The following is a list of the national television and radio networks and announcers that have broadcast American League Championship Series games over the years. It does include any announcers who may have appeared on local broadcasts produced by the participating teams.
Year | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) | Field reporter(s) | Pregame hosts | Pregame analysts | Trophy presentation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Fox (Game 1–2, 7) | Joe Davis | John Smoltz | Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci | Matt Vasgersian (Game 1, 6) Kevin Burkhardt (Games 2–5, 7) | Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Derek Jeter | Kevin Burkhardt |
FS1 (Games 2–7) | |||||||
2022 | TBS | Brian Anderson | Ron Darling and Jeff Francoeur | Lauren Shehadi | Bob Costas | Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Martínez, and Curtis Granderson | Lauren Shehadi |
2021 | Fox (Game 1–2) | Joe Buck | John Smoltz | Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci | Kevin Burkhardt | Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Frank Thomas | Kevin Burkhardt |
FS1 (Games 2–6) | |||||||
2020 | TBS [1] | Brian Anderson | Ron Darling and Jeff Francoeur | Lauren Shehadi | Ernie Johnson | Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Martínez, and Curtis Granderson | Lauren Shehadi |
Year | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) | Field reporter(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Fox | Joe Buck | Tim McCarver and Bob Brenly | |
1998 | NBC | Bob Costas [17] | Joe Morgan | Jim Gray |
1997 | Fox | Joe Buck | Tim McCarver and Bob Brenly | |
1996 | NBC | Bob Costas | Joe Morgan and Bob Uecker | Jim Gray |
1995 | ABC (Games 1–2 [18] [19] ) | Brent Musburger | Jim Kaat | Jack Arute |
NBC (Games 3 [20] –6 [19] ) | Bob Costas | Bob Uecker | Jim Gray | |
1993 | CBS [21] | Greg Gumbel [22] | Jim Kaat | Lesley Visser |
1992 | CBS | Dick Stockton [23] | Jim Kaat Johnny Bench (Game 2) | Lesley Visser |
1991 | CBS | Dick Stockton | Jim Kaat [24] | Jim Gray |
1990 | CBS | Dick Stockton | Jim Kaat | Jim Gray |
Year | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator |
---|---|---|---|
1969 | NBC | Curt Gowdy (Game 1) Jim Simpson (Game 3) | Tony Kubek (Game 1) Sandy Koufax (Game 3) |
For all of the League Championship Series telecasts spanning from 1969 to 1975, only Game 2 of the 1972 American League Championship Series (Oakland vs. Detroit) is known to exist. [86] However, the copy on the trade circuit of Game 2 of the 1972 ALCS is missing the Bert Campaneris – Lerrin LaGrow brawl. There are some instances where the only brief glimpse of telecast footage of an early LCS game can be seen in a surviving newscast from that night. For instance, the last out of the 1973 National League Championship Series as described by Jim Simpson was played on that night's NBC Nightly News , but other than that, the entire game is gone. On the day the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles wrapped up their respective League Championship Series in 1969, a feature story on the CBS Evening News showed telecast clips of the ALCS game (there's no original sound, just voiceover narration). This is all that likely remains of anything from that third game of the Orioles – Twins series. Simpson's call of the injury of Reggie Jackson during Game 5 of the 1972 ALCS is heard on the 1972 World Series film, as well as Curt Gowdy's call of the home run by Johnny Bench in Game 5 of the 1972 NLCS as well as Bob Moose throwing a wild pitch to pinch-hitter Hal McRae scoring George Foster with the winning run. [87]
As previously mentioned, from 1969 until 1983, the Major League Baseball television contract allowed a local TV station in the market of each competing team to also carry the LCS games.
Year | Teams | Local TV | Play-by-play#1 | Play-by-play#2 | Play-by-play#3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | New York Yankees–Kansas City | WPIX-TV | Phil Rizzuto | Frank Messer | Bill White |
KBMA-TV | Steve Shannon | ||||
1977 | New York Yankees–Kansas City | WPIX-TV | Phil Rizzuto | Frank Messer | Bill White |
KBMA-TV | Steve Shannon |
From 1969 to 1975, there was no official national radio network coverage of the League Championship Series. NBC only had the national radio rights to the All-Star Game and World Series during this period. Instead, national coverage was provided by local team radio broadcasts being syndicated nationally over ad hoc networks.
Year | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentators |
---|---|---|---|
1969 | Robert Wold Radio | Buddy Blattner | Ernie Harwell |
From 1969 to present, with the exception of the period between 1969 and 1975, the non-national radio broadcasts of the American League Championship Series were broadcast on the flagship station and the radio network of the teams participating in the American League Championship Series.
Year | Teams | Flagship station | Play-by-play#1 | Play-by-play#2 | Color commentator(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | New York Yankees-Los Angeles Angels | WCBS-AM (New York Yankees) | John Sterling | Suzyn Waldman | |
KLAA-AM (Los Angeles Angels) | Terry Smith | Rory Markas | |||
2002 | Minnesota-Anaheim | KLAC (Anaheim) | Rory Markas | Terry Smith | |
WCCO–AM (Minnesota) | Herb Carneal (in Minnesota) John Gordon (in Anaheim) | John Gordon (in Minnesota) Dan Gladden (in Anaheim) | |||
2000 | New York Yankees – Seattle | WABC-AM (New York Yankees) | John Sterling | Michael Kay | |
KIRO-AM (Seattle) | Dave Niehaus | Rick Rizzs | Ron Fairly |
Year | Teams | Flagship station | Play-by-play#1 | Play-by-play#2 | Color commentators |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | Oakland – Toronto | ||||
1985 | Kansas City – Toronto | ||||
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.
Major League Baseball on CBS is the branding used for broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States.
Major League Baseball on NBC was the de facto branding for weekly broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by NBC Sports, and televised on the NBC television network and its streaming service Peacock.
The Baseball Network was an American television broadcasting joint venture between ABC, NBC and Major League Baseball (MLB). Under the arrangement, beginning in the 1994 season, the league produced its own broadcasts in-house which were then brokered to air on ABC and NBC. The Baseball Network was the first television network in the United States to be owned by a professional sports league.
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.
MLB International is a division of Major League Baseball primarily responsible for international broadcasts of games. In partnership with DirecTV and MLB Network, it produces and syndicates the All-Star Game, and the World Series, as well as the Caribbean Series, the Australian Baseball League Championship Series and the World Baseball Classic to broadcasters in over 200 countries, and the American Forces Network for U.S. military troops abroad. It previously broadcast the NLCS and ALCS, alternating between the two each year. MLB International broadcasts content that shows baseball in a local context, e.g. sneaker shopping in Japan or baseball games in India, and explains concepts and rules of baseball to viewers who may not be familiar with the sport.
On December 14, 1988, CBS paid approximately $1.8 billion for exclusive television rights for over four years. CBS paid about $265 million each year for the World Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the Saturday Game of the Week. It was one of the largest agreements between the sport of baseball and the business of broadcasting.
In 1980, 22 teams took part in a one-year cable deal with UA-Columbia. The deal involved the airing of a Thursday night Game of the Week in markets at least 50 miles (80 km) from a major league park. The deal earned Major League Baseball less than $500,000, but led to a new two-year contract for 40-45 games per season.
By 1969, Major League Baseball had grown to 24 teams and the net local TV revenues had leaped to $20.7 million. This is in sharp contrast to 1950 when local television brought the then 16 Major League clubs a total net income of $2.3 million. Changes baseball underwent during this time, such as expansion franchises and increasing the schedule from 154 games to 162, led to a wider audience for network and local television.
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.
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.
The following article details the history of Major League Baseball on NBC, the broadcast of Major League Baseball games on the NBC television network.
The 1995 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1995 season. This was the first postseason to be played under the expanded format, as the League Division Series (LDS) was played in both the American and National leagues for the first time since 1981. The league was expanded to three divisions per league, and a new Wild Card berth was added. The next expansion would be in 2012 where another Wild Card berth would be added. The winners of the LDS moved on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.
The following article details the history of Major League Baseball on ABC, the broadcast of Major League Baseball games on the ABC television network.
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