'Friday Night Baseball' on Apple TV+ Requires Subscription for Viewing

Along with Apple's announcement of the Friday Night Major League Baseball Schedule as it returns this April, it appears that the available content is now placed behind a paywall. Users will now have to be subscribed to Apple TV+ in order to watch.

Apple TV+ Subscription for MLB

In the US, anyone who would want to watch baseball games via Apple TV+ will have to pay $6.99 a month to access it. Subscription to access "Friday Night Baseball" will grant them two live MLB games each Friday until the season ends.

There is still a way for you to watch the game without subscribing to Apple TV+. According to MacRumors, "Friday night Baseball" will be available in more than 300,000 restaurants, bars, hotel lounges, retail stores, and other venues through DirectTV in the US.

As for its availability globally, the games can be streamed in 60 countries and regions without broadcast restriction. The schedule shows that the MLB games will begin on April 7th at 2 PM EST, wherein the Chicago Cubs will be facing the Texas Rangers.

Since it is a doubleheader, the San Diego Padres will also be facing the Atlanta Braves at 7 PM EST on the same day. In this season's "Friday Night Baseball," Apple also mentioned the broadcast talent that will be manning the announcer booths.

What to Expect

Wayne Randazzo and Alex Faust will do the play-by-play, Dontrelle Williams and Ryan Spilborghs will take the role of analyst, and Heidi Watney and Tricia Whitaker will take on the role of sideline reporters,

As for the live pre-and postgame coverage, Lauren Gardner and Siera Santos will be the hosts. Former MLB players Xavier Scruggs and Matt Joyce will be the analysts, as well as baseball journalist Russell Dorsey, according to Apple.

Apple has partnered with a production team that will use state-of-the-art cameras to capture vivid live-action shots, as well as provide audio in 5.1 with Spatial Audio enabled. Drone cameras will also be used for aerial shots.

Player mics and field-level mics will also be used so fans can be more immersed in the games. This way, listeners in the US and Canada can listen to the audio of the home and away teams' local radio broadcasts during the baseball games.