Major League Baseball on FOX

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Major League Baseball on FOX is the de facto brand name for a weekly presentation of Major League Baseball games on the Fox television network. Major League Baseball on FOX began on June 1, 1996 and will continue at least through the 2013 Major League Baseball season.

The phrase "Major League Baseball on FOX" is never heard or seen on broadcasts but is implied by the use of the Major League Baseball silhouette logo alongside the words "on FOX." Often FOX Saturday Baseball or World Series on FOX (and similar) are used to brand telecasts instead, depending on the game being broadcast. Other Fox Sports properties (NASCAR on FOX and NFL on FOX), are titled in the same fashion.

Fox televised their first World Series in 1996, and has had exclusive rights to the World Series since 2001. Those exclusive rights currently extend through 2013.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early years: 1996-2000 1.2 Exclusivity 1.2.1 2001-2006 1.3 New contract: 2007-2013 1.3.1 Coverage details 2 Scheduling 3 Blackout policies/Flexible scheduling 4 Commentators and studio personalities 5 Pregame shows 6 Innovations 7 Ratings 8 External links 9 References 10 Sources

[edit] History

[edit] Early years: 1996-2000

See also: The Baseball Network

Major League Baseball made a deal with FOX and NBC on November 7, 1995. FOX paid a fraction less of the amount of money that CBS paid for the Major League Baseball television rights for the 1990-1993 seasons. Unlike the previous television deal, The Baseball Network, FOX reverted to the format of televising regular season games (approximately 16 weekly telecasts that normally began on Memorial Day weekend) on Saturday afternoons. FOX did however, continue a format that The Baseball Network started by offering games based purely on a viewer's region. FOX's approach has usually been to offer four regionalized telecasts, with exclusivity from 1-4 p.m. in each time zone.

When FOX first got into baseball, it used the motto "Same game, new attitude." FOX's primary goal when they first launched baseball was to promote their weak prime time schedule.

“

We'll use the World Series and League Championship Series to spur our shows,

”

said network sports president Ed Goren.

Like its predecessor NBC, FOX determined its Saturday schedule by who was playing a team from one of the three largest television markets: New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago. If there was a game which combined two of these three markets, it would be aired.

[edit] Exclusivity

[edit] 2001-2006

In September 2000, Major League Baseball concluded a six year, $2.5 billion contract with FOX to show Saturday baseball, the All-Star Game, selected Division Series games and exclusive coverage of the League Championship Series and World Series. 90% of the contract's value to FOX, who paid Major League Baseball $417 million per year, came from the postseason, which not only attracted large audiences, but also provided an opportunity for the network to showcase its fall schedule.

The contract protected Major League Baseball in the event of a labor dispute (something that didn't occur with The Baseball Network in 1994). If some of the games were cancelled by a strike or lockout, Major League Basball still got all its money, but had to compensate FOX with additional telecasts. On the other hand, a repeat of the 1994 Major League Baseball strike would've cost FOX well over $1 billion.

Under the previous five year deal with NBC (1996-2000), FOX paid $115 million while NBC only paid $80 million per year. FOX paid about $575 million overall while NBC paid about $400 million overall. The difference between the FOX and the NBC contracts implicitly valued FOX's Saturday Game of the Week at less than $90 million for five years. Before NBC officially decided to part ways with Major League Baseball (for the second time in about 12 years) on September 26, 2000, FOX's payment would've been $345 million while NBC would've paid $240 million. Before 1990, NBC had carried Major League Baseball since 1947.

“

We have notified Major League Baseball that we have passed on their offer and we wish them well going forward. - NBC Sports president Ken Schanzer

”

Under the new deal, FOX would now pay out an average of $417 million a year, which was about a 45 percent increase from the previous deal (worth $290 million a year) that FOX, NBC, and ESPN contributed together. CBS and ABC reportedly were not interested in buying the rights at the prices Major League Baseball was offering.

See also: Major League Baseball on CBS and Major League Baseball on ABC

When asked about the new deal with FOX, Commissioner Bud Selig said,

“

We at Major League Baseball could not be happier with the result. They have been a good partner and an innovative producer of our games.

”

Neal Pilson, who was the president of CBS Sports when the network had the exclusive television rights for Major League Baseball said of Fox's $2.5 billion deal:

“

It is a lot of baseball. It will force FOX to delay the start of its entertainment season every fall in order to cover the playoffs and the World Series, but I am sure they have taken that into account. FOX probably believes it has driven a good deal financially. It has kept its cost escalation at a very modest number. I'm sure FOX believes if it is the only national carrier, it can sell its commercial (slots) without having to face underpricing from a competitor.

”

Some observers believed that gaining the relative ratings boost from the League Championship Series and World Series meant more to FOX than the other broadcast networks. That was because FOX had the biggest prime time ratings decline of the four major networks during the 1999-2000 season. Its average prime time audience of 8.97 million was down 17 percent from the year before, according to Nielsen Media Research.

[edit] New contract: 2007-2013

See also: Major League Baseball on TBS

On July 11, 2006, rumors on the future of Major League Baseball on FOX were put to rest when it was announced that the Fox Broadcasting Company had signed a new seven-year contract, which will guarantee that the World Series will appear on FOX through the 2013 season. FOX had widely been expected to renew the deal, but it was unclear what they would be willing to air beyond the All-Star Game and World Series.

The package was officially announced on October 17, with the news that TBS will air all Division Series games through 2013 and alternate League Championship Series with FOX during the contract. Coverage of the Saturday Game of the Week will be expanded to start in April and last during the entire season.

[edit] Coverage details

FOX plans to air a Game of the Week every week of the season, as mentioned. Coverage will begin with a pregame show at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, in which host Jeanne Zelasko will be joined by a rotating group of studio analysts. This is followed by regional telecasts of up to three games, starting at about 3:55 p.m. ET. (See below for the names of all of the announcers that will be part of the coverage.) Previously, the games had staggered start times of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET.

In addition, the amount of commercial time between innings has been extended; the amount has not yet been made public, but it had been two minutes in previous years.

[edit] Scheduling

Since the network bought the rights to post-season baseball coverage, FOX has received criticism from non-baseball fans for not airing first-run original programming during October. (Baseball fans point out that there are plenty of other broadcast and cable networks available on every TV package that do show original scripted programming.) For the majority of the years that FOX has aired baseball, the network started the season for The Simpsons and other shows in November, although a few shows begin in August or September and then go on hiatus until after the World Series. In 2005, FOX started its season in September, took the month of October off to show the Major League Baseball playoffs, and resumed non-baseball programming in November. Both approaches have drawn criticism, indicating that there may not be a perfect way to accommodate both sports and regular programming.^[1]

In the first year of its six year, exclusive contract (2001), FOX did a split-telecast (not seen of since the days of the ill-fated Baseball Network) for the League Championship Series. This meant that one game would be aired on the Fox Network while the other would be aired on the local regional Fox Sports Net cable channel (depending on market, as some markets had no regional sports network with a relationship to FSN). The rationale behind the split-telecast was that because of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the whole post-season schedule was pushed back a week. Because of this, two Sunday LCS games came in conflict with a NFL on FOX doubleheader. The fans and sports media reporters were unimpressed with the situation and Bud Selig vowed it was a one-time deal necessitated by circumstance. However, in later years FOX used split telecasts on a few occasions to keep the playoffs "on schedule," and aired the second game on FX, which has virtually national cable/satellite coverage. The 2007-2013 contract eliminates this, as TBS will have one of the League Championship Series each year.

Starting in 2004, FOX's Game of the Week telecasts only appeared three times after August 28, because the network chose to begin telecasts in mid-May and avoid going up against college football in September. With lead play-by-play man Joe Buck now also handling the same duties for FOX's NFL coverage, FOX had to use a variety of announcers for its late-season baseball coverage. This may change under the 2007-2013 contract, as FOX is supposed to show games throughout the season.

[edit] Blackout policies/Flexible scheduling

FOX has certain rights for afternoon Major League Baseball games on Saturdays, and ESPN has the same rights for night games on Sundays. Broadcasters cannot show games of in-market teams regardless of if the game is home or away if the game of the local team has a start time or likely end time intruding on FOX or ESPN's national window, unless that network waives its exclusivity. This is to encourage people to watch the ESPN or FOX game. A further enticement comes simply through the fact that FOX offers mostly regional coverage.

The reasoning is that since people will not be able to watch their favorite team, they may be willing to settle for some baseball. This results in higher ratings for the national broadcaster by pulling baseball fans away from watching their own team, although critics may note that during the late-spring and summer, fans might simply do something else outside of when their favorite team is playing.

Usually there are no other games scheduled at these times, except when a team decides not to change the start-time even after FOX drops the game in favor of a better match-up, which they can and often will do on a few weeks notice, particularly after the All-Star Game. ESPN's post-All-Star Game schedule is likewise picked a few weeks ahead of time (schedules for the first half of the season are usually set during the winter). Other teams simply schedule games for other time-slots, particularly later on Saturday or on Sunday afternoons. Also, the Texas Rangers often play summertime home games at night on Sundays because of the extreme heat common to Texas during much of the season, and normally receive special permission from ESPN to televise these games locally (their opponent's TV partner can also show the game).

[edit] Commentators and studio personalities

As of 2007, Joe Buck, son of Hall of Fame St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck, is FOX's #1 play-by-play commentator (a role he has had since FOX's first year of coverage in 1996). Buck was 27 years old when first named to the position. Joe Buck was teamed with Tim McCarver, who was considered the main reason behind the firing of Jack Buck from CBS five years earlier. Unlike Tim McCarver and Jack Buck, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver fused. According to McCarver,

“

The play-by-play man [should] explain what and where and analyst answer why and how. He does both.

”

Currently (as of 2007), commentators for Major League Baseball on FOX telecasts are:

• Play-by-Play commentators:

1. Joe Buck
2. Thom Brennaman
3. Josh Lewin or Kenny Albert

• Color commentators:

1. Tim McCarver
2. Eric Karros (Alternating weeks)
3. Joe Girardi (Alternating weeks)
4. Mark Grace (Alternating weeks)

• Field reporters:

1. Ken Rosenthal
2. Chris Myers

• Studio host:

1. Jeanne Zelasko or Chris Rose

• Studio analysts:

1. Kevin Kennedy
2. Eric Karros (Alternating weeks)
3. Joe Girardi (Alternating weeks)
4. Mark Grace (Alternating weeks)

During the pre-2001 period, Bob Brenly acted as the third man in the booth with Buck and McCarver during World Series games. Buck and McCarver were at the microphone when Brenly led the Arizona Diamondbacks as manager to the 2001 World Series title.

The original studio host in 1996 was Chip Caray. Dave Winfield and Steve Lyons were the show's original analysts. Unlike the network's primary broadcast teams, the studio personnel have not had the same longevity. Winfeld left FOX after only one season, and both Caray and Lyons would move to the broadcast booth before leaving the network. From 1999-2000, Keith Olberman took over the hosting seat form Chip Caray, before being replaced by Jeanne Zelasko, who was promoted from Fox Sports Net's National Sports Report.

[edit] Pregame shows

Most Saturday baseball games on FOX have been preceded by a baseball-oriented show. From 1996-1999, FOX aired a baseball program geared to children and teenagers called In the Zone. In 2000, In the Zone was replaced by This Week in Baseball, which had previously been in syndication. TWIB has been on FOX ever since.

[edit] Innovations

See also: Baseball telecasts technology

On July 8, 1997, Fox televised its first ever All-Star Game (out of Jacobs Field in Cleveland). For this particular game, FOX introduced "Catcher-Cam" in which a camera was affixed to the catchers' masks in order to provide unique perspectives of the action around home plate. Catcher-Cam soon would become a regular fixture in FOX's baseball broadcasts.

In addition to Catcher-Cam, other innovations (some of which have received more acclaim than others) that Fox has provided for baseball telecasts have been:

• Sennheiser MKE-2 microphones and SK-250 transmitters in the bases.

• Between 12 and 16 microphones throughout the outfield, ranging from Sennheiser MKH-416 shotgun microphones to DPA 4061s with Crystal Partners Big Ear parabolic microphones to Crown Audio PCC160 plate microphones.

• The continuous "Fox Box" graphic, which contained the score, inning and other information in an upper corner of the TV screen. Since 2001, the Fox Box has morphed into a strip across the top of the screen which would later be used by NBC. For baseball broadcasts, it would be turned off when something really important happened (Mark McGwire's record-breaking 62nd home-run in 1998, the last out of the World Series, et cetera). However, turning off the box at critical points has been criticized, as the purpose of turning off the box is to promote the network that showed the play instead of provide viewers with relevant information they normally get when the network isn't self-promoting.

• Audio accompanying graphics and sandwiched replays between "whooshes."

• "Mega Slo-Mo" technology.

• Scooter, a cartoony 3-D animated talking baseball (voiced by Tom Kenny) that occasionally appears to explain pitch types and mechanics, purportedly for younger viewers -- approximately the 10- to 12-year-olds.^[2]

• Ball Tracer, a stroboscopic comet tail showing the path of a pitch to the catcher's glove.

• Strike Zone, which shows pitch sequences with strikes in yellow and balls in white. It can put a simulated pane of glass that shatters when a ball goes through the zone (a la the computerized scoring graphics used for bowling).

• The "high home" camera from high behind home plate. Its purpose is that it can trace the arc of a home run and measure the distance the ball traveled. The "high home" camera can also measure a runner's lead off first base while showing in different colors (green, yellow, red) and how far off the base and into pickoff danger a runner is venturing.

In October 2004, FOX started airing all Major League Baseball postseason broadcasts (including the League Championship Series and World Series) in high definition. Fox also started airing the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in HD the following year.

[edit] Ratings

Main article: Ratings for Major League Baseball on FOX telecasts

[edit] External links

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

Major League Baseball on national television
Contract history: Sports television broadcast contracts | Major League Baseball television contracts
Broadcast partners: ABC | CBS | ESPN | FOX | NBC | TBS | USA | The Baseball Network | Baseball Channel
General media: World Series television ratings | Major League Baseball Game of the Week | Cable television | Monday Night Baseball | ESPN DayGame | Wednesday Night Baseball | Thursday Night Baseball | Sunday Night Baseball | Broadcasting firsts | Telecasts technology
Broadcasters by event: World Series | American League Championship Series | National League Championship Series | All-Star Game | American League Division Series | National League Division Series