Malcolm Owen
The first broadcast of Apple TV+'s "Friday Night Baseball" wasn't smooth sailing, with fans encountering teething issues with the sports stream on its first outing.
The initial streams of "Friday Night Baseball" on Apple TV+ took place on Friday, with the New York Mets taking on the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros versus the Los Angeles Angels. However, fans are complaining on Twitter that the inaugural event was subpar.
Complaints covered a number of areas of the broadcast, with arguably the biggest being connectivity. Some fans tuning in to watch the games couldn't start watching the stream, or had it interrupted.
As well as social media complaints, as reported by iMore, the status website DownDetector reportedly saw a surge of reports during the Nationals-Mets game.
Beyond connection problems, the complaints also extended to the broadcast itself.
Why @apple shouldn't do live baseball games .. pic.twitter.com/6La5t88qCQ
— David J. Danto (@NJDavidD) April 9, 2022
Apple's decision to use clean and minimalist graphics in line with the tech giant's typical design language was largely welcomed by fans, partly for being free from distracting on-screen advertising. However, the graphics package was also the source of online mockery, due to their seemingly simplistic nature at times.
This Angels/Astros #FridayNightBaseball is like the movie Space Camp but instead of students getting accidentally shot into orbit, it's three randoms thrown into a broadcast booth as the door is locked.
— Andy Shapiro (@andyshapiro) April 9, 2022
The commentary team was also under fire from the social media critics, with many saying the announcers were terrible. Complaints included how the announcers talked about subjects other than the baseball game itself, as well as a seeming lack of enthusiasm for on-field events.
While the issues could be put down to "first-night nerves" for the broadcast, it is highly likely that Apple's broadcast and technical teams will be learning from the experience for the next stream.
The next "Friday Night Baseball" is on April 15, and is scheduled to involve the Tampa Bay Rays against the Chicago White Sox, as well as the Cincinnati Reds versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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37 Comments
Are there not regional blackouts on these streams?
I had no problems. I'm not a big baseball fan, but tuned in to see how Apple did it. I thought the screen graphics were interesting; the PBP and color at least as good as the competition - which is of course a low bar. Concur with needing to STFU now and then, but this applies to nearly all TV sports. Was worth the free price. I would not pay for any MLB broadcast, but it may add value to ATV+ for some.
Apple will have a steep learning curve here. I hope they continue pursuing live sports on ATV. Even a PPV model would be interesting.
It's the usual boneheaded comments, like all the people that canned Apple TV+ shows when they first started up and how they were so far behind other streaming offerings.
I have to be honest… love baseball, watch baseball often… love Apple, but last night watching baseball in Apple TV was brutal. Downright awful.