MLB Sunday Leadoff

Last updated

MLB Sunday Leadoff
MLB Sunday Leadoff 2024 logo.jpeg
Genre Baseball telecasts
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
Production
Production locations Various MLB stadiums (game telecasts, pregame and postgame shows)
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time180 minutes (varies depending on game length)
Production companies NBC Sports (2022–23)
MLB (2024–present)
Original release
Network Peacock/NBC (2022–2023)
The Roku Channel/MLB.tv (2024–present)
ReleaseMay 8, 2022 (2022-05-08) –
present
Related
Major League Baseball on NBC

MLB Sunday Leadoff is the branding used for broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games that primarily are held on Sunday afternoon. It was originally produced by NBC Sports for the streaming service Peacock from 2022 to 2023, with one game each season simulcast on NBC. It was NBC Sports' first national MLB package since 2000. In 2024, MLB Sunday Leadoff is produced by MLB Local Media for The Roku Channel, and is also available blackout free on MLB.tv. [1]

Contents

History

Logo for the original Peacock broadcasts MLB Sunday Leadoff logo 2022.svg
Logo for the original Peacock broadcasts

In March 2022, it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that NBC Sports was finalizing an agreement to establish a new package of Sunday afternoon games beginning in the 2022 MLB season. The package would be a successor to TBS's previous Sunday afternoon package during the later half of the season; as part of a contract renewal, TBS replaced these games with a new Tuesday night package across the entire regular season. [2]

As a prelude to the deal, Peacock had exclusively aired a June 2021 series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants. It was co-produced by NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports Philadelphia, and featured a broadcast team led by the Giants' lead play-by-play announcer Jon Miller and his partner Mike Krukow, joined by the Phillies' analysts John Kruk and Jimmy Rollins. [3] [4]

NBC formally announced the deal on April 6, with a reported value of $30 million per-season. [5] [6] As part of the agreement, Peacock would also carry the All-Star Futures Game, as well as an MLB content hub featuring classic games and other video content. [6] [7]

On April 13, 2022, NBC Sports announced that the games would be branded as MLB Sunday Leadoff. [8]

The inaugural broadcast was a game featuring the Chicago White Sox at the Boston Red Sox on May 8. [5] The game was also simulcast on the NBC broadcast network, marking its first MLB broadcast since Game 6 of the 2000 American League Championship Series on October 17, 2000, and its first regular season MLB broadcast since September 29, 1995. [5] [6] All other games were exclusive to Peacock Premium subscribers.

Outside of the United States, the games were carried on MLB's out-of-market packages (including MLB.tv). In Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays' appearances were televised as normal by MLB's Canadian broadcast partner Sportsnet, as part of its regional rights to the team.

For the 2023 season, the number of games increased to 19. Six games started at 11:30 a.m., ten started at 12:00 p.m., and three started at 1:00 p.m. ET. For the second consecutive year, one game was simulcast on NBC. [9]

On May 13, 2024, Major League Baseball announced the package would move to The Roku Channel for the 2024 season. The games are also simulcast on MLB.tv. [10]

Production

The broadcasts were described as being "hyperlocal" with a "national flair", being built upon the on-air presentation for NBC Sports' regional MLB coverage. [11] Former Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully (who served as NBC's lead play-by-play commentator for its MLB coverage from 1983 to 1989) narrated a special introduction for the first broadcast, emphasizing NBC's history as an MLB broadcaster (including its historic Game of the Week broadcasts). [12]

Upon moving to The Roku Channel in 2024, MLB Local Media assumed production of the broadcasts. [13]

Personnel

Jason Benetti (who calls Chicago White Sox games for NBC Sports Chicago, and also worked NBC's telecasts of baseball during the 2020 Summer Olympics) [14] served as the lead by-play announcer for the 2022 season, joined by rotating analysts from each participating team. [15] [16] [12] Jon Miller filled in for the San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds game. Ahmed Fareed would serve as the studio host. [17]

Benetti joined Fox Sports in August 2022. [18] [19] Brendan Burke replaced Benetti as the lead play-by-play announcer for MLB Sunday Leadoff in 2023. [20] Due to Burke's Stanley Cup Playoff commitments for TNT, Matt Vasgersian of MLB Network and Chris Vosters of NBC Sports Chicago filled in for Burke during the first four games of Peacock's 2023 schedule. Dave Sims filled in for Brendan Burke on Sunday, August 20.

For the move to The Roku Channel in 2024, MLB Sunday Leadoff utilized a mix of local TV announcers from both teams, typically with the home team's play-by-play announcer and sideline reporter joined by the road team's color analyst. [21]

Schedule

The games have an exclusive midday window, with the first games carrying an 11:30 a.m. ET scheduling, and later games having a 12:00 p.m. ET scheduling; three games were scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET in 2023. On days scheduled for games on MLB Sunday Leadoff, no other MLB games began until at least 1:30 p.m. ET. [5] [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major League Baseball on television</span>

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 City. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Miller</span> American sportscaster (born 1951)

Jon Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. Since 1997, he has been employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer for ESPN from 1990 to 2010. Miller received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBC Sports</span> Division of American broadcast network NBC

NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its dedicated national sports cable channels. Formerly operating as "a service of NBC News", it broadcasts a diverse array of sports events, including Big East basketball, Big Ten football and basketball, NASCAR, the National Football League (NFL), Notre Dame football, the Olympic Games, PGA Tour golf, the Premier League, the Tour de France, and Thoroughbred racing among others. Other programming from outside producers – such as coverage of the Ironman Triathlon – is also presented on the network through NBC Sports. With Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011, its own cable sports networks were aligned with NBC Sports into a part of the division known as the NBC Sports Group.

<i>MLB on Fox</i> American live sports television program

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 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.

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.

NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News", it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others. Assets currently include among others Golf Channel and NBC Sports Regional Networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Benetti</span> American sportscaster (born 1983)

Jason Benetti is an American sportscaster. He is the primary television play-by-play announcer for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball on Bally Sports Detroit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan Burke (sportscaster)</span> American sportscaster

Brendan Matthew Burke is an American sportscaster for MSG Networks, the New York Islanders, NBC Sports and TNT Sports.

Peacock is an American over-the-top subscription streaming service owned and operated by Peacock TV, LLC, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal Media Group. Named after the NBC logo, the service launched on July 15, 2020.

<i>Sunday Afternoon Baseball</i> Branding for MLB games held on Sunday afternoons

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.

Melanie Lynne Newman is an American radio and television play-by-play broadcaster for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB) and previously did national Friday Night Baseball broadcasts on Apple TV+. She is the first woman to be a play-by-play announcer for the Orioles and one of only four female play-by-play broadcasters active in MLB.

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 2023 Major League Baseball season (MLB) began on March 30. The 93rd All-Star Game was played on July 11, hosted by the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, with the National League winning, 3–2. The regular season ended on October 1, and the postseason began on October 3, and ended with Game 5 of the World Series on November 1. This season saw the introduction of several rule changes: in an effort to create a quicker pace of play, a pitch clock was introduced along with other minor changes, while limits on defensive shifts and larger bases were also introduced.

Noah Eagle is an American sportscaster. The son of sportscaster Ian Eagle, he is a play-by-play broadcaster for NBC Sports, calling primarily football games for the Big Ten Conference and National Football League, as well as basketball for the Big Ten and at the Summer Olympic Games. He is also a play-by-play announcer for the Tennis Channel, Brooklyn Nets, and NFL games airing on children's network Nickelodeon.

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.

The 2025 Major League Baseball season is scheduled to begin on March 18–19 with a two-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs held in Tokyo, Japan, before the regular season proper runs from March 27 to September 28. The 95th All-Star Game is planned for July 15 at Truist Park in Cumberland, Georgia, the home of the Atlanta Braves. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions are the Los Angeles Dodgers from the 2024 season.

References

  1. ↑ Dachman, Jason (October 1, 2024). "SVG All-Stars: Kendall Burgess, as VP, Local Media Technical Operations, Major League Baseball". Sports Video Group. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  2. ↑ Diamond, Lillian Rizzo and Jared (March 11, 2022). "NBC's Peacock Is Finalizing Deal to Stream MLB Games in New Sunday Time Slot". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Phillies-Giants series to be broadcast only on Peacock, for free". Awful Announcing. June 14, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  4. ↑ Kurtenbach, Dieter (June 14, 2021). "You won't be able to find SF Giants games on cable TV this weekend". The Mercury News.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Lucia, Joe (April 6, 2022). "Your 2022 MLB regular season broadcasting primer". Awful Announcing.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "MLB and NBC confirm 'US$30m a year' Peacock streaming deal". SportsPro. April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Peacock's MLB package will be branded as 'MLB Sunday Leadoff'". Awful Announcing. April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  8. ↑ ""MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF" – PEACOCK AND NBC SPORTS REVEAL NAME AND LOGO FOR EXCLUSIVE SUNDAY MORNING BASEBALL PACKAGE". Comcast. NBC Sports Group Press Box. April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  9. ↑ "PEACOCK AND NBC SPORTS ANNOUNCE 2023 MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF SCHEDULE". Comcast. NBC Sports Group Press Box. January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  10. ↑ Marchand, Andrew (May 13, 2024). "Roku to serve as new home for 'MLB Sunday Leadoff' games". The New York Times. The Athletic. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  11. ↑ Digital, Brandon Costa, Director of (May 6, 2022). "NBC Returns to Baseball as MLB Sunday Leadoff Streaming Package Debuts on Peacock". Sports Video Group. Retrieved May 8, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. 1 2 "RED SOX HOST WHITE SOX AT FENWAY PARK IN FIRST MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF GAME THIS SUNDAY, MAY 8 LIVE AT 11:30 A.M. ET ON PEACOCK & NBC". NBC Sports Group Press Box. May 4, 2022.
  13. ↑ Dachman, Jason (October 1, 2024). "SVG All-Stars: Kendall Burgess, as VP, Local Media Technical Operations, Major League Baseball". Sports Video Group. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  14. ↑ Rosenthal, Phil (June 3, 2021). "Jason Benetti is set to call Olympic baseball for NBC this summer, the latest broadcasting gig for the Chicago White Sox announcer". Chicago Tribune.
  15. ↑ "NBC picks Jason Benetti and local analysts for Sunday MLB Peacock games". New York Post . April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  16. ↑ Feinsand, Mark (May 4, 2022). "Watch White Sox-Red Sox Sunday on Peacock". MLB.com.
  17. ↑ "AHMED FAREED NAMED HOST OF MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF ON PEACOCK". Comcast. NBC Sports Group Press Box. April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  18. ↑ Clapp, Matt (July 24, 2022). "Jason Benetti reportedly leaving ESPN for Fox". Awful Announcing. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  19. ↑ Bucholtz, Andrew (July 28, 2022). "Fox officially announces they've hired Jason Benetti". Awful Announcing. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  20. ↑ Chavkin, Daniel (April 3, 2023). "NBC to Hire Brendan Burke to Broadcast 'MLB Sunday Leadoff,' per Report". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Roku Lands Exclusive Rights to Major League Baseball Sunday Leadoff". Roku. May 14, 2024. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.