Baseball Night in America | |
---|---|
Also known as | MLB on Fox Fox Saturday Baseball |
Genre | Baseball telecasts |
Presented by | Joe Davis John Smoltz Ken Rosenthal Adam Amin A. J. Pierzynski Adam Wainwright Jason Benetti Tom Verducci |
Opening theme | "MLB on Fox theme music" (2020–present) " NFL on Fox theme music" (2012–2019) |
Composers | NJJ Music (2020–present) Scott Schreer (2012–2019) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 10 |
Production | |
Production locations | Various MLB stadiums (game telecasts) Fox Network Center, Los Angeles, California (studio segments, pregame, and postgame shows) |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 180 minutes (varies depending on game length) |
Production company | Fox Sports |
Original release | |
Network | Fox FS1/FS2 (overflow coverage only) |
Release | May 26, 2012 – present |
Related | |
MLB on Fox |
Baseball Night in America is an American television presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by Fox Sports for the Fox network on Saturday or Thursday nights.
Fox's coverage includes 24 weeks worth of coverage as of 2024, with 20 Saturday windows and 4 Thursday windows. Coverage usually includes 2 to 4 separate games all starting at 7PM ET, with local affiliates airing the game of most interest to their audience.
While Fox has aired Fox Saturday Baseball games since 1996, Fox only began using the Baseball Night in America branding in 2012. [1] In the inaugural season, the Baseball Night in America branding was used for games from May 19 to July 7. [2]
Until 2021, Baseball Night in America aired every Saturday from the last week in May to the second week in July. Beginning with the 2019 season, late season Fox Saturday Baseball games moved from the afternoon to prime time. therefore a separate section of games was added for September. Some of these September games aired on Thursday night as Thursday Night Baseball . [3]
For the 2023 season, Fox aired Baseball Night in America games every Saturday from May 6 to July 29, as well as on August 12, August 26, September 2 and September 30. Games also aired on Thursday nights on August 3, August 17, September 14 and September 21. For the first time since 2020, Fox also aired afternoon Fox Saturday Baseball games on April 1, April 22, April 29 and June 24. [4]
For the 2024 season, Fox will air Baseball Night in America games every Saturday in primetime from May 4 to August 10, as well as on March 30, August 31, September 7 and September 28. Games also aired in primetime on Thursday nights on June 20, August 22, September 12 and September 19. Fox also aired Fox Saturday Baseball afternoon games on April 27 and June 8. [5]
Major League Baseball (MLB) has been broadcast on American television since the 1950s, with initial broadcasts on the experimental station W2XBS, the predecessor of the modern WNBC in New York. The World Series was televised on a networked basis since 1947, with regular season games broadcast nationally since 1953. Over the forthcoming years, MLB games became major attractions for American television networks, and each of the Big Three networks would air packages of baseball games at various times until the year 2000. Fox would rise to major network status, partially on its acquisition of MLB rights in 1996; Fox has been MLB's primary broadcast television partner ever since.
Eric Peter Karros is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1992 and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1995. Karros currently works as a sportscaster, covering the Dodgers on Spectrum SportsNet LA.
MLB on Fox is an American presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by Fox Sports, the sports division of the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), since June 1, 1996. The broadcaster has aired the World Series in 1996, 1998, and every edition since 2000, and the All-Star Game in 1997, 1999, and every year since 2001. It has also aired the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and American League Championship Series (ALCS) in alternate years from 1996 to 2000 and since 2007, with the NLCS in even years and the ALCS in odd years.
The Major League Baseball Game of the Week (GOTW) is the de facto title for nationally televised coverage of regular season Major League Baseball games. The Game of the Week has traditionally aired on Saturday afternoons. When the national networks began televising national games of the week, it opened the door for a national audience to see particular clubs. While most teams were broadcast, emphasis was always on the league leaders and the major market franchises that could draw the largest audience.
Fox Saturday Baseball is an American television presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by Fox Sports for the Fox network on Saturday afternoons.
MLB on TBS is an American presentation of regular season and postseason Major League Baseball (MLB) game telecasts that air on the American pay television network TBS and the streaming service Max. The games are produced by TNT Sports.
Thursday Night Football is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time.
Christopher John "C. J." Nitkowski is an American left-handed former professional baseball pitcher and current baseball broadcaster. A first-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Reds in 1994, he played in the major leagues for the Reds, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, and Washington Nationals. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and in the KBO League for the SK Wyverns, Doosan Bears, and Nexen Heroes. Nitkowski currently works as a broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves and SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio.
The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with TNT Sports, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox Communications having minority ownership.
MLB Whiparound was an American baseball nightly television show on Fox Sports 1 hosted by Chris Myers and Kevin Burkhardt with Joel Klatt alternating as a secondary presenter. The presenter is joined by either 1 or 2 analysts from the group of Mark Sweeney, Eric Karros, Dontrelle Willis, Pete Rose, Nick Swisher, Alex Rodriguez, A. J. Pierzynski, Frank Thomas, and Terry Collins, as well as Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal.
Thursday Night Baseball is the de facto branding used for live game telecasts of Major League Baseball on Thursday nights.
In September 2000, Major League Baseball signed 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 both League Championship Series and the World Series.
On August 28, 2012, it was announced that ESPN and Major League Baseball had agreed on a new eight-year deal that increased ESPN's average yearly payment from about $360 million to approximately $700 million.
Sunday Afternoon Baseball is the de facto branding used for nationally televised live game telecasts of Major League Baseball games on Sunday afternoons during the regular season.
MLB Tuesday is an American television presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by TNT Sports primarily for TBS. The show debuted on April 12, 2022 and features a 30-minute studio show before and after each game.
MLB on FS1 is the de facto name for the presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by Fox Sports for Fox Sports 1 (FS1). FS1 airs 40 regular season MLB games, along with post-season games from the Division Series and League Championship Series) and the World Baseball Classic.
When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, all major professional and collegiate organizations responded by suspending operations indefinitely. This effect was passed down to the world of sports broadcasting, which includes live coverage of thousands of events on an annual basis through stations and network available over the air, through cable, satellite, and IPTV companies, and via streaming and over-the-top services.