Major League Baseball on Fox Sports Networks
Major League Baseball on Fox Sports Networks | |
---|---|
Also known as | MLB on FSN MLB on FX Major League Baseball on Fox Sports Net Major League Baseball on FSN Major League Baseball on FX |
Genre | Multi-camera |
Running time | 3 hours (or until game ends) |
Production company | Fox Sports |
Original release | |
Network | Fox Sports Net FX |
Release | 1997 2020 | –
Related | |
|
Major League Baseball on Fox Sports Networks refers to
Background
Beginning in
For the 2000 and 2001 seasons, the Fox network's then-sister cable channel, Fox Family (later ABC Family, now Freeform) carried a weekly Major League Baseball game on Thursday nights (a game that had previously aired nationwide on Fox Sports Net from 1997 to 1999), as well as select postseason games from the Division Series.
After The Walt Disney Company's $2.9 billion acquisition of Fox Family in October 2001, the Thursday night cable television rights went to ESPN. Fox Sports Net's affiliates would however, continue to broadcast Major League Baseball games on a local basis until 2020. Come the start of the 2021 season, Fox Sports Networks were rebranded to Bally Sports following the Sinclair Broadcast Group's purchase of the Fox Corporation's regional sports channels.
From 2006 to 2006, Fox Sports Net also aired The FSN Baseball Report, which was a daily baseball analysis program aired during the Major League Baseball season.
League Championship Series coverage
For the first year of its exclusive six-year contract (2001), Fox did a split telecast (which had not been attempted since the ill-fated "
In
Theme music
During the 2009 season, some Fox Sports regional affiliates switched to the 2007 theme while others continued using the original 1996 theme. However, all regional affiliates began using the 2007 theme starting with the 2011 season.
Beginning with the 2010 postseason, 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. However, starting in 2011 and continuing to today, various songs from the album Heroes: The Olympic Collection were used when going into commercial breaks during the All-Star Game, postseason, and other marquee games such as Red Sox-Yankees games.
In 2014, the 2007–2010 jazz theme was brought back for regular season 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.
Commentators
Play-by-play announcers for the FSN/Fox Family coverage included Kenny Albert, Thom Brennaman, Chip Caray, Josh Lewin, and Steve Physioc. Color analysts included Bob Brenly, Kevin Kennedy, Steve Lyons, and Jeff Torborg. Occasionally, FSN would simulcast a local-team feed of a game from one of its affiliated regional sports networks in lieu of a dedicated national production.
Former Fox Sports Networks owned-and-operated affiliates
After
Network | Region served | MLB team rights | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Fox Sports Arizona[n1 1] | Arizona New Mexico Utah southern Nevada |
Arizona Diamondbacks | The network was later renamed as Bally Sports Arizona on March 31, 2021. |
Fox Sports Detroit | Michigan (statewide) northwestern Ohio northeastern Indiana northeast Wisconsin |
Detroit Tigers | FSN Detroit produces a pre-game/post-game show titled Tigers Live. Fox Sports Net Detroit acquired the local television rights to Tigers games (as well as those from the PASS Sports, which subsequently ceased operations in 1997. The network was later named Bally Sports Detroit on March 31, 2021.
|
Fox Sports Florida[n1 2] | Florida (statewide) southern Alabama southern Georgia |
Tampa Bay Rays Miami Marlins Atlanta Braves |
Shares broadcast rights to the Rays and Marlins with co-owned Fox Sports Sun. The network was later renamed as Bally Sports Florida on March 31, 2021. |
Fox Sports Kansas City[n1 3] | Kansas City metropolitan area | Kansas City Royals | Telecasts of St. Louis Cardinals games are available in the Kansas City market via Fox Sports Midwest on some local pay television providers, with Cardinals games airing on Fox Sports Kansas City when the channel is not scheduled to air a Royals game telecast concurring/overlapping with Fox Sports Midwest. The networks were later renamed as Bally Sports Kansas City and Bally Sports Midwest on March 31, 2021. |
Fox Sports Midwest[n1 4] | Missouri southern Illinois southern Indiana eastern Nebraska eastern Kansas western Kentucky northern Arkansas |
St. Louis Cardinals | Fox Sports Midwest's telecasts of Cardinals games are also broadcast in West Tennessee and northern Mississippi. The networks were later renamed as Bally Sports Kansas City and Bally Sports Midwest on March 31, 2021. |
Fox Sports North[n1 5] | Minnesota Wisconsin Iowa North Dakota South Dakota |
Minnesota Twins | Fox Sports North does a show titled "Twins Live." It serves at a pregame and postgame show and airs from Target Field whenever the Twins are at home and at a studio for road games. The networks were later renamed as Bally Sports North and Bally Sports Wisconsin on March 31, 2021. |
Fox Sports Ohio[n1 6] | Ohio eastern Indiana Kentucky northwestern Pennsylvania, southwestern New York |
Cincinnati Reds | Fox Sports Ohio's telecasts of Reds games are also broadcast in Nashville, Tennessee and its surrounding areas, and western North Carolina. |
Fox Sports San Diego[n1 7] | San Diego | San Diego Padres | The network was later renamed as Bally Sports West and Bally Sports SoCal on March 31, 2021. |
Fox Sports South[n1 8] | Georgia Mississippi Alabama Kentucky South Carolina North Carolina Tennessee Florida |
Atlanta Braves Tampa Bay Rays Miami Marlins |
The network was later renamed as Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast on March 31, 2021. |
Fox Sports Southeast[n1 9] | Georgia Alabama Mississippi Tennessee Kentucky Florida South Carolina North Carolina |
Atlanta Braves Tampa Bay Rays Miami Marlins |
The network was later renamed as Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast on March 31, 2021. |
Fox Sports Southwest[n1 10] | Texas northern Louisiana New Mexico Arkansas |
Texas Rangers | Rangers telecasts are sometimes broadcast on Oklahoma State Cowboys game telecast is not scheduled. The network was later renamed as Bally Sports Southwest on March 31, 2021.
|
Fox Sports Sun[n1 11] | Florida | Miami Marlins Tampa Bay Rays Atlanta Braves |
Shares broadcast rights to the Rays and Marlins with co-owned Fox Sports Florida. The network was later renamed as Bally Sports Florida on March 31, 2021. |
Fox Sports West/Fox Sports Prime Ticket[n1 12] | Southern and Central California, southern Nevada, and Hawaii | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
|
Fox Sports West previously held the regional television rights to the SportsNet LA assumed the rights the following season as part of a 25-year broadcast agreement with that network's parent Time Warner Cable.[4] The network was later renamed as Bally Sports West and Bally Sports SoCal on March 31, 2021.
|
Fox Sports Wisconsin[n1 13] | Wisconsin western Upper Peninsula of Michigan eastern Minnesota northwestern Illinois Iowa |
Milwaukee Brewers | The networks were later renamed as Bally Sports North and Bally Sports Wisconsin on March 31, 2021. |
SportsTime Ohio[n1 14] | Ohio | Cleveland Indians
|
The network was later renamed as Bally Sports Great Lakes on March 31, 2021. |
YES Network[n1 15] | New York northern New Jersey northeast Pennsylvania southern Connecticut |
New York Yankees |
Former regional rights holders
Network | Region served | MLB team rights | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
NBC Sports Bay Area[n1 16] | Northern and central California, northwestern Nevada and parts of southern Oregon | San Francisco Giants Oakland Athletics |
Cablevision sold its 60% interest in FSN Bay Area in April 2007 to Comcast, which relaunched the network as NBC Sports Bay Area on March 31, 2008 (the channel continued to carry select FSN programming until August 2012); |
FSN Chicago[n1 17] | Northern Illinois, northern Indiana, and eastern Iowa | Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox |
FSN Chicago lost the regional cable rights to the Cubs and White Sox to NBC Sports Chicago; FSN Chicago ceased operations on June 23, 2006. |
Fox Sports Houston[n1 18] | Southern Texas southern Louisiana |
Houston Astros | Fox Sports Houston held rights to the Root Sports Southwest acquired the rights to the Astros and Houston Rockets; Fox Sports Houston subsequently ceased operations as a result.[5]
|
References
- ^ Stewart, Larry (November 6, 1995). "Fox Gets Baseball; NBC Is Part of Deal". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "A SPORTING CHANCE TO BE NO. 1". The Washington Post. March 27, 1997.
- ^ Farhi, Shapiro, Paul, Leonard (June 24, 1997). "Fox opens the TV floodgates". Tampa Bay Times.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Axisa, Mike (January 28, 2013). "Dodgers announce deal with Time Warner, launch of SportsNet LA". CBS Sports.
- ^ Brian McTaggart (October 29, 2010). "Astros, Rockets reach deal on new network". MLB.com.
- ^ Formerly known as Prime Sports Arizona until 1996.
- ^ Formerly known as SportsChannel Florida until 2000, and was the last FSN-acquired network acquired through the SportsChannel purchase to retire the name.
- ^ Formerly part of FSN Midwest prior to 2008; formerly known as Prime Sports Network until 1997. Fox Sports Kansas City was created as a spin-off of FSN Midwest, after it acquired the Royals rights from the defunct Royals Sports Television Network. Fox Sports Midwest produces some of the channel's programming.
- ^ Formerly known as Prime Sports Midwest until 1996.
- Fox Sports Wisconsinin April 2007.
- ^ Formerly known as SportsChannel Ohio until 1998. Separate subfeeds also exist for the Cincinnati and Cleveland markets.
- 4SD. The Padres hold a 20% ownership stake in Fox Sports San Diego.
- SportSouth(which was subsequently adopted by the former Turner South following Fox's 2006 purchase of that channel) until 1996.
- News Corporation (now 21st Century Fox). Renamed Fox Sports Southeast on October 5, 2015 to avoid confusion with Fox Sports South.
- ^ Formerly known as Home Sports Entertainment from 1984 to 1994, and as Prime Sports Southwest until 1996.
- ^ Formerly known as Sunshine Network (originally serving as a Prime Network affiliate) until 2005, renamed Sun Sports until 2015; was acquired by Fox Sports Networks in 1996.
- ^ Fox Sports West was formerly known as (the original) Prime Ticket from 1987 to 1993 and Prime Sports West until 1996; Fox Sports Prime Ticket was formerly known as FSN West 2 until 2007.
- ^ Formerly known as Wisconsin Sports Network from 1996 to 1998, when it became a subfeed of Midwest Sports Channel. Formerly part of Fox Sports North (the former MSC) until 2007; it became a separate channel after Fox Sports Networks acquired the rights to the Milwaukee Brewers. Fox Sports Wisconsin remains a subfeed of Fox Sports North in some markets.
- ^ Originally established by the Indians in 2006, purchased by Fox in December 2012.
- ^ Originally established by the Yankees in 2002, Fox purchased 49% stake in December 2012; acquired 80% control in January 2014. Fox no longer owns the YES Network and now operates as an affiliate to Bally Sports.
- ^ Formerly known as Pacific Sports Network (PSN) until 1990, SportsChannel Bay Area until 1993 and SportsChannel Pacific until 1998.
- ^ Originally known as Sportsvision Chicago from 1979 to 1984, Hawkvision/ONTV until 1987 and SportsChannel Chicago until 1998.
- ^ Formerly served by FSN Southwest, before becoming an alternate feed of the channel; Fox Sports Houston became a separate subfeed on January 12, 2009. Christine Hall (January 7, 2009). "Fox Sports Houston set for new identity". Houston Business Journal.