With an eye toward boosting the ratings and value of its rookie cable network, Fox Sports will present 52 Major League Baseball regular-season games nationally -- 40 on Fox Sports 1 -- during the first season of the circuit's new eight-year rights deals.
That total includes 20 Saturday doubleheaders -- 10 exclusively on cable service FS1 and 10 split between FS1 and Fox broadcast. FS1 also will be in the playoff hunt, airing a pair of League Division Series. Under the previous contract that expired after the 2013 campaign, Turner Sports, mainly airing on TBS, held exclusive rights to the quartet of those series confrontations.
As is the case with Fox, a dozen FS1 games were selected from MLB’s overall pot. However in a new twist, FS1 will air 28 telecasts that will match teams covered by regional sports networks owned by Fox Sports Media Group. For instance, the April 26 matchup between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the New York Yankees originates on Fox Sports West and the YES Network, respectively.
These games will air nationally on FS1, including inside the TV territories of the participating teams. The RSNs, meanwhile, will supply the feed to FS1 during these side-by-side presentations, with the on-air talent from the home club calling the action locally and across the country.
FS1 can’t draw from telecasts in which it doesn’t hold an ownership stake in the attendant RSNs. To that end, the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox, whose cable contests are presented by NESN, couldn’t meet the Baltimore Orioles, televised regionally by MASN, in a side-by-side fashion.
The cable network, which launched last Aug. 17 in some 90 million homes, makes its MLB regular-season debut on April 5 with a doubleheader, featuring the Minnesota Twins-Cleveland Indians at 1 p.m. (ET) and the San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers at 4 p.m.
Fox broadcast does not pick up MLB telecasts until May 24. Big Fox will then go to bat with a string of eight primetime telecasts leading into the All-Star Game from Target Field in Minneapolis on July 15. After the Mid-Summer Classic, Fox's next MLB telecast doesn’t step to the dish until Sept. 6, when it concludes with four Saturday contests in the 1 p.m. window (see, regular-season below).
In addition to covering the ASG, Fox will also present this year’s National League Championship Series and the World Series.
FS1 will begin its spring training schedule next week, with a pair of Cactus League games and one from the Grapefruit circuit.
The first comes on Monday, March 3 at 3 p.m. with the Arizona Diamondbacks hosting the Angels. The next the teams swap positions with the Angels hosting the Snakes, also at 3 p.m. Victor Rojas and Mark Gubicza have the call for both games.
Finally on Wednesday, March 5 at 1 p.m., the Bosox visit the defending National League champion St. Louis Cardinals in a Fall Classic rematch with Dan McLaughlin on play-by-play and analysis from Al Hrabosky. FS1 will simulcast the games being produced by Fox Sports West and Fox Sports Midwest, two of the programmer’s industry-leading 22 owned-and-operated RSNs.
For its part, MLB Advanced Media will offer live streaming of the All-Star Game and World Series to subscribers of its MLB.TV out-of-market package for the first time. BAM's effort is akin to Fox Sports’ making its national broadcast and FS1 games available on its authenticated Fox Sports Go mobile app. Previously, MLB playoffs had been limited to Postseason.TV, an add-on subscription of raw footage and alternate angles from Turner Sports’ coverage.
As mentioned Turner, which will show regular-season games on Sundays during the second part of the season, still has the rights to a pair of LDS, and will continue to alternate annually with Fox on the LCS. Turner, which also has one of the Wild Card Playoff contests, will also stream its games this season under the new rights package.
With the other Wild Card game in its pocket, ESPN is back in MLB’s playoff picture for the first time since 2006. The worldwide leader has 90 games on tap on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday nights.
MLB Network, meanwhile, will show a pair of LDS contests out of Fox’s slate, and present 150 regular-season games annually under the new contract.
2014 FOX SPORTS/FOX SPORTS 1 MLB REGULAR-SEASON BROADCAST SCHEDULE
(Note: Schedule Subject to Change - Times Refer to On-Air)
Saturday, April 5
1:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers
Tuesday, April 8
8:15 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals
Saturday, April 12
1:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Saturday, April 19
1:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Detroit Tigers
8:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers
Saturday, April 26
1:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at New York Yankees
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals
Saturday, May 3
1:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs
7:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals
Saturday, May 10
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers
7:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Cleveland Indians at Tampa Bay Rays
Thursday, May 15
12:35 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds
Saturday, May 17
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Yankees
Saturday, May 24
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers
7:00 PM ET – FOX
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds
Washington Nationals at Pittsburgh Pirates
Kansas City Royals at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Saturday, May 31
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Atlanta Braves at Miami Marlins
7:00 PM ET – FOX
Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox
Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Dodgers
Saturday, June 7
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Cleveland Indians at Texas Rangers
7:00 PM ET – FOX
Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals
Oakland Athletics at Baltimore Orioles
Saturday, June 14
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers
7:00 PM ET – FOX
Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals
Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Atlanta Braves
Saturday, June 21
7:00 PM ET – FOX
Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals
Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs
Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians
10:05 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Saturday, June 28
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Minnesota Twins at Texas Rangers
7:00 PM ET – FOX
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
Washington Nationals at Chicago Cubs
Saturday, July 5
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Arizona Diamondbacks at Atlanta Braves
7:00 PM ET – FOX
Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox
Texas Rangers at New York Mets
San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres
Saturday, July 12
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers
7:00 PM ET – FOX
Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds
Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Texas Rangers
Tuesday, July 15
2014 MLB All-Star Game from Target Field – Minneapolis, MN
Saturday, July 19
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals
7:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers
Saturday, July 26
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds
7:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals
Tuesday, July 29
8:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
New York Yankees at Texas Rangers
Saturday, August 2
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox
Saturday, August 9
1:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
St. Louis Cardinals at Baltimore Orioles
Saturday, August 16
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays
7:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
San Diego Padres at St. Louis Cardinals
Saturday, August 23
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
San Francisco Giants at Washington Nationals
7:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds
Tuesday, August 26
8:10 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals
Saturday, August 30
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates
Saturday, September 6
1:00 PM ET – FOX
San Francisco Giants at Detroit Tigers
Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays
4:00 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees
Saturday, September 13
1:00 PM ET – FOX
Atlanta Braves at Texas Rangers
New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles
8:10 PM ET – FOX Sports 1
San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks
Saturday, September 20
FOX/FOX Sports 1
TBD
Saturday, September 27
FOX/FOX Sports 1
TBD
