The Apple-Major League Baseball partnership continues. A weekly doubleheader lineup of baseball games will air on Fridays on Apple TV+, beginning April 7 with a matchup between the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs.
Last season, Apple made Friday Night Baseball available to all users for free — it was watchable by anyone with an Apple ID and access to the Apple TV app. That “limited time offer” has now gone away. For 2023, an Apple TV+ subscription is required to tune in to see the games.
Unlike MLS Season Pass, Friday Night Baseball is not a separate subscription package. It is simply an added perk of the standard $6.99/mo Apple TV+ subscription. Commercial venues like bars and restaurants will be able to find Friday Night Baseball games through DirecTV’s business cable offering.
Like last year, production is handled by MLB Network. The slate of talent for the announcer booths will include Wayne Randazzo, Dontrelle Willis, Heidi Witney, Alex Faust, Ryan Spilborghs and Tricia Whitaker.
Something new this time around though is the addition of local radio streams as alternative audio options, for fans in the US and Canada. That means viewers can choose to hear local radio commentary, synced up with the Friday Night Baseball video stream.
This feature addition is likely in response to complaints last year from fans who did not like the lineup of MLB Network broadcasting talent that Apple used. It also builds on a similar synced radio feature that was first introduced with the launch of MLS Season Pass.
Apple and MLB today also announced the Friday Night Baseball schedule for the first half of the season, through June 30. You can see all the teams and dates, in the press release.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments