Apple TV+ baseball fans will get live looks into bad call appeals

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When baseball umpires make a bad call and a dugout appeals, fans watching on Apple TV+ will get live footage of the replay room for transparency into how calls are made.

Apple hosts Friday Night Baseball with the Apple TV+ service for Major League Baseball games, along with live pre-game and post-game shows and live commentary. Starting with the 2023 season, Zoom video calls are making their way into baseball broadcasts on MLB Network and Apple TV+.

It’s an effort to give fans transparency surrounding critical game moments with umpires and the MLB replay operations center in Manhattan.

“We are always looking for innovative ways to leverage best-in-class technology to advance the MLB experience and deliver more to our fans,” said MLB Chief Operations & Strategy Officer Chris Marinak. “Partnering with Zoom, a category leader that reinvented the way we connect, was a natural next step for us.”

“We are excited to integrate Zoom Contact Center and other Zoom platform technology into our gameday operations and continue to modernize experiences in a secure, reliable, and innovative way,” he continued.

The replay reviews will offer different angles of plays, and viewers will be able to see who is communicating with umpires and hear from an expert rules analyst who will discuss replay reviews with the broadcast team. The umpires will receive a tablet with the Zoom app to look into the replay room and see the technician they speak with.

MLB hopes the move will help fans better understand officials, build meaningful connections with their favorite teams, and deepen their passion for baseball.