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"Friday Night Baseball" is now on Apple TV. Here's how to set up weekly MLB-based streaming using your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
First announced on March 8 and first aired on April 8, "Friday Night Baseball" offers viewers two full Major League Baseball games to watch with a weekly double-header.
It's not just games, as there are live pre- and post-game shows, live commentary, and a slew of changes to how baseball is usually viewed on broadcast networks.
For Apple, the weekly event is Apple TV+'s first foray into live sports streaming, and it could lead Apple to expand its business in the future.
Here's what you need to know about the show and how to watch it.
When is Friday Night Baseball?
As the name suggests, "Friday Night Baseball" airs on a Friday night. According to the halftime schedule aired before the first broadcast, Apple will air the show every Friday until June 24.
As with two baseball games, the kickoff times for each will vary, but gradually change from 1.5 hours to 3 hours in each night's games. Generally, the delay is from 2 hours to 3 hours, but there are exceptions such as 6:30 pm ET for the first game and May 20 for the second game.
How can I watch?
To watch "Friday Night Baseball" you must have access to Apple TV+. This means you have to use the Apple TV+ app, but there are no restrictions on which device you should use.
You can watch games on an Apple TV if you want, but you can also use the app on an iPhone, iPad or Mac.
You can watch "Friday Night Baseball" if you can access the Apple TV+ app.
Indeed, you don't even need to use an Apple device to watch it. There are many set-top boxes and smart TVs available that offer the Apple TV+ app and can therefore also be used for watching games.
If you don't have access to the app but have a browser, you can also watch the broadcast at tv.apple.com.
You will find all upcoming games in a new section titled "Friday Night Baseball".
In which countries can Friday Night Baseball be watched?
Apple is rolling out "Friday Night Baseball" in several countries when it is released:
- United States of America
- Canada
- Australia
- Brazil
- Japan
- Mexican
- Porto Rico
- South Korea
- United Kingdom
Apple plans to expand it to more countries "at a later date".
How much is Friday Night Baseball?
Apple says "Friday Night Baseball" is part of an Apple TV+ subscription, normally $4.99 per month, or an Apple One subscription. A free trial period is also available for new subscribers.
However, for the launch of streams, Apple is making them available to watch for free and without an Apple TV+ subscription for a limited time. That will change at some point, but it's unclear when that will happen.
How is Friday Night Baseball different?
As a sports broadcast through the Apple platform, there are a number of differences that viewers may want to be prepared for. To begin with, broadcasts are offered without local interruptions.
Typically, sports blackouts refer to situations where broadcasts to an entire country are blocked by local broadcasters. The idea is to encourage ticket sales by preventing games from being displayed in other ways locally.
"Friday Night Baseball" is not subject to blackout rules, so it is possible to watch the broadcast without interference near the stadium where the match is located.
An example of onscreen graphics used in 'Friday Night Baseball'
Because it is produced by MLB Network, the broadcast has access to a number of commentators, presenters, and analysts. This includes Stephen Nelson, Hunter Pence, Katie Nolan and Heidi Watney, among others.
Throughout the opening weekend, there were complaints about the initial broadcast, and the commenting team sparked some scorn, accusing it of making less game-related conversations than some fans might prefer.
This is likely due to the nature of fans who are used to listening to local commentary teams for smaller markets rather than dealing with an internationally broadcast game. There is also a need to entertain fans who are watching baseball for the first time after hearing about Apple's new programming venture.
Another more welcomed change is the graphics, as it uses an Apple-like minimalist aesthetic throughout. The presentation is clean and unbridled without any distracting ads, plus features like a strikethrough probability score in the lower right corner after each step.
Apple also includes other parts of its ecosystem in its "Friday Night Baseball" package. For example, Apple and MLB will provide enhanced league and team coverage, with highlights for fans on Apple News.
On a more minor note, Apple Music has an "MLB Friday Night Baseball" category with walk-up music playlists for each team.
How is the flow?
Games are streamed in 1080p and watched on opening night, AppleInsider I found the video to be really clear throughout the games. It is a high-quality broadcast that perfects and truly showcases shooting options such as depth-of-field effects for player close-ups.
Sometimes the stream dropped to 720p, but soon returned to a clearer 1080p feed.
If you don't have the Apple TV+ app, you can even view 'Friday Night Baseball' via a browser.
That being said, it had teething issues over its opening weekend. This included issues for some users who couldn't connect to the stream or their broadcast suddenly stopped.
This is live streaming of externally broadcast sports content, and on a large scale, some issues are bound to arise. It's almost certain that Apple's engineering teams took note of what happened in order to do the right thing for the coming weekends.
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