In a surprising move, Friday’s highly anticipated matchup between the Yankees and Dodgers will be available on Apple TV+ but will not be an exclusive national streaming broadcast. A league spokesman confirmed to The Athletic that local fans in New York and Los Angeles can also watch the game on their regional sports networks, YES Network and Spectrum SportsNet LA, respectively.
An executive familiar with the decision described it as an experiment, allowing the national Apple TV+ stream to coexist with local RSN broadcasts. Apple TV+ subscribers in the New York and Los Angeles markets will still have access to the game.
The $85 million annual deal between Apple TV+ and MLB is now in its third year of a seven-year contract. Previously, Apple’s Friday night games were exclusively available on their streaming platform, not accessible via RSNs or other channels.
The patchwork of MLB’s various national broadcast partners, including Apple TV+’s subscription service, has drawn frustration from fans. Alongside local RSNs, games air nationally on ESPN, Fox, TBS, Roku, and Amazon in addition to Apple TV+. All these deals are national except for Amazon Prime Video, which exclusively streams about 20 Yankees games per season.
The issue of Apple TV+ exclusivity reached a peak last September when Yankees star Aaron Judge was chasing the 61-home run record, and one of his games was only available on the streaming platform. The Yankees reportedly tried to arrange a simulcast with their broadcast team of Michael Kay, David Cone, and Paul O’Neill calling the game on both YES and Apple TV+.
At that time, Apple TV+ offered MLB games for free, while YES required a cable subscription. The controversy grew so large that New York State Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement supporting YES’ position.
When Yankees star Aaron Judge was pursuing the 61-home run record last September, New York State Attorney General Letitia James criticized the exclusive Apple TV+ streaming arrangement. She argued that it was unfair to deny millions of New Yorkers and fans nationwide the opportunity to watch Judge’s historic chase, given that they already paid for cable subscriptions expecting access to live sports. James asserted that asking viewers to pay extra to witness Judge’s milestone was unacceptable.
The attorney general urged Apple and MLB to negotiate a fair agreement with the YES Network, allowing fans to watch the potential history-making event. Despite the pressure, Apple did not change its stance, and Judge did not hit his record-breaking 62nd homer during their exclusive broadcast.
For this weekend’s highly anticipated Yankees-Dodgers series opener on Friday, a unique arrangement has been made. The game, which will feature a matchup between Judge and new Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, will be available nationally on Apple TV+. However, viewers in New York and Los Angeles can watch the game on their local regional sports networks, YES Network, and Spectrum SportsNet LA, without needing an Apple TV+ subscription.
Fans outside these markets will need to pay Apple’s $9.99 monthly fee to stream Friday’s game. Saturday’s game will be exclusively broadcast on Fox, while Sunday night’s finale will air only on ESPN.
This arrangement results in a rare scenario where the three-game series is covered by three different national partners: Apple TV+ on Friday, Fox on Saturday, and ESPN on Sunday. Local RSNs will have limited access, providing a varied viewing experience for fans.
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