Apple TV+ will start streaming a doubleheader each week of MLB games starting Friday.

The experience will be very similar to watching a game on an old broadcast channel, however, with a few key differences. some extra featuresSiri can be asked for stats and you can listen to the at-bat songs of your favorite players on Apple Music. The best part is that it’s completely free for the moment. To watch Apple TV+ (which costs $4.99 per year), you don’t need to sign up. It may help Apple sell more iPhones.

Apple’s first significant foray into sports broadcasting points to its larger strategy with Apple TV+, which by all accounts — including Apple’s — has far fewer subscribersMore players than like Netflix, Disney+HBO Max. While these services offer more movies and shows than most people could watch over a lifetime of watching, Apple TV+ has a smaller library that is curated more by humans and not algorithms.

While Apple wouldn’t be surprised if TV+ had more subscribers than Netflix, it is not their ultimate goal. Apple representatives spoke to me on Thursday and said that they don’t want to be the dominant player in market share for services such as Apple TV+. Their focus is on quality. It is possible to argue that far more people would sign up for Apple TV+, if it wasn’t. That good.)

It made me think back to something I’d written. two years agoWhen Apple TV+ was only getting its feet under way. Apple TV+ was not designed to compete with Netflix. It’s more like classic HBO — a prestige collection of Emmy and Oscar bait, without much filler in between.

This experiment seems to be working. Apple has taken the best picture OscarThe Emmys went to “CODA”, as well as several Emmys, including one for Ted Lasso’s outstanding comedy series. Apple ordered a second season of “Severance,” a dystopian workplace drama that became an instant hit.

Netflix has big shows such as “Stranger Things”, and “Squid Game,” however, for each of these popular series there are numerous lower-brow programs like “The Floor is Lava.” Netflix has a lot to offer, however it can be easy for quality to get lost among the noise.

Apple TV+ is the same as Amazon Prime, but with additional features. Apple does not need to profit hugely from streaming TV. Apple only needs streaming TV to add another option in its arsenal of gadgets, such as iPhones. Apple’s new live baseball game is an experiment to gauge interest and see if they can expand their sports offering on Apple TV+. Netflix, for example, has remained largely silent about live sports programming.

This explains also why Apple is expected to launch an app iPhone hardware subscription serviceThis would allow you to combine Apple products like TV+ and a new iPhone each year at a fixed annual or monthly cost. This would be an Apple double win. This would allow Apple to get more iPhone users upgrading every year, instead of just every three years or four. It also means that Apple News and TV+ subscribers will be more likely.

Deutsche Bank analysts saw the same opportunity. In a Friday research note, they stated that Apple’s potential hardware-and-services bundle would “dramatically” increase its subscribers. This would, in turn be a significant catalyst for the stock.

It all comes down to the same Apple story, which we have witnessed play out since Apple launched its online services push several years back. While the iPhone is still the main profit generator, everything from AirPods and Apple TV+ serve to lock customers in their phones while they upgrade or maintain their device’s functionality.

Another part is streaming sports.