Heidi Watney | |
---|---|
Born | California, U.S. | May 19, 1981
Alma mater | University of San Diego (B.A., 2003) |
Years active | 2002–present |
Employer(s) | Apple TV+ TNT Sports CW Sports |
Spouse | Mike Wickham (m. 2014) |
Children | 2 |
Heidi Watney (born May 19, 1981) is an American sportscaster who serves as a reporter for Apple TV+.
A graduate of the University of San Diego, her past sportscasting experience includes roles at MLB Network, New England Sports Network in Boston, Time Warner Cable SportsNet in Los Angeles, and two stations in Fresno.
Watney attended Clovis West High School in Fresno, participating in hurdles, diving, gymnastics and cheerleading. [1] She was a National Merit Scholar and attended the University of San Diego on an academic scholarship, where she graduated with honors in 2003. [2] Watney has competed in the Miss California USA pageant, where she was the first runner-up in 2002.
Beginning in September 2003, Watney worked for KMPH-TV (FOX 26) in Fresno. She started as the morning traffic reporter before transitioning to the weekend sports anchor and weekday sports reporter in 2005. [3]
Watney moved to Massachusetts in 2008 and began working at New England Sports Network (NESN). She served as a gameday reporter for the Boston Red Sox. Watney also hosted Ultimate Red Sox Show and Red Sox Report. [4]
In January 2012, Watney began working for Time Warner Cable SportsNet as a reporter for LA Galaxy. However, she was hired by MLB Network in November 2012 where she spent nine years. [5] She is formerly the host of Quick Pitch. She joined Apple TV+ in 2022. [6] Heidi Watney worked as a field level reporter for MLB on TBS in 2022.
Watney is the cousin of professional golfer Nick Watney. [7]
Author Andy Weir stated he used Watney's surname for the character "Mark Watney" in his 2011 science fiction novel The Martian after hearing her name during a Red Sox game broadcast. [8]
Watney appeared in the music video for the Dropkick Murphys' single "Going Out in Style." [9] She has also been featured as the sideline reporter for the video games MLB The Show 19, MLB The Show 20 and MLB The Show 21. [10]
New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN, is an American regional sports cable and satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group and Delaware North. Headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, the network is primarily carried on cable providers throughout New England. NESN is also distributed nationally on satellite providers DirecTV and as NESN National via select cable providers.
"Tessie" is both the longtime anthem of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Boston Red Sox and a 2004 song by the punk rock group Dropkick Murphys. The original "Tessie" was from the 1902 Broadway musical The Silver Slipper. The newer song, written in 2004, recounts how the singing of the original "Tessie" by the Royal Rooters fan club helped the Boston Americans win the first World Series in 1903. The name Tessie itself is a diminutive form used with several names, including Esther, Tess, and Theresa/Teresa.
Joseph John Castiglione is an American retired radio announcer, best known for his 42 seasons announcing games of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. He has also been a college lecturer, and author. Castiglione was the recipient of the 2024 Ford C. Frick Award, presented by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and is an inductee of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
Don Orsillo is an American sportscaster who is the play-by-play announcer for the San Diego Padres and MLB on TBS. Orsillo was the television voice of the Boston Red Sox on NESN from 2001 to 2015. He was then hired by the Padres to replace broadcaster Dick Enberg upon his retirement at the end of the 2016 season.
Thomas Charles Werner is an American television producer and businessman. Through his investment in Fenway Sports Group, he is currently chairman of both Liverpool Football Club and Boston Red Sox.
Louis William Merloni, nicknamed "Sweet Lou", is an American radio personality and a former Major League Baseball player. Merloni played for his hometown Boston Red Sox from 1998–2002 and again for part of 2003. He also played for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
David O'Brien, nicknamed "OB", is an American sportscaster who is a lead play-by-play announcer on the New England Sports Network (NESN) for telecasts of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), and for college football and college basketball games aired on the ESPN Inc.-owned ACC Network. He has previously broadcast for MLB's Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins, and New York Mets, and has announced other sports including basketball, football, and soccer.
Guerin Elizabeth Austin is a television host, model and beauty queen from Bellevue, Nebraska, who has competed in the Miss USA pageant. From 2014 through 2020, she was a sideline reporter for New England Sports Network (NESN), best known for her work at Boston Red Sox games.
Tom Caron is a sportscaster and anchor on New England's NESN network. He is a co-owner of the USL League One soccer team Portland Hearts of Pine. He is the Co-Chairman of the Jimmy Fund.
Glenn Geffner is an American radio play-by-play announcer who recently announced for the Miami Marlins. Geffner joined the Marlins radio broadcast team in 2008. Until 2021, he partnered with Dave Van Horne on the Marlins Radio Network. In addition to his play-by-duties, Glenn hosts the Marlins pre- and post-game shows.
Most Major League Baseball games not broadcast exclusively by its media partners are televised by regional sports networks, which present sports programming of interest to their respective region. Most MLB broadcasters are members of chains such as NBC Sports Regional Networks and FanDuel Sports Network, although several teams are broadcast by regional networks that are independent of these chains. Some teams own partial or majority stakes in their regional broadcaster.
Hazel Mae Barker, known professionally as Hazel Mae, is a Filipino-Canadian sportscaster.
Fenway Sports Group Holdings, LLC (FSG), is an American multinational sports holding conglomerate which owns Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox, Premier League’s Liverpool, National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins, NASCAR's RFK Racing, and TGL's Boston Common Golf.
Amy Stone is a former American television personality who worked for New England Sports Network, WMAQ-TV, and WCBS-TV.
Naoko Funayama is a Japanese American sportscaster, who currently works for the New England Revolution. She previously served as a rinkside reporter for Boston Bruins games on New England Sports Network.
William Scott Middlebrooks is an American retired professional baseball third baseman and is currently a color analyst for the Boston Red Sox broadcast team on NESN. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Red Sox on May 2, 2012, and played with them through 2014. He also played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers. He also worked as an analyst for a 2024 AL Wild Card series on ESPN Radio. A fifth round draft pick in the 2007 MLB draft out of Liberty-Eylau High School in Texarkana, Texas, Middlebrooks signed with the Red Sox for $925,000, bypassing his commitment to Texas A&M University. Middlebrooks was originally a shortstop, but the Red Sox converted him into a third baseman in the minor leagues. He represented the United States in the 2011 All-Star Futures Game. Following Middlebrooks' emergence as the Red Sox's starting third baseman in 2012, the organization traded former All-Star Kevin Youkilis. After struggles in the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the Red Sox traded Middlebrooks to the San Diego Padres before the 2015 season. He signed minor league contracts with the Brewers and Rangers before the 2016 and 2017 seasons, respectively.
Jennifer Sheryl Dell–Middlebrooks is the lead college football reporter for CBS Sports. Dell previously worked as CBS’ #2 NFL sideline reporter in 2014. She also has worked for New England Sports Network (NESN) covering the Boston Red Sox. Since 2016, she has also been the co-host of the food show Campus Eats alongside Troy Johnson on the Big Ten Network.
Friday Night Baseball is a live broadcast of Major League Baseball (MLB) games on Apple TV+ that debuted during the league's 2022 season. The weekly broadcast is produced by MLB Network, featuring a doubleheader with pregame and postgame analysis. The broadcast is available in the North American market consisting of the United States, Canada and Mexico as well as select overseas markets including Australia, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom, with plans to expand availability of the broadcast to more regions in the future.
The following is a general overview of Major League Baseball on television in the 2020s. During the 2020s, Major League Baseball announced its first exclusive television contract with a paid streaming service. Due to the bankruptcy of Diamond Sports Group, MLB took over the production of the local broadcasts of the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)