEMA Schedule. Hover over the “By Date” (日付別) selection on the left hand side and choose the game day on the calendar. The game will be under the Mahjong (麻雀) column at around 19:00 JST.
Note that all past broadcasts will require ABEMA Premium to watch (and possibly a VPN if viewing them through the timeslot method).
Highlights
Many highlights can be watched for free on ABEMA through the M-League Best Collection. These are typically exciting single hands or skillful plays. The highlights here are sorted by team.
Day highlights can be watched in the M-League category under the word ハイライト. These are recaps of the events of the day, including the final scores for each game.
Highlights can also be found on the official M-League YouTube Channel, though many of them are geoblocked. Some clips can also be found on other YouTube channels.
Abema Premium
ABEMA Premium is a subscription service offered by ABEMA that allows you to watch past games, rewind broadcasts that are currently being aired and see exclusive M-League content. Currently, it costs ￥1080 / month.
There is also ABEMA Premium with ads, which gives you access to same exclusive content, but has ads and does not allow you to rewind currently-airing live broadcasts. Currently, it costs ￥580 / month.
Some examples of the M-League exclusive content include team documentaries and ura-interviews (interviews of players who didn’t get interviewed during the broadcast)
If you are interested in getting ABEMA Premium, check out this guide from our good friend experimilk.
If you have issues purchasing ABEMA Premium, try signing up through the app and purchasing through the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
Troubleshooting
ABEMA Premium (ABEMAプレミアム)
If this message shows up, this means that the program requires ABEMA Premium to watch. This message may also show up when trying to rewind a live broadcast.
If you are watching live games, make sure it is through the ABEMA Mahjong Channel.
Otherwise, check out our section about ABEMA Premium for access to these exclusive programs.
Not Available In Your Region (お住まいの地域ではご視聴できません )
This message will show up on most non-mahjong channels and on some M-League special programs (such as Nekkyou! M-League [熱闘!Mリーグ]). It may also show up when attempting to watch ongoing live games outside of the ABEMA Mahjong Channel. This message can typically be bypassed with a VPN.
If this message shows up unexpectedly, make sure you are watching the correct program. If you are watching live games, make sure it is through the ABEMA Mahjong Channel.
If this doesn’t work, try turning off your VPN if you are using one, or turning one on if you are not.
Commercial Break (ただいまCM中です)
If the message ただいまCM中です shows up, it means that the broadcast is currently in a commercial break. This is normal. Viewers watching in Japan or with a VPN may see commercials during this time, while viewers outside of Japan will be shown the screen above. The broadcast will resume after a few minutes.
However, if the commercials takes much longer than usual, try refreshing the page. If it is already a few hours past the broadcast start time, it is possible that the games are done for the day.
Program Suddenly Changed
If the program changes suddenly mid-broadcast, it is possible that the broadcast has gone beyond its allotted time slot (typically ending around midnight JST). If this is the case, switch to the ABEMA Mahjong Live Channel.
No Sound
If the video has no sound, make sure that the video is not muted (by toggling the speaker icon). Also check that you have your volume up on your computer and that the sound is going to the correct audio output device.
Frozen Video
If the broadcast seems to be frozen, try refreshing the page. If this doesn’t work, try restarting your computer.
M-League Watch 