The Baseball Network

[Mets82]

I just wanted to ask if anyone remembers the debacle known as The Baseball Network. Now I'm 26 yrs. old so I don't remember too much about it. I do remember why I was turned off by it was because they regionalized the playoffs. How dumb do you have to be to do that? People look forward to the playoffs and they regionalize them. Imagine if your a Yankees fan and all you could get is the Red Sox playoff game. I think you would be able to see it but I think it was on tape delay or something. The Baseball Network- A bad concept and a bad idea.
It's a shame because they had some good announce teams and it all went down the drain.

 

[SabresRule]

All I have to say:

Thank GOD it lasted just a year!

A lot of us rip FOX for how they cover baseball and their faults, but at least they avoided something like 'regionalizing the playoffs.'

Wait a second- didn't the NHL regionalize playoff coverage in rounds 1 and 2 when they were on FOX and ABC?

 

[Mets82]

I don't even know. Doesn't the NHL regionalize the playoffs now?

 

[anders5189]

Not to defend The Baseball Network too much because it probably was a dumb idea, but you have to remember how things were at the time. CBS lost a fortune with its coverage of MLB, and other networks were reluctant to pay big money for baseball. Then the strike in 94 wiped out the entire postseason, which cost ABC and NBC millions. When baseball came back in 95 it was much less popular because so many people were still pissed over the strike. Given all that, you can see why the ABC and NBC went to the regional coverage. Virtually no games at that time could have attracted a large national audience, and they didn't want to get burned like CBS did.

The experiment ended in 96 when FOX stepped up and snagged the MLB rights because they were trying to become a real network. NBC stayed on board too, but without having to show any crappy regular season games, and NBC's coverage in the late 90's was generally terrible and nothing like it had been in the past.

 

[jmg007]

The Baseball Network had no day baseball coverage on the weekends nor any telecasts during the first half.

During its two years of existence, the Baseball Network started its coverage at the all star game followed by 12 prime time telecasts with Six Saturday night telecasts by ABC followed by Six Friday night telecasts on NBC.

Most of the announcers were local for the exception of two network teams. For example, ABC's two teams were Al Michaels, Tim McCarver, and Jim Pamer along with Brent Musburger and Jim Kaat. NBC had Bob Costas, Joe Morgan, Greg Gumbel and Bob Uecker.

The Strike basically killed this two year experiment that was probably doomed from the beginning.

 

[Mets82]

Do you think that we will ever have that again? I mean do you think ABC and NBC will ever share the World Series? Do you think FOX will ever lose the World Series?

 

[Ramy]

I hate to break it to you, but they regionalize playoff games now.

 

[Mets82]

I know that, but I'm saying for the World Series, ABC and NBC alternated games and FOX has all the World Series games now. What I'm trying to say is that will they ever go back to ABC and NBC alternating the World Series games. I mean if FOX lost the W.S. it would be weird because I've gotten used to FOX showing the World Series.

 

[BillD1984]

Do you think FOX will ever lose the World Series?

ONLY if there is a God!

 

[SabresRule]

How exactly did the Network work?

If you were in White Sox territory, you'd see a Cubs game? Or something like that?

 

[Mets82]

ONLY if there is a God!

Bill, if you don't want FOX to carry the World Series, who would you want to show it?

 

[SamCdbs]

How exactly did the Network work?

If you were in White Sox territory, you'd see a Cubs game? Or something like that?

There was actually litigation about it.

In the regular season, it was more or less an "end around" the teams' contracts with their local stations. In the regular season, every game would be produced, a couple featuring the actual network annoucers, and the rest by the same crew that did the games locally. So if you lived in, say Kansas City and it was NBC's turn at the Baseball Network, you got the KC game, with the announcer that normally worked the games on the regular KC local station, on the NBC station. BUT, the games had to be in the appropriate prime time, so, if KC was playing out west or in the daytime, you would get the "national" game. If you lived in a two team market, only one game would be presented.

In the playoffs, all of the games were at the same time, and you pretty much got whichever game they thought you cared about based on what league had a team closer to you.

Truely stupid.

 

[Mets82]

That's what turned me off. Why regionalize the playoffs? That's what the playoffs are for, to watch them. Didn't they want to garner a strong audience? Why have 4 games on at once.

 

[anders5189]

That's what turned me off. Why regionalize the playoffs? That's what the playoffs are for, to watch them. Didn't they want to garner a strong audience? Why have 4 games on at once.

Answer: Toronto Blue Jays. Those Toronto teams killed the ratings in the US. The networks wanted a hedge against that.