Apple has announced the lineup of broadcasters and production enhancements for “Friday Night Baseball,” which starts today only on Apple TV+. Fans can access “Friday Night Baseball” games and additional content, including new exclusive programs such as “Countdown to First Pitch” and “MLB Daily Recap,” beginning today in the Apple TV app.
The games will feature the broadcast team of Melanie Newman (play-by-play), Chris Young (analyst), Hannah Keyser (analyst), and Brooke Fletcher (reporter) will call the New York Mets at the Washington Nationals at 7 p.m. ET; and Stephen Nelson (play-by-play), Hunter Pence (analyst), Katie Nolan (analyst), and Heidi Watney (reporter) comprise the crew that will call the Houston Astros at the Los Angeles Angels game at 9:30 p.m. ET. Game assignments for “Friday Night Baseball” broadcasters will be announced on a weekly basis. In her new role with “Friday Night Baseball,” Newman becomes the second woman to lead play-by-play duties for a national broadcast team; she joined the Baltimore Orioles’ broadcast team in 2020.
“Friday Night Baseball” live pre- and postgame coverage will be hosted by Lauren Gardner, along with a rotating group of analysts and former Major League Baseball (MLB) players, including Carlos Peña, Cliff Floyd, and Yonder Alonso.
Scheduled games are available to anyone with internet access, for free, only on Apple TV+. Users can find step-by-step instructions to access “Friday Night Baseball” across devices.
Produced by MLB Network’s Emmy Award-winning production team in partnership with Apple, “Friday Night Baseball” will offer a modern and dynamic broadcast experience that appeals to new viewers and veteran fans alike. Each game broadcast will employ state-of-the-art cameras, including high-speed Phantoms, the high-resolution Megalodon, and more throughout the season to present vivid, live-action shots, and offer immersive sound in 5.1 with spatial audio enabled. “Friday Night Baseball” will also incorporate new on-screen graphics that include innovative new probabilities-based forecasts of different situational outcomes, plus highlights and live look-ins from around the league integrated right into the broadcast. Throughout the “Friday Night Baseball” broadcasts, fans can enjoy on-screen callouts about batters’ walk-up songs from Apple Music, test their knowledge of baseball trivia with help from Siri, and more. And, in a first for MLB games, “Friday Night Baseball” will feature rules analysis and interpretation from former MLB umpire Brian Gorman.
In addition to two marquee games on Friday nights throughout the regular season, fans in the US and Canada can enjoy new 24/7 live programming with MLB game replays, news and analysis, highlights, classic games, and more. Each Thursday, fans can tune in to “Countdown to First Pitch” for a preview of the week’s upcoming games, and every morning to “MLB Daily Recap” for highlights from across the league, both available only on Apple TV+, as well as the “MLB Big Inning” whip-around show featuring live look-ins and in-game highlights every weeknight. Additionally, fans will be able to watch full games, as well as condensed game replays, on demand on Apple TV+ after the completion of the live broadcasts each week.
Schedule of AppleTV+ Games:
Friday, April 8
New York Mets at Washington Nationals
7 p.m. ET
Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels
9:30 p.m. ET
Friday, April 15
Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox
7 p.m. ET
Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers
10 p.m. ET
Friday, April 22
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds
6:30 p.m. ET
Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics
9:30 p.m. ET
Friday, April 29
New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals
8 p.m. ET
Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants
10 p.m. ET
Friday, May 6
Chicago White Sox at Boston Red Sox
7 p.m. ET
Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners
9:30 p.m. ET
Friday, May 13
San Diego Padres at Atlanta Braves
7 p.m. ET
Chicago Cubs at Arizona Diamondbacks
9:30 p.m. ET
Friday, May 20
St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates
6:30 p.m. ET
Texas Rangers at Houston Astros
8 p.m. ET
Friday, May 27
Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox
7 p.m. ET
Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Angels
9:30 p.m. ET
Friday, June 3
Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees
7 p.m. ET
Atlanta Braves at Colorado Rockies
8:30 p.m. ET
Friday, June 10
Tampa Bay Rays at Minnesota Twins
8 p.m. ET
New York Mets at Los Angeles Angels
9:30 p.m. ET
Friday, June 17
Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros
8 p.m. ET
Cleveland Guardians at Los Angeles Dodgers
10 p.m. ET
Friday, June 24
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
8 p.m. ET
Detroit Tigers at Arizona Diamondbacks
9:30 p.m. ET
