Apple TV+ Announces Docuseries Following Dodgers, Yankees in 2024 World Series
The upcoming World Series showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees has already been heralded as must-see TV.
Two of the biggest franchises in sports are going head-to-head with a championship on the line starting Friday, drawing fans from two of the biggest cities in the world – and beyond. It marks quite the departure from last season's Fall Classic matchup, which posted lackluster ratings as the Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Along with that boost in global interest comes increased coverage, and in whole new forms as well.
Apple TV announced Monday that they will have a documentary crew on the ground capturing every moment from the 2024 World Series, and that the end product would be streaming on Apple TV+ soon. MLB confirmed the news Tuesday, adding that the docuseries would feature behind the scenes access to both teams.
There will also be exclusive interviews with players, coaches, journalists, fans, and family members throughout the series.
Apple TV+ has been the home of "Friday Night Baseball" since 2022. They also released "The Dynasty: New England Patriots" and "Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend" earlier this year.
According to a recent report from Variety, Apple will be producing the docuseries alongside MLB, MLB Studios, Imagine Documentaries, Sony Pictures Television's This Machine and Derek Jeter's Cap 2 Productions. Oscar-winning director Ron Howard is also among the project's executive producers.
Apple does not release viewership numbers for their streaming service, but most industry sources estimate that Apple TV+ has roughly 25 million subscribers worldwide. That is less than 10% of the number of global Netflix subscribers, so that platform's upcoming docuseries on the Boston Red Sox coming back to defeat the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS could wind up attracting more eyeballs than the alternative that's hot off the press.
Still, the Dodgers and Yankees boast plenty of star power, and Apple's show could be a big draw for baseball fans across the world. Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have already helped the league put up record-breaking numbers in Japan this postseason, after all.
That isn't even accounting for Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Gerrit Cole or Jazz Chisholm Jr., who are all big draws in their own right.
Game 1 of the World Series is scheduled to get underway Friday at 8:08 p.m. ET. It remains to be seen when the first episode of Apple's docuseries will be released, although Variety has reported that it will be three parts.
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