Apple TV+ 'Friday Night Baseball' starts with big-time divisional matchups

By Malcolm Owen

"Friday Night Baseball" will premiere on April 8 starting off with two marquee games broadcast via Apple TV+.

Released on Tuesday, the first half of the 2022 "Friday Night Baseball" schedule outlines all of the games that will appear on the service from April 8 until June 24. Each of the 12 Fridays includes two games from the MLB, broadcast live to viewers around the world.

The opening Friday on April 8 will start with the New York Mets playing the Washington Nationals at 7p.m. Eastern, followed by the Houston Astros at the Los Angeles Angels at 9:30p.m. Eastern.

Future matches along with other features of the broadcasts including pre- and post-game coverage, will be announced at a later date.

As part of "Friday Night Baseball," fans will be able to watch key games without local broadcast restrictions. The weekly double-header will be viewable in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, and will be free for a limited time without a need for an Apple TV+ subscription.

The "Friday Night Baseball" games will be viewable on any device that can play Apple TV+ content, including the Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac, supported smart TVs, game consoles, and cable set-top boxes.

"Friday Night Baseball" is a major coup for Apple, with it venturing into the field of live sports broadcasting. It is believed that Apple paid around $85 million as part of a $115 million deal between it, NBC Sports, and the MLB.

The released first-half schedule follows: