Tag / ESPN

by admin

A Changing Landscape

The national and streaming television landscape for Major League Baseball will be changing for 2026 as the league prepares to overhaul its approach starting in 2029.  This past February, ESPN opted out of the final three years of its deal with the league that would have paid MLB $550 million per year.  Those rights will be split up three ways for the next three seasons, with chunks going to ESPN, Netflix, and NBC/Peacock.  Between the three, MLB is expected to get $750 million per year in total over the next three seasons.

ESPN will receive a national 30-game package throughout the season available exclusively on ESPN’s television networks and streaming app.  They will also continue to carry the Little League Classic and will stream over 150 out-of-market games, one per day, via the ESPN app.  In addition, they will take over control of the out-of-market streaming capabilities available today through MLB.tv.  Details on how that will work were not made available at this time.

Netflix will get exclusive rights to the standalone Opening Day game in prime time, the Home Run Derby and the Field of Dreams game.  No word yet on if they will produce these events in house and, if so, who the broadcasters may be.

NBC and its streaming app Peacock will become the new home of Sunday Night Baseball and the Wild Card round of the postseason.  The network will also take over the Sunday Leadoff game, a package that premiered on Peacock but has aired on Roku for the past two seasons.

The rest of the national agreements, with FOX, TBS, and Apple TV, will continue as is through 2028.  At that point, all of MLB’s television rights will be coming up together at the same time.  Commissioner Rob Manfred would like the league to control the local rights for all teams by that point, hoping a singular package will generate the most revenue.  Teams that have ownership stakes in their own local RSNs, like the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, and Cubs, may not be aligned with this approach.

by admin

ABC Upfronts

ABC comes in with the most stable schedule heading in to fall, with four consecutive nights showing no change from last fall.  Monday once again will simulcast Monday Night Football with ESPN.  Tuesday will also remain the same, with the next installment of Dancing With the Stars followed by High Potential, which became the network’s most-watched new series in seven years.

Wednesday kicks off with the comedy block of Shifting Gears and Abbott Elementary, followed by another installment of The Golden Bachelor and Shark Tank.  9-1-1 returns for its third season on ABC to kick off Thursdays, followed by new spinoff 9-1-1: Nashville and the 22nd season of Grey’s Anatomy.  Friday sees Celebrity Wheel of Fortune followed by two hours of 20/20.  Sunday also stays stable, with America’s Funniest Home Videos followed by three hours of The Wonderful World of Disney.

On the bench for mid-season are new installments of American Idol, Celebrity Jeopardy, The Rookie, and Will Trent.  The future of Doctor Odyssey is undetermined at this point.

Shows never to be seen again are The Conners, which wrapped up its seven-season run this spring.

 

by admin

A New Voice

On Thursday, the White Sox announced that John Schriffen, a 39-year-old from New York, had signed a multi-year deal to become the team’s new television play-by-play announcer.  He replaces Jason Benetti, who, due to growing frustrations with the White Sox front office, left in November to fill the same role with the Tigers after seven years in the White Sox booth.  Schriffen, who is biracial, becomes the second Black television play-by-play announcer in MLB, joining Dave Sims of the Mariners.

This will mark Schriffen’s first play-by-play assignment for a team, he has broadcast Korean baseball for ESPN during the pandemic and has done some MLB work for ESPN Radio.  His other work at ESPN includes college basketball, college football, college baseball, the XFL, NBA preseason, G-League and Summer League.  After multiple interviews, he met with team owner Jerry Reinsdorf and color analyst Steve Stone this past weekend in Arizona for a final audition.  “We hit it off immediately,” Schriffen said. “Everybody knows Steve Stone is the greatest. He has done everything in baseball broadcasting – the dude is a legend.”

by admin

You’ve Gotta Be Bleepin’ Me

Just when you think things can’t get any worse in White Sox Nation, the Tigers announced yesterday that they were poaching play-by-play man Jason Benetti, signing the announcer to a multi-year deal.  Benetti, 40, started with the White Sox in 2016, splitting time with Ken Harrelson until 2019 when he took over full time.

Benetti’s frustration with the White Sox organization has seemingly been growing for some time.  In 2021, he was a loud voice in favor of returning to broadcasting from the road instead of in studio following the pandemic shutdowns of 2020.  Things got testy again this past offseason, when he left ESPN for FOX and took on more national responsibilities, which irked some in the White Sox front office.  To add fuel to that fire, the White Sox refused to negotiate with Benetti’s agent, preferring instead to deal directly with Benetti, which is, frankly, odd behavior.

Whoever replaces Benetti in the broadcast booth will have very large shoes to fill.  They will also need to win over a fan base that has been repeatedly poked in the eye by the ownership and front office of their favorite team for the last two years.

by admin

Mornings With The Peacock

On the heels of last month’s announcement of an exclusive streaming deal with Apple TV+, MLB announced another streaming deal, this time with Peacock, owned by NBC.  Worth an estimated $30 million to the poor MLB owners, the deal gives Peacock an exclusive window on Sunday mornings through 12:30 PM CT.  Games will begin at 10:30 CT through June 12, then move to an 11 AM start time for the remainder of the season.  In addition, Peacock will be the exclusive home of the Futures Game during All Star festivities and will also feature classic MLB games, award-winning documentaries from the MLB Film & Video Archive, and highlight packages available on-demand in a new MLB hub.

The Peacock slate kicks off on May 8 with the White Sox visiting the Red Sox and will be simulcast on NBC.  The south siders make an additional appearance in August while visiting the Guardians.  The Cubs, meanwhile, make their sole appearance while visiting the Phillies in July.  It is a shame that all three of these games are on the road.  It would be interesting to attend a game with an 11:00 (or earlier) start.

As I said last month, I see MLB expanding its reach into the streaming world to be a good thing.  Some will say that with these new exclusive deals, MLB is spreading their product around a little too much and they do have a point.  In order to watch every White Sox game this season as it happens, one would have to have access to NBC Sports Chicago, FOX, FS1, ESPN, Apple TV+. and Peacock.  That’s a lot of different services.  But how many fans actually try to watch every single game?  For the casual fan, MLB having a wide footprint can only be a good thing as they try to build the next generation of hard-core fans.

by admin

A New Voice

The Cubs and the Marquee Sports Network announced on Monday that Jon “Boog” Sciambi has been hired as the new play-by-play voice of the Cubs.  Sciambi has been the voice of ESPN Sunday Night Baseball for MLB on ESPN Radio and the play-by-play voice for Wednesday Night Baseball telecasts since 2014.  He takes the spot vacated by Len Kasper, who moved over to the White Sox radio booth last month.

“Having the opportunity to come to Wrigley Field and call games for the Chicago Cubs every day is surreal,” Sciambi said in a statement. “It really doesn’t get better than that. Chicago is one of the best cities and Wrigley is the best ballpark out there.”  Prior to joining ESPN, Sciambi had served as the lead television announcer for the Braves from 2007-2009 and as the radio voice of the Marlins from 1997-2004.

Sciambi teamed with current Cubs manager David Ross on ESPN telecasts, so he should have an immediate in to the organization.  He will continue working for ESPN in some capacity under this new deal.

In somewhat related news, missing from the list of contributors in the press release from Marquee was Mark Grace, the former Cub star who was suspended last season after making derogatory comments about his ex-wife during a broadcast.  Not a huge loss for the network or the Cubs, since, in my opinion, Grace makes for a poor broadcaster, but losing a high profile gig must sting for the former all-star.

by admin

Holy Cow!

In a shocking development, Len Kasper, who has been the television play-by-play voice of the Cubs for 16 years on numerous networks, has decided to leave that post to join the radio booth for the White Sox.  He will join the returning Darrin Jackson as the team moves back to ESPN 1000 for the 2021 season.  Kasper, who will turn 50 before Opening Day, has always been passionate about radio and has long desired the chance to call a World Series, something he would not get a chance to do on TV.

Chris Myers, the long time ESPN and FOX Sports announcer, seems to be the leading candidate to replace Kasper in the Cubs booth.  He was hired by Marquee last year to be the occasional fill-in for Kasper and a studio host, but the corona virus put the kibosh on those plans.  Left out in the cold is Andy Masur, the longtime WGN employee who stepped in to replace Ed Farmer last season after Farmer passed away last spring.

To say this was a surprise would be a bit of an understatement.  It’s been an off-season exodus for the Cubs, but, unlike Theo Epstein or Kyle Schwarber, this was one loss that I can honestly say nobody saw coming.  For the White Sox, it is a nice little coup to improve their radio product while stealing some thunder from their cross-town rivals.

by admin

Changes Are A’comin’

Yesterday, MLB announced a slew of rule changes to be implemented for the upcoming 2019 season and the 2020 season.  For 2019, the changes include shortening the breaks between innings, reducing mound visits, modifying the trade deadline, and updates around the All Star Game.  2020 changes include changes to the active roster, the minimum number of batters a pitcher must face, and increasing the time pitchers must spend either on the injured list or in the minor leagues when optioned.

The breaks between innings will be reduced from 2:05 to 2:00 for local games, and from 2:25 to 2:00 for national games.  This should remove between one and a half minutes to 7 and a half minutes of dead time from every game, shortening game times across the league.  Of course, the fine print says that these changes are “subject to discussions with broadcast partners”, which means, nationally, FOX, ESPN, and TBS need to be aligned with losing over 7 minutes of their commercial inventory.  Which, frankly, seems unlikely.

The number of mound visits is being reduced from 6, which was first introduced last season, to 5.  Since the limit of 6 affected exactly zero teams in 2018, this doesn’t seem to be much of a change and shouldn’t have much, if any, impact.

The trade deadline is staying put on July 31st, but trade waivers, the archaic system by which trades enacted after the trade deadline, will be eliminated.  Players may continue to be placed and claimed on outright waivers after July 31st, but players may not be traded after that date.  This means buyers and sellers will need to make a final call on their season a month earlier than they do now.  There is also some thought that this will help with the service time manipulation of young phenoms, as injured and ineffective players will no longer be able to be replaced from the outside over the final two months of the season.

Voting for the All Star Game is being changed, with fan voting conducted in two rounds.  Each team will nominate one player per position (three outfielders), who will be voted on by fans during the first, “Primary Round”.  In late June or early July, the top three vote-getters at each position during the Primary Round will be voted on by fans to determine the All Star Game starters, in what is currently being called “Election Day”.  Final details on the new fan voting format will be announced sometime in April.  Bonus payments will be given to the top three vote-getters at each position per league during the Primary Round (top six for outfielders).  Additionally, the prize money awarded to players on the winning All Star team will be increased.  None of this really should have any effect on the game itself, unless the new bonuses and increased prize money is substantial enough to make the players take winning the exhibition more seriously.

The big change is that, in the case of extra innings at the All Star Game, both teams will start the 10th inning, and each subsequent inning, with a runner on second base, with re-entry substitutions allowed for the runners.  This follows changes made in hockey and college football, where, when a game “ends” in a tie, you change the rules of the game to determine a winner.  I’m not a fan of this type of change, as it fundamentally changes how the game is played.  If it stays in the realm of exhibition games, where the goal is more to finish the game without anyone getting hurt, I can live with that.  I would hate to ever see this implemented during regular season, or post-season, play.

The final change for 2019 is an increase in prize money for the Home Run Derby, up to $2.5 million with the winner receiving $1 million.  Maybe this reduces the number of players turning down the derby?  As someone who doesn’t care about the derby, this does nothing to move my needle.

The changes due to take effect for the 2020 season include the following: Continue reading →

by admin

2018 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

baseballhofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2018 yesterday. The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place next July. After Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers.

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 5
2017 Percentage: 53.8

The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage rise for the third straight time last year, so the PED bias holding him back may be subsiding.  Having hit the halfway point in his election cycle, whether he has enough time to get up to 75% remains to be seen.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 5
2017 Percentage: 54.1

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself with a third consecutive rise after his fifth run through the voting process.  For some odd reason, perhaps by having played for more teams, Clemens continues to get marginally more support than his fellow PED poster child Barry Bonds.

Vladimir Guerrero
Years on ballot: 1
2017 Percentage: 71.7

The former Expo and Angel should have no issue getting in this year, considering he was only 15 votes short last year.

Trevor Hoffman
Years on ballot: 2
2017 Percentage: 74.0

One of only 2 pitchers with over 600 saves, Hoffman missed election last year buy a mere 5 votes.  I would expect him to break through this year.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 4
2017 Percentage: 16.7

The 2000 NL MVP managed a slight increase in vote percentage last year, but has a long way to go and not a whole lot of time left, so the future does not look good for him.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 8
2017 Percentage: 58.6

The longtime DH for the Mariners saw another big jump last year, but has only 2 elections left and may not have enough time to build up to the necessary 75%.  His long career as a DH in the Pacific Northwest may be holding him back.

Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 8
2017 Percentage: 21.7 Continue reading →

by admin

He (Nearly) Gone

Ken-HarrelsonBack in October, the White Sox announced that Ken Harrelson, the play by play man for White Sox television broadcasts since 1990, will be cutting back his role this year, working road games, the home opener, and the Cubs series.  The 74 year old Harrelson, who has a 100 mile commute each way from his home in Indiana to US Cellular Field, had hinted at reducing his schedule prior to last season, but changed his mind after the team’s off-season moves offered the promise of an exciting summer.

Yesterday, the White Sox made the move official and announced the hiring of Jason Benetti, a 32-year old Homewood native who cut his professional broadcasting teeth with the Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple A affiliate of the Nationals.  Benetti becomes the first actual broadcaster hired by the White Sox since John Rooney in 1988.  The White Sox also announced that Harrelson and Steve Stone have signed multi-year extensions, settling the television booth for years to come.

I’ve never heard Benetti’s work (he also does college basketball on ESPN), but am looking forward to a younger and competent voice joining the broadcast booth.  An improved team and an improved broadcast booth should lead to an enjoyable summer.