Apple Announces Return of 'Friday Night Baseball' on March 29

Apple and Major League Baseball (MLB) have announced that 'Friday Night Baseball,' a weekly doubleheader, will be available to Apple TV+ subscribers on Fridays throughout the 2024 regular season.

Fans in 60 countries and regions can enjoy two marquee matchups over 26 weeks with no local broadcast restrictions. "Friday Night Baseball" will begin on opening weekend of the 2024 season — Friday, March 29 — with some of the game's biggest stars taking center stage. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET with Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and the new-look New York Yankees lineup taking on the Houston Astros. And beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and the Los Angeles Dodgers will host the St. Louis Cardinals.

"We're so excited to bring fans another great season of 'Friday Night Baseball' on Apple TV+," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Services. "We have an outstanding lineup of games for Apple TV+ subscribers to watch across all their favorite devices, and an incredible group of talented broadcasters returning to bring fans closer to the games every week."


Coverage
"Friday Night Baseball" welcomes back the exceptional group of broadcast talent from last season to the announcer booths, including Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play), Dontrelle Willis (analyst), Heidi Watney (sideline reporter), Alex Faust (play-by-play), Ryan Spilborghs (analyst), and Tricia Whitaker (sideline reporter). Ted Barrett, Brian Gorman, and Dale Scott — all former MLB umpires — will break down rules and calls each week. Game assignments for announcers will be shared on a weekly basis.

Lauren Gardner also returns to host live pre- and postgame coverage, along with former MLB player and analyst Xavier Scruggs, and baseball journalist Russell Dorsey. On March 29, the "Friday Night Baseball" pregame show previewing the Cardinals vs. Dodgers and Yankees vs. Astros games will be hosted live from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, featuring exclusive player interviews and more. Pregame coverage will be hosted live from various games throughout the season.

"Friday Night Baseball" is produced by MLB Network's Emmy Award-winning production team in partnership with Apple's live sports production team, bringing viewers an unparalleled viewing experience. Each game will feature state-of-the-art cameras to present vivid live-action shots, and offer immersive sound in 5.1 with Spatial Audio enabled. "Friday Night Baseball" will again utilize drone cameras for beautiful aerial stadium shots, as well as player mics and field-level mics to immerse fans in the gameplay and stadium atmosphere. Fans in the U.S. and Canada will also have the option to listen to the audio of the home and away teams' local radio broadcasts during "Friday Night Baseball" games.

In Apple Sports, fans can follow MLB and their favorite MLB teams now, with full MLB stats and scores available beginning opening day. Apple Sports is a new a free app for iPhone that gives sports fans access to real-time scores, stats, and more.2 Designed for speed and simplicity, the app's personalized experience puts users' favorite leagues and teams front and center, featuring an easy-to-use interface designed by Apple.


Beginning March 28, fans in the U.S. can enjoy the MLB Big Inning whip-around show featuring live look-ins and in-game highlights every weeknight, and a full slate of MLB-related content on Apple TV+, including Countdown to First Pitch, MLB Daily Recap, and MLB This Week. Fans can also access additional MLB programming for free in the Apple TV app, including condensed game recaps after the completion of the live "Friday Night Baseball" broadcasts each week; classic games; highlights and interviews; and more.

This season, DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS will again be the exclusive national home of "Friday Night Baseball" for commercial establishments in the U.S. DIRECTV will deliver all the action to its network of more than 300,000 restaurants, bars, hotel lounges, retail shops, and other venues throughout the regular season on existing satellite equipment.

In Apple News, fans can easily follow the league and their favorite teams in the MLB feed, and watch personalized MLB highlights right in the News app. Each Friday, fans can also access a curated group of the most exciting stories from around the league, and tap to watch "Friday Night Baseball" directly in the Apple TV app with a subscription to Apple TV+. In Apple Music, fans can find exclusive official playlists featuring the walk-up songs from each week's teams, as well as a collection of classic songs celebrating baseball.

MultiView
Fans can follow the action of every game this MLB season right on their iPhone Lock Screen with Live Activities. And with the multiview feature on Apple TV 4K devices and iPad, fans can watch up to four simultaneous streams, including "Friday Night Baseball" games, Major League Soccer matches, and select MLS and MLB live shows.

To watch 'Friday Night Baseball', you'll need an Apple TV+ subscription which is available for $9.99 (U.S.) per month with a seven-day free trial.