Apple's Friday Night Baseball streamlets currently require a subscription

March 23, 2023: On Wednesday, Broadcasts of Major League Baseball leagues on Apple TV+ this season will need a subscription to the service, Apple stated.

In 2022, Apple began broadcasting one or two MLB games every Friday night with a cast of teams. In the presented year, users had to sign up for an account; the games were without pay. Now, users need an Apple TV+ subscription, costing $7 per month in the U.S.

The move shows that Apple’s foray into live sports is transitioning from experiments designed to attract recent subscribers into a core part of the way it justifies the price of its paid streaming subscription.

Earlier this year, Apple began broadcasting Major League Soccer games. While a few games will air for free, a subscription with allowance to all games costs $14.99 each month, with a discount if the person subscribes to Apple TV+.

So far, baseball and soccer are the sports that Apple airs live. Apple is bidding on a few NFL games, but a highly desired package of out-of-market games went to Google’s YouTube TV service.

The companies said baseball fans choosing not to pay for a subscription have a circle. They are catching Apple’s MLB games at sports bars and restaurants thanks to a recent deal with DirectTV.

Apple stated that the first “Friday Night Baseball” doubleheader broadcast would take place on April 7, which features the Texas Rangers at the Chicago Cubs, after the San Diego Padres at the Atlanta Braves.