By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of Satellite DIRECT magazine. Reported on DIRECTV for 30 years.
TV Answer Man, it’s not fair that Apple will have the Friday night baseball games and you can’t watch them on our satellite dish. Do you know if DIRECTV will at least have the games on their bar service? — Holly, Manhattan Beach, California.
Holly, Apple TV+ announced last week that Friday Night Baseball, a weekly Friday doubleheader of regular season MLB games, will return to the live streaming service for the 2024 season. (The games will start on March 29. See this article for more details and a schedule through June.)
The Apple games are exclusive to the streamer, meaning they won’t be available on any other service or channel, including regional sports networks. But there will be a way to watch the games without subscribing to Apple.
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For the second straight season, DIRECTV’s business unit will offer the games to more than 300,000 restaurants, bars, hotel lounges, retail shops and other commercial venues on existing satellite equipment. The games will be available on DIRECTV channels 9528-9529. (But note that those channels will only be available via DIRECTV For Business subscriptions, not regular residential subscriptions.)
DIRECTV For Business also provides the NFL Sunday Ticket, ESPN+ For Business, Amazon’s Thursday Night Football and MLS Season Pass to commercial establishments, including bars. The service includes a Sports Bar finder, an app that anyone can download on a phone, tablet or computer that will tell you which bars are showing the DIRECTV games.
The Apple TV+ MLB broadcasting crew this season will include Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play), Dontrelle Willis (analyst), Heidi Watney (sideline reporter), Alex Faust (play-by-play), Ryan Spilborghs (analyst), and Tricia Whitaker (sideline reporter). Ted Barrett, Brian Gorman, and Dale Scott — all former MLB umpires — will break down rules and calls each week. Game assignments for announcers will be shared on a weekly basis.
Holly, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
