MLB on FS1 explained

Genre:Baseball telecasts
Starring:See MLB on Fox broadcasters
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:11
Camera:Multi-camera
Runtime:3 hours (or until game ends)
Company:Fox Sports
Network:FS1
First Aired:[1]
Related:MLB on Fox

MLB on FS1 is the de facto title 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 (mostly on Saturdays), along with post-season games from the Division Series and League Championship Series[2] and the World Baseball Classic.

Business history

See also: Major League Baseball on television.

On September 19, 2012, Sports Business Daily[3] [4] reported that Major League Baseball would agree to separate eight-year television deals with Fox Sports and Turner Sports[5] through the 2021 season. Fox would reportedly pay around $4 billion over eight years (close to $500 million per year), while Turner would pay around $2.8 billion over eight years (more than $300 million per year). Under the new deals, Fox and TBS' coverage would essentially be the same as in the 2007–2013 contract with the exception of Fox and TBS splitting coverage of the Division Series, which TBS has broadcast exclusively dating back to 2007. More importantly, Fox would carry some of the games (such as the Saturday afternoon Game of the Week) on its new general sports channel, Fox Sports 1,[3] [6] [7] which launched on August 17, 2013.[8] [9] Sources also said it was possible that Fox would sell some League Division Series games to MLB Network.

On October 2, 2012, the new deal between Major League Baseball and Fox was officially confirmed;[10] [11] it included the television rights to 12 Saturday afternoon games on Fox (reduced from 26),[12] 40 games on Fox Sports 1, rights to the All-Star Game, two League Division Series (two games were sold to MLB Network, the rest would air on Fox Sports 1), one League Championship Series (in which Fox Sports and Turner Sports would each respectively alternate coverage of American League and National League postseason games each year on an odd-even basis, with Games 1 and, if necessary, 6 in 2014 airing on Fox), and the World Series (which would remain on Fox). In addition, all Fox Saturday Baseball games would be made available on MLB Extra Innings and MLB.TV (subject to local blackout restrictions[13]), Fox Sports was awarded TV Everywhere rights for streaming of game telecasts on computers, mobile and tablet devices, rights to a nightly baseball highlights show, Spanish language rights to all games carried on Fox and Fox Cable (Fox Deportes) and rights to a weekly show produced by MLB Productions.

On November 15, 2018, Fox renewed its rights through 2028, maintaining its existing structure but with expanded digital rights, and a promise to begin airing more games on the Fox broadcast network (beginning with at least two of the first four League Championship Series games and all seventh games from 2020 to 2028, with additional games in 2022).[14] [15] It had been criticized for airing only Game 1 of the 2019 American League Championship Series, while placing the rest on Fox Sports 1.[16]

Scheduling history

Beginning with the 2014 television contract, FS1's regular-season telecasts are not exclusive, with the teams' local broadcasters also showing the games.

As of 2024, most FS1 games air Saturday afternoons, with additional, irregularly scheduled weeknight games.[17] Weeknight games that have aired on FS1 include:

Monday nights

See main article: Monday Night Baseball.

Matchup
2016May 23, 2016, 8:00PMAngelsRangers
September 19, 2016, 10:00PMDiamondbacksPadres
2020August 3, 2020, 7:00PMMetsBraves
August 10, 2020, 6:00PMBravesPhillies
August 17, 2020, 9:00PMPadresRangers
August 24, 2020, 7:00PMCubsTigers
September 7, 2020, 9:00PMRockiesPadres
September 14, 2020, 8:00PMAthleticsMariners
2021April 12, 2021, 7:30PMCubsBrewers
2022April 11, 2022, 6:30PMMetsPhillies
June 20, 2022, 8:00PMCardinalsBrewers
July 11, 2022, 7:00PMMetsBraves
August 15, 2022, 8:00PMAstrosWhite Sox
2023April 24, 2023, 9:30PMA'sAngels
May 1, 2023, 8PMGiantsAstros
May 22, 2023, 7:30PMGiantsTwins
May 29, 2023, 8PMAngelsWhite Sox
June 5, 2023, 6:30PMRoyalsMarlins
July 3, 2023, 9:30PMAngelsPadres
July 17, 2023, 9:30PMTwinsMariners
August 14, 2023, 8:30PMDiamondbacksRockies
August 21, 2023, 8PMMarinersWhite Sox
September 4, 2023, 9:30PMOriolesAngels
September 18, 2023, 6:30PMTwinsReds
September 25, 2023, 9:30PMPadresGiants
2024April 1, 2024, 6:30PMRangersRays
April 22, 2024, 7:30PMWhite SoxTwins
April 29, 2024, 7:30PMTwinsWhite Sox
May 6, 2024, 6:00PMTigersGuardians
May 20, 2024, 7:30PMTigersRoyals
June 3, 2024, 9:30PMGiantsDBacks
June 10, 2024, 6:30PMOriolesRays
June 17, 2024, 6:30PMRedsPirates
July 8, 2024, 6:30PMGuardiansTigers
August 19, 2024, 9:30PMTwinsPadres
August 26, 2024, 6:30PMAstrosPhillies
August 26, 2024, 9:30PMRaysMariners
September 9, 2024, 7:30PM Angels -

Tuesday nights

See main article: Tuesday Night Baseball.

Matchup
2014April 8, 2014, 8PMRedsCardinals
July 29, 2014, 8PMYankeesRangers
August 26, 2014, 8PMTwinsRoyals
2015June 23, 2015, 7PMCardinalsMarlins
July 28, 2015, 8PMYankeesRangers
2016April 26, 2016, 9:30PMCardinalsDiamondbacks
August 6, 2016, 7:00PMCardinalsReds
2017May 9, 2017, 7:00PMYankeesReds
August 1, 2017, 10:00PMTwinsPadres
August 8, 2017, 8:00PMCardinalsRoyals
August 15, 2017, 8:00PMTigersRangers
2018April 17, 2018, 7:00PMIndiansTwins
May 15, 2018, 8:00PMCardinalsTwins
June 5, 2018, 8:00PMMarlinsCardinals
June 26, 2018, 7:00PMDiamondbacksMarlins
July 10, 2018, 8:00PMRoyalsTwins
September 4, 2018, 8:00PMAngelsRangers
2019August 27, 2019, 10:00PMRangersAngels
2020July 28, 2020, 9:00PMDodgersAstros
August 11, 2020, 7:00PMWhite SoxTigers
August 18, 2020, 8:00PMCardinalsCubs
August 25, 2020, 6:30PMOriolesRays
August 25, 2020, 9:30PMDodgersGiants
September 1, 2020, 6:30PMBlue JaysMarlins
September 8, 2020, 7:30PMRed SoxPhillies
September 15, 2020, 8:30PMAthleticsRockies
September 22, 2020, 9:00PMRangersDiamondbacks
2021May 25, 2021, 8:00PMDodgersAstros
June 1, 2021, 6:00PMWhite SoxIndians
June 8, 2021, 7:00PMNationalsRays
August 31, 2021, 9:30PMBrewersGiants
September 7, 2021, 6:30PMMetsMarlins
September 14, 2021, 7:30PMIndiansTwins
September 21, 2021, 10:00PMGiantsPadres
September 28, 2021, 7:00PMPhilliesBraves

Wednesday nights

See main article: Wednesday Night Baseball.

Matchup
2017April 5, 2017, 7PMYankeesRays
April 5, 2017, 7PMRoyalsTigers
2018April 4, 2018, 7:30PMCardinalsBrewers
2020August 5, 2020, 4:00PMPhilliesYankees
August 12, 2020, 6:30PMRoyalsReds
September 9, 2020, 6:30PMWhite SoxPirates
2021April 28, 2021, 7:00PMCubsBraves
2022May 11, 2022, 7:00PMRaysAngels
June 8, 2022, 7:30PMYankeesTwins
June 15, 2022, 7:00PMBrewersMets
August 10, 2022, 8:00PMWhite SoxRoyals
August 17, 2022, 8:00PMDodgersBrewers
August 24, 2022, 7:00PMWhite SoxOrioles
September 7, 2022, 8:30PMDiamondbacks
September 14, 2022, 7:30PMBrewersCardinals
2023September 20, 2023, 6:30PMMetsMarlins
2024May 8, 2024, 6:30PMDbacksReds
June 5, 2024, 9:30PMPadresAngels
August 7, 2024, 6:30PM PadresPirates
August 21, 2024, 7:30PMBrewersCardinals
September 4, 2024, 7:30PM GuardiansRoyals
September 11, 2024, 9:30PMPadresMariners

Thursday nights

See main article: Thursday Night Baseball.

Matchup
2014May 15, 2014PadresReds
2015June 18, 2015BrewersRoyals
2016April 7, 2016RangersAngels
April 21, 2016TigersRoyals
2017May 18, 2017YankeesRoyals
2018May 10, 2018TwinsAngels
June 14, 2018RaysYankees
2020July 30, 2020PadresGiants
August 20, 2020BrewersTwins
September 24, 2020TigersRoyals
2022June 30, 2022PadresDodgers
July 28, 2022MarinersAstros
August 4, 2022RaysTigers
2023June 1, 2023AngelsAstros
June 15, 2023AngelsRangers
July 6, 2023CardinalsMarlins
August 24, 2023RedsDiamondbacks
2024April 18, 2024DbacksGiants
May 9, 2024RoyalsAngels
June 13, 2024AngelsDbacks
June 27, 2024GuardiansRoyals
August 15, 2024TwinsRangers

Saturday afternoons

As of the 2024 season, FS1 carries a Saturday afternoon game most weeks (unless the broadcast network is airing a game). These games, like the weeknight games, are non-exclusive. FS1's coverage begins with the pregame show a half-hour before the game, which usually starts at 1, 4  or 10 p.m. Eastern Time. If there is a second or rarely third game on FS1, which occurs in the early season before the Fox broadcast network's exclusive Saturday evening coverage begins (it will still air games after the broadcast network coverage on some weeks, or when Fox switches to a Thursday night game on a given week), a studio show is aired in between.

Postseason coverage

See also: List of American League Division Series broadcasters, List of National League Division Series broadcasters, List of American League Championship Series broadcasters and List of National League Championship Series broadcasters.

With FS1 taking over most MLB coverage in 2014, postseason coverage on Fox Sports' end of the package began to be split between the Fox broadcast network and FS1. The deal, which brought back Division Series baseball to Fox for the first time since 2006, put Fox's Division Series games exclusively on FS1. As part of their contract renewal before the 2019 season, Fox has agreed to air any League Championship Series Game 7 that Fox Sports has rights to (not including the game 7 on TBS) on the broadcast network. Fox airs the World Series in its entirety, as has been the case every year since 2000.

For the 2020 NLCS however, while Fox aired Games 1, 4 and 7, FS1 aired every game except Game 1 as it simulcast Games 4 and 7. (Game 4 was scheduled to air only on FS1 but the postponement of a previously scheduled Thursday Night Football game that was supposed to air on Fox allowed both Fox and FS1 to air the game.)[18]

For the 2021 ALCS, Fox aired Games 1 and 2 while FS1 aired Games 2–6 (Game 2 was simulcast on both channels), Game 7 would have aired on both networks had the series gone its distance. From 2022 on, Fox will air more postseason games as part of the renewal made in 2018.

Digital on-screen graphics

In 2020,[19] Fox unveiled a new graphics package for its NFL and college football coverage starting with Super Bowl LIV. Baseball broadcasts continued using this package through the end of the 2021 regular season, as the new on-screen look is for football only. Beginning with the 2021 season,[20] Fox and FS1 started using stylized cartoon illustrations on players rather than traditional photos, similar to those used on the network's NFL coverage since the previous year's Super Bowl.

Theme music

NJJ Music composed[21] [22] [23] the original MLB on Fox theme music[24] [25] in 1996. This theme music was used exclusively from June 1996 until early May 2007. In mid-May 2007, an updated version was unveiled, featuring a more jazzy feel and implementing a full orchestra instead of the synth elements used by the 1996 theme.

Beginning with the 2010 postseason,[26] both the 2007 theme and the Flach theme were replaced by the longtime NFL on Fox theme music, which began to be used for all Fox sporting events.

In 2014, the 2007–2010 jazz theme was brought back for regular season games on MLB on FS1. The NFL theme was retained for MLB on Fox, including Fox Saturday Baseball, Baseball Night in America, the All-Star Game and all coverage of the postseason. However, occasionally one of the two themes was heard on telecasts that were designated for the other, implying that the designations are slightly fluid.

In 2020, MLB on Fox reintroduced the original 1996–2007 theme; Fox Sports regional affiliates continued to use the 2007–2010 theme until the network was rebranded to Bally Sports in 2021. As of the 2021 season, the original theme is now used for coverage of all games across both Fox and FS1.

Ratings

Postseason

Saturday afternoons

YearRating
20140.28
20150.34
20160.29
20170.29
20180.27
20190.22

Commentators and studio personalities

See main article: List of Fox Sports announcers.

Current play-by-play commentators

Lead play-by-play[27] [28] [29]

#2 play-by-play

alternate play-by-play

alternate play-by-play

alternate play-by-play

alternate play-by-play

alternate play-by-play

Current color commentators

Lead color[30]

#2 color

alternate color

alternate color

alternate color

alternate color

Current field reporters

Lead field reporter

#2 field reporter

Current studio team

Lead studio host

Secondary studio host

Studio analyst

Studio analyst

Studio analyst

Studio analyst

Other MLB related programming

As part of Fox Sports' new Major League Baseball broadcast deal, in April 2014, Fox Sports 1 premiered MLB Whiparound, an hour-long nightly baseball highlight program (similar in vein to ESPN's Baseball Tonight and MLB Network's MLB Tonight) featuring quick-turnaround highlights, and news and analysis from around the league (live look-ins of games being played in progress generally can not be shown on Whiparound, as MLB Tonight is reserved that right exclusively). It is hosted by Chris Myers, who is joined by one or two analysts rotating between Frank Thomas, Eric Karros, Dontrelle Willis and C. J. Nitkowski. Although Whiparound airs most weeknights at 10 p.m., the Wednesday editions are usually delayed to 12 a.m. Eastern Time on weeks when Fox Sports 1 airs a sporting event in prime time during the MLB season (on weeks without predetermined programming conflicts, the program airs in its regular 10 p.m. slot).[31]

Also in 2014, Fox Sports 1 began airing MLB 162 (the title being a reference to the total number of games each team plays during the Major League Baseball season), which was hosted by Julie Alexandria. In 2015, Fox Sports 1 began airing MLB's Best, a half-hour weekly show completely containing highlights of the best plays of the previous week in a countdown format, with no host or interviews.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Berenz. Ryan. March 28, 2014. MLB on FOX and FOX Sports 1 2014 schedule. Channel Guide Magazine.
  2. Web site: MLB on Fox: New voices, channel, platforms. 31 March 2014 . April 2, 2014.
  3. Web site: Lewis . Jon . September 19, 2012 . SBD: FOX, Turner, Will Keep Current MLB TV Packages; Fox Sports 1 Will Get Games . September 20, 2012 . Sports Media Watch.
  4. Web site: Fox, Turner To Renew MLB Packages; MLB Net Could Get LDS Games. John Ourand. Eric Fisher. SportsBusinessDaily. September 19, 2012. September 20, 2012.
  5. Web site: Turner and Fox to Retain MLB Rights. Joe Lucia. AwfulAnnouncing.com. September 20, 2012. September 20, 2012.
  6. Web site: A Look at The New MLB TV Deals. Ken Fang. Fang's Bites. September 24, 2012. September 28, 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120926220210/http://fangsbites.com/2012/09/a-look-at-the-new-mlb-tv-deals/. September 26, 2012. mdy-all.
  7. Web site: Lepore . Steve . March 6, 2013 . Fox Sports 1 must succeed on its own terms before challenging ESPN . February 9, 2016 . SBNation.com.
  8. Web site: Fox Sports announces Fox Sports 1. Fox Sports. March 5, 2013.
  9. Web site: What You'll See on Fox Sports 1. Ken Fang. Fang's Bites. March 6, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130309073058/http://fangsbites.com/2013/03/what-youll-see-on-fox-sports-1/. March 9, 2013. mdy-all.
  10. Web site: Wrapping Up All of the New MLB TV Deals Into One. Ken Fang. Fang's Bites. October 2, 2012. October 5, 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121004235701/http://fangsbites.com/2012/10/wrapping-up-all-of-the-new-mlb-tv-deals-into-one/. October 4, 2012. mdy-all.
  11. Web site: Fox Sports Announces Eight-Year Rights Deal with MLB. Ken Fang. Fang's Bites. October 2, 2012. October 5, 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130722120417/http://fangsbites.com/2012/10/fox-sports-announces-eight-year-rights-deal-with-mlb/. July 22, 2013. mdy-all.
  12. Web site: FOX Cuts Back on Regular Season Baseball; Blackouts For Regional Games to Be Lifted. Sports Media Watch. October 2, 2012. October 5, 2012.
  13. Web site: Lucia . Joe . October 2, 2012 . Fox MLB Blackouts Gone Starting in 2014 . October 5, 2012 . AwfulAnnouncing.com.
  14. Web site: Ourand . John . 15 November 2018 . MLB Set To Announce Renewal With Fox, New Deal With DAZN . November 15, 2018 . Sports Business Daily . en.
  15. News: Guthrie . Marisa . Fox Sports and Major League Baseball Extend Rights Deal Through 2028 . November 15, 2018 . The Hollywood Reporter . en.
  16. News: Newberry . Paul . November 16, 2018 . Baseball owners extend Manfred's contract, TV deal with Fox . Associated Press.
  17. Web site: MLB TV schedule 2022: When and where to watch. Sports Media Watch. 5 March 2017 . March 18, 2022.
  18. Web site: Two Week 5 games pushed back after positive COVID-19 tests. 9 October 2020 .
  19. News: Ourand. John. October 12, 2020. Shanks on where Fox/MLB started and where it's going next. Sports Business Journal.
  20. News: Southard. Dargen. August 11, 2021. 'A magical night of television': Inside FOX Sports' preparation for Field of Dreams game broadcast. Des Moines Register.
  21. Web site: Scott Schreer - FOX's NFL & MLB music composer. February 22, 2019. coreycambridge.com. March 18, 2022. April 25, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220425124836/https://www.coreycambridge.com/silentgiants/2019/2/22/scott-schreer-foxs-nfl-amp-mlb-music-composer. dead.
  22. News: Vlam. Victor. September 18, 2012. That iconic WNBC news theme? Turns out it is composed by NJJ Music. Network News Music.
  23. Web site: Soundtrack (34) - Scott Schreer. IMDb.
  24. Web site: MLB on Fox - Theme Song. TelevisionTunes.com.
  25. Web site: The 9 best network baseball theme songs of all time, ranked. Foster. Jason. September 20, 2015. The Sporting News.
  26. News: Papaserge. Ryan. October 14, 2010. The 10 Best TV Sports Themes of the Past 20 Years. Bleacher Report.
  27. FOX Sports Taps Ace Broadcaster Joe Davis as the New Voice of MLB on FOX. FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. FOXSports.com. April 8, 2022. April 10, 2022.
  28. News: Bucholtz. Andrew. April 4, 2022. Joe Davis will take over from Joe Buck as Fox's top MLB play-by-play voice, including for the World Series. Awful Announcing.
  29. News: Marchand. Andrew. April 4, 2022. Joe Davis will be Fox's new voice of World Series. The New York Post.
  30. News: March 31, 2021. FOX Sports Names Starting Lineup for 2021 Major League Baseball Regular Season. FoxSports.com.
  31. Web site: Reynolds & Verducci join Buck for MLB on FOX. Fox Sports. March 3, 2014.

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